Chapter 172: Getting a Handle

I spent most of the day with my nose buried in a book, trying to lose myself in the pages and escape the persistent thoughts swirling in my mind.

Ryder had gone to do some work in his studio. It kind of felt like he was keeping himself busy as a way of avoiding me. Maybe that's not the right way to phrase it... More like he was trying to give me space and was keeping himself busy in his studio as a means of distraction.

I figured it was probably for the best. Things were better between us. We were civil with one another. But sometimes when I looked at him, Bailey's laugh rang through my head. It was my painful reminder that I couldn't trust him... I couldn't forgive him and pretend it never happened. We could coexist, but I couldn't see it going much further than that.

Despite my efforts to focus on the story in front of me, my mind kept drifting back to the vision from the day before. Who was the man Ryder had seen? Was he the one keeping me there, or maybe he was my rescuer? If I co