Battered Not Broken by Ranae Rose Read Free Book Online

two bites of dinner she’d had. “Are you all right?”
    Melissa nodded. “I’m fine.”
    “Are you sure?” Maria stood too, her dark eyes gleaming with suspicion, as if she wasn’t quite ready to believe that Melissa really had escaped unharmed.
    “What happened?” Even though there wasn’t so much as a scratch visible on Melissa, Ally braced herself for the details.
    “There were two of them. I have no idea who they were. I was only a few blocks from the gym when it happened. They’d just surrounded me when Ryan came around the corner.”
    “Ryan Moore?”
    “Yeah. He left the gym right after me, apparently. He got within striking distance of one of the guys, and I think he broke his nose. They both ran after that. Ryan stayed with me to make sure I was okay and they got away. Then he called the police and we had to answer some questions. It took a little while.”
    Melissa glanced toward the kitchen. “He walked me here when it was over. I was lucky he was around.” Her lips curved thoughtfully and she shuddered ever so slightly, as if a shiver had just gone down her spine.
    “I’ll say you were.” Maria reached out and wrapped Melissa in a shoulder-squeezing hug. “We’ll have to thank him. Is he coming inside?”
    “I don’t think so,” Melissa said. “He said something about going home.”
    Ally’s heart leapt in the direction of the door at the thought of Ryan on the other side of it, making his way down the sidewalk to spend his evening alone at home after saving Melissa from possibilities Ally was trying hard not to think about. “I’ll go see if he’ll come in. I’ll buy him dinner – it’s the least I can do.”
    Melissa shook her head. “Forget about buying him dinner – it’s on the house, if you can get him to come inside. I’ve got to get to work. I’ll tell whoever’s taking care of you that I’ll take over now. See you in a few minutes.”
    Ally started toward the door, her heart maintaining a rushed tempo. Her pulse had sped when she’d heard of Melissa’s near miss, and the mention of Ryan Moore’s role as her rescuer hadn’t done anything to ease it.
    Her heart had fallen somewhere into the cavernous pit of guilt her stomach had become. Ryan would never know that she’d considered that he might harm Melissa, but the knowledge of just how wrong she’d been during those moments of suspicion stung. She owed him. Not just because he’d rescued her friend, but because she’d seriously misjudged him.
    The night was colder than she remembered it being when she and her mother had walked to Annalisa’s. She quickly scanned the sidewalk for any sign of a tall male. Her heart slammed against her ribs when she spotted such a silhouette about two blocks away. Much like earlier that day at the gym, she simply knew it was him.
    She started in his direction at a light jog. “Hey,” she called when she’d halfway caught up to him.
    He turned to face her. Somehow, his eyes were bright despite the fact that the evening light was dull. “Hey.”
    His monosyllabic reply sent a wave of satisfaction through Ally. Tall, fit and graceful body – check.  Blue eyes – check. Voice that set her nerves on edge, in a good way – check. She was definitely approaching Ryan Moore.
    “Melissa told me what happened.” She cut to the chase. “Thank you.” Her words became mist that hung in a cloud in front of her lips, heating the air as the full force of his gaze sent unexplainable warmth shimmering over every inch of her skin. “Why don’t you come inside for dinner?”
    His lips quirked in a half-grin. “Are you asking me on a date?”
    “No.” She threw the word out there like she might have shot out a hand to parry a blow. “It’s not like that. I mean, dinner is on the house – it’s the least anyone can do. You might’ve saved Melissa’s life.” Melissa was tough and might have survived whatever the two strange men had planned for her, but even then she probably