"Ah, a name to match with the baby-doll face. Good evening, sugar. You didn't forget about lil' ole me, now did you?" The man from the other night breathed huskily into the phone. Keats shuddered and wished she had told someone- anyone about the strange visits from Maria's client.
"What do you want?" Keats asked bravely into the receiver.
"I was promised a redhead. Should I come over now?" He asked politely. Keats ended the call and immediately dialed Ryan's number on impulse. When she heard it ringing, she hung up angrily, reminding herself that he was the enemy. Her phone rang as soon as she hung up and she answered after much hesitation.
"Leave me alone!" Keats cried.
"Keats? What's going on with you?" Ryan asked with a mixture of concern and weariness.
"Can you come over?" Keats asked without thinking. She bit her lip in frustration.
"Why?" Ryan seemed surprised that she had the nerve to ask.
"Uh…never mind…" She recovered, not wanting to explain. Ryan sighed, apparently annoyed.
"How do I get to your place?" He said.
She peeped through the keyhole to make sure it was Ryan before she opened the door.
"Normally I don't make house calls, Keats." He quipped as she closed and bolted the door behind him. Her cell phone rang and she gave Ryan a nervous glance.
"Put it on speaker." He instructed. She flipped it open and pressed the speakerphone button.
"Why did you ignore my calls, baby doll? I'll get what I want eventually." The man laughed hoarsely.
"Tell him to come over." Ryan mouthed to Keats. Keats nodded.
"Well then why don't you come over now?" Keats offered.
"How do you know I haven't been here the whole time?" He gave another laugh, more chilling than the previous one. Ryan whipped out his gun and stood in front of Keats, surveying the area.
"Tell your boyfriend not to let you out of his sight. The second he leaves you alone, I'm coming for you." The voice gave one last laugh, the very sound of it sending chills down their spines. He hung up and Keats sat down on her sofa, feeling mortified. Ryan put his weapon back in his belt and sat down beside her. He seemed incredibly irate, too irate to even speak. His elbows rested on his knees and he finally glanced at Keats.
"Why didn't you tell me about that guy this morning? He was the one that tried to strangle you, right? Do you have any idea what kind of danger you're in?" He stopped, breathing heavily as though he was suppressing the urge to shout. His hands gripped her shoulders but instead of shaking her, he held her close to him.
"Ryan, I'm fine. I didn't want to worry anybody." Keats explained.
"I was worried anyway not knowing what was wrong." He mumbled into her hair. Please don't confuse me, Ryan.
"So how's Valera?" Keats asked, shrugging out of his embrace. She stood and began to look out her window.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked. Keats wished she'd kept her big mouth shut.
"Jealous much?" He said at length when she had remained silent. Keats balled her hands into tight fists and tried to pound his hard chest. He gave a half-smile and held onto her wrists. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a fairly quick kiss in an effort to calm her. Instead she squealed in anger.
"You kissed me, you jerk! And I hate myself because I really liked it." She finished with vexation. Ryan cupped her face in his hands.
"Forget what you've heard at the Lab, dummy." He said as he planted a long, slow kiss on her partially open lips.
"Please don't seduce me. I don't think I could say no." Keats whispered into his cheek. Ryan looked into her eyes and gave a slight laugh.
"So you don't have a thing for Cooper…nice to know. For awhile there I thought I had some competition." Ryan kissed her again, hungry for something Keats was afraid to name. Keats broke away from him.
"If you keep kissing me like that something might happen." She warned.
"I agree. But first things first…do you still plan to go out with Cooper?"
"Sure. As a friend. But even if I did go out on a date with him it shouldn't matter to you." She replied. Ryan went straight to her neck and began teasing her with kisses.
"Stop, Ryan." Keats moaned breathlessly. Ryan moved to her collarbone, pulling back her shirt and leaving more butterfly kisses.
"Tell me you won't see Cooper." Ryan said into her shoulder. Keats gave a tiny laugh.
"Jealous, much?" She asked him. Ryan's lips tightened.
"I'm taking the couch, so get some sleep." He said grimly, giving her one last kiss. His tongue grazed her bottom lip, and she felt dizzy as she stood to go to her bedroom. She threw a pillow and cover at Ryan and went into her room, collapsing on her bed.
But no sooner had she relaxed when a gloved hand clamped over her mouth. Keats struggled and tried to make loud enough sounds to alert Ryan. When a stabbing pain assaulted her hip and her senses grew dull, she knew that she had been injected with a tranquilizer.