Chapter 166: Talk
Ryan’s POV
After the call with the PI, Ryan had been disappointed. But he had held on to the hope that some of the criminal elements that he had reached out to would come up with information on Bryce.
After all if the man were trying to leave the country through less than legal methods, they were likely to be the ones that he went to. So while waiting to hear from them, Ryan had met up with the PI and had gone over all of the information that the PI had on the man. He’d headed home when he’d been unable to find anything useful.
Once there, he had dedicated several hours of that day to just being in Vivian’s company and absorbing all of the positive emotions that his lady naturally gave out.
Unsurprisingly, the time with her had also led to some awesome sex, ( he’d taken her on the living room floor, literally bouncing on that gorgeous butt of hers as he’d thrust into her from behind...good times).
Taking his mind off of the issue by focusing on Vivian should have calmed Ryan to the point that when more of his people started getting back to him nothing should have been able to phase him.
Unfortunately though, all of the calmness that he’d felt was completely gone now.
It was almost midnight, next to him on the bed, Vivian was fast asleep. She was even snoring lightly, a clear sign that she was having a good rest. But Ryan could not feel any of that peace.
Every single call that he had gotten had been his people telling him that they could not find Bryce, and the one that he was currently on was also no different.
"What do you mean he left everything behind?" Ryan growled, the person on the other end cleared her throat.
"I broke into his apartment. He did not show signs of somebody who was planning to make a run for it. His second phone was still there. His car keys as well as his wallet with credit cards still firmly inside. Wherever he went he left behind all things necessary to live in the modern world,"
Growling in annoyance, Ryan instantly stilled when Vivian began to stir, only daring to breathe again once she settled back down.
This was not good, the longer he stayed in bed the higher chances of him waking her up. Throwing off the covers, he grabbed a robe and tied it around his naked form.
"Ryan?" The sound of Vivian’s voice had him pausing in his tracks.
"Yes, sweetheart?" He answered softly, pretending like he was not two seconds from panicking.
"Where are you going?" She asked, her voice thick with sleep.
"To the bathroom, go back to sleep, I’ll be back in bed before you know it," There was no answer, but Vivian’s light snores picked up again.
He breathed a sigh of relief, she had never even realized that he was nowhere near the bathroom door.
Opening the main door, Ryan made his way out of the bedroom and headed to his study.
Once there only then did he fully unleash, no longer bothering to keep his tone low, or hide his frustrations. Call after call came and every single one of them disappointed him until he couldn’t take it anymore.
"Listen to me, get word out that I no longer want any of you to call me, unless you have information that I want. Bring me that scumbag or stay out of my way," Disconnecting the call with his latest failed informant, Ryan tossed his phone on the desk and spun his chair around.
"You seem rather angry, anything I can help with?" The new voice nearly had Ryan falling out of his chair. Turning back to face the desk, he found Vivian, leaning against the door frame, an unimpressed look on her face.
Great, now Vivian was upset with him, just what he needed.
***
It was so tempting for Ryan to tell Vivian to go back to bed. For him to just tell her that it was just a business matter that he was dealing with. But he knew that that would be the wrong move. As difficult as it was, he had to tell her the truth, this was something that involved her after all. So getting to his feet, Ryan made his way over to Vivian and settled his hands over his shoulders before pulling her into a hug.
The contact did wonders to calm him, and when he stepped back, he wasted no time telling her exactly what he had been doing.
"I know that you do not want me going after him on my own. But I can’t just sit back and let the police do their thing. With cases like this, they move even slower than usual. I promise you that after my people find him. I will hand him over to the police...after I introduce him to my fists," With his entire plan now out in the open, Ryan felt much better. He had not liked withholding information from her, now he just had to deal with her reaction.
Instead of getting angry like he had expected her to Vivian just shrugged in a resigned manner.
"I got the feeling that you were planning to do that, even when I was hanging out with Amy earlier today, a part of me was worried that I would get a call from you saying that you needed me to come and bail you out,"
Ryan blinked, "You don’t sound very mad,"
Vivian shrugged. "If I pretended to actually care about Bryce’s well-being, I would be a liar. I do not care what happens to that man. To be honest, even if he were dead, it would mean nothing to me. The only reason I stepped in earlier was because I do not want you to get yourself caught up in murder. But Bryce really is in need of a good beating. If you do manage to get your hands on him though, don’t exclude me. I feel that it would give me closure to see that man, reduced to the sniveling worm that he actually is on the inside,"
Goodness, he really loved her.
Unable to help himself, he pulled Vivian into another hug. Then he began guiding her towards the bedroom. His heart much lighter now that he was no longer lying to her and she had given him her blessing to keep searching for Bryce, and to rough him up a little bit once he was caught.
***
Normally sex would have definitely been on the cards. But instead of doing that, the two of them were just cuddling, with Ryan running his hand up and down Vivian’s body, her cheek against his chest.
"Did he ever hit you?" The question was a sensitive one and it was something that had been bugging Ryan for quite some time. Especially after Vivian had admitted that the words used to describe her in Bryce’s online posts were tame compared to some of the things he’d called her. Holding his breath, he waited for her to answer. To his relief, Vivian’s reply was negative.
"No," She said simply. Then she went quiet, her body going stiff against his and Ryan felt a stabbing pain go through his heart.
"You can tell me if he did, you know that right, I will not think any less of you because of something that that man did," Vivian let out a breath, her body relaxing once more.
"He never hit me, but he always made a lot of jokes about that. And sometimes he would hug me, way too tight and not let go even if I wanted him to. Or he would ask to hold my hand and squeeze just until it was almost painful. Then he would laugh when I told him that I was getting uncomfortable. Those types of little things," Ryan practiced his breathing exercises, holding his Vivian a bit closer.
"I am glad you made it out," He finally managed his voice gruff. Vivian, her hand against his heart, nuzzled her nose against his chest.
"Me too,"
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