Rylan's Heart by Serena Simpson Page A

everything.” He stood, “Remember, Aviana, everything is a choice.” He showed himself out the office.
    Curling a piece of hair around her finger, she pulled on it feeling the sting on her scalp. She needed to prove to herself she was alive.
    Pulling out her pile of paperwork she buried herself in it. Three hours passed and she was almost done. Her bosses would be thrilled at her progress. If only she were.
    She squirmed in her chair wanting more. That didn’t make any sense, this was her dream job. How could she want anything else? She walked to the window. Looking down, she saw that same little girl. Her arms ached to hold her. Moving her head to the right, she saw her wild eyed hero. She wanted to hold him too while doing other sweaty things with him.
    “No!” she said aloud, “this was the life I dreamed of. I won’t give it up.”
    Moving to sit in the chair, she instead walked around the desk heading for the door to her office. I’m just going to get coffee she reassured herself.
    She gave a friendly wave to her secretary and all the employees. Soon she was in the elevator pushing the down button. She bypassed the floor with the coffee and got out when she hit ground level.
    Where was she going? She had no idea, all she knew was that being cooped up in an office all day was no longer the life she wanted. There had to be something else.
    The buildings towering above her looked like they might crash down on her head at any moment. She began to work her way to the edge of the city looking for a compromise. It needed to be something that felt right.
    Turning the corner, she bit her tongue to keep herself from screaming out in surprise. Voyager was leaning against the wall, his legs were crossed and his arms were casually to his side.
    “You scared me.”
    “I do not think you scare easily.”
    “Are you following me?” She pushed her chin up and looked at him with defiant eyes.
    “Yes.”
    His answer made her shoulders sag a little.
    “Can you tell me where I am? I feel like I’ve lost something.”
    “Today everything costs something, Aviana.” He pushed off the wall with a lazy shrug and started moving.
    “Where are you going?”
    “Several people are coming this way. I think they are after you. Remember, Aviana, you are the only one who can help him.”
    He disappeared behind a building while she stared at him. If Voyager thought she was staying here, he was crazy. She ran after him stopping at the wall of muscle she saw in front of her. There were five of them—tall and muscular with glyphs covering their arms like tattoos. She turned and ran.
    Her breath caught in her throat as her heart hammered hard. If they caught her she was doomed. She didn’t know what they had in mind, but it couldn’t be nice. A muscle in the back of her leg cramped. Turning her head, she looked back only to stumble. The look in their eyes promised she would suffer. A tiny sound of distress came out of her mouth as she tried to run faster.
    They grabbed her and yanked her down to the ground. One of them tied her up and threw her over his shoulder. Her stomach rumbled; at least it was empty so she wouldn’t throw up and have to lie in it.
     
    *~*~*~*
     
    “Where is she?” Rylan was pacing up and down in front of the building Aviana was supposed to be working in.
    He went inside to look for her to be told she left over an hour ago.
    “Why are you asking me? You are the one who is supposed to be taking care of her. Looks like you are doing a good job.”
    Rylan eyes closed to slits as he looked at Voyager. He wanted to take him apart. The male had done nothing but belittle him and tell him he needed to be better if he wanted to keep Aviana safe. If only he could get close enough to strangle him.
    He wasn’t really mad at Voyager. No, he was upset because he knew what the male was saying was correct. He spent years nursing his anger, encasing himself in hardness that he thought would never crack. Then Aviana came along