Sleep.
That’s what she needed.
Brynleigh released the door and pushed herself off of the wall. She checked the locks, because she’d never be caught unaware again, and stumbled towards the bathroom.
Bloody handprints streaked on the wall where she held herself up, but she’d deal with them later. Exhaustion tugged at her, its relentless pull getting stronger with every passing moment.
Elbowing her way into the bathroom, she quickly washed her hands and ran a washcloth over her raw, pink skin.
Once she had removed most of the blood, she stripped and dumped her clothes in the hamper. Locating the laundry facilities would be a job for tomorrow.
Wearing nothing but her underwear, Brynleigh made her way to the last door in the hall. She remembered from her tour that this was Ryker’s room.
She couldn’t imagine how much worse she’d have felt if she’d been forced to return to Waterborn House or that bungalow where she and Ryker had gone after he’d freed her.
At least here, an air of familiarity calmed a part of her.
Brynleigh opened the bedroom door and immediately stopped as Ryker’s scent slammed into her. Thunderstorms and bergamot permeated everything in this space.
She breathed deeply, filling her nose with his comforting, grounding scent. Her trembling slowed, and some of her exhaustion lifted. Sheknew she shouldn’t snoop, but she couldn’t help herself. Anything to get to know Ryker better.
The room was masculine, which was unsurprising. Navy drapes matched the comforter. A large, empty dog bed sat against the far wall. Two black dressers stood near the door. A king-sized, comfortable-looking bed took up the place of honor. The mattress called to Brynleigh, but she ignored its summons.
Looking at Ryker’s room was one thing, but she couldn’t sleep in his bed and invade his space.
There was a black T-shirt on the ground, though. Likely discarded from the last time Ryker was here, it looked comfortable and worn. She crept into the room and grabbed it.
Bringing the material to her nose, she sniffed.
His scent drowned everything else out. Her heart rate slowed to its normal, turtle-like rate. The trembling was almost non-existent. For a moment, it was as though he was standing right next to her.
Brynleigh didn’t let herself think about what she was doing as she slid the shirt over her head. She didn’t let herself wonder about whether Ryker would be upset she was wearing his things. She couldn’t because she was afraid if she overthought it, she’d take off the shirt.
Right now, she couldn’t imagine anything worse than that.
Content with how the garment fell to mid-thigh, Brynleigh grabbed a pillow and a blanket from the foot of the bed. She was about to leave when she remembered Ryker’s instructions.
“Left nightstand,” she murmured.
The drawer was unlocked and slid open easily.
Brynleigh’s eyes widened and she inhaled sharply. Resting on top of several books was a folded-up photo, her phone, and a charger.
Tears rushed to her eyes as she swept all three items into her arms. She forgot about her exhaustion entirely as she hurried to the living room.
Dropping the pillow and blanket on the pull-out couch, Brynleigh plugged in her phone and waited for it to boot up. She sat, holding her breath as she gently unfolded the picture. Running her finger down the creases, she lay it flat on her lap.
A shuddering sob ripped through Brynleigh. The picturehad been in her clutch with her phone on their wedding night, so it shouldn’t have surprised her to see them together, but it did. She’d assumed the picture had been lost, but she was wrong.
Even when he hated her, Ryker had been looking out for her.
“Hey, Sarai, I miss you.” Brynleigh traced her sister’s infectious, beautiful smile with all the care in the world. “I wish you were here. I think… I think you’d like Ryker. I know you’d like his sister.”
They would have gotten along so well.
Brynleigh lost track of time as she stared at the picture. She recommitted her sister’s face to memory, soaking it in until her phone started vibrating uncontrollably next to her.
Messages were undoubtedly flooding in, but she wasn’t ready to read them. She was fairly certain they would be negative. After all, she’d missed Hallie’s wedding. Brynleigh didn’t have many friends, but she was confident that friends didn’t miss their friends’ weddings.