His Secretive Lover (The Thorpe Brothers) (14 page)

Several pairs of stunned eyes were looking back at her. 
“And you would be willing to testify to this?” the officer asked.

Cricket looked around, her green eyes trying to figure out why everyone was tense
, as if her next words were of miraculous import.  “Of course.  Why?  Has someone bankrupted his charity or something?  They’re very passionate about saving the whales off the coast of Greenland.”  Cricket had thought they were a bit too passionate but she’d taken their information, agreeing to pass it along to Jason. 

Ash watched with
increasing relief as Ash’s eyes started to clear, a grin beginning to form on his features.  “Cricket, this man was murdered recently,” Ryker was explaining calmly. 

She
was surprised for a moment, but then laughed and shook her head.  “No.  He isn’t dead.  He was giving me a pitch to help him fund the next ship they are trying to acquire.”

Cricket watched in amazement as the mood of the entire area changed.  The tension was immediately gone and the
pretty woman who had been standing behind the giant was almost bouncing in excitement.  Cricket wasn’t sure why, but she suspected that the police had been about to arrest her. 

“You’re the hero of the hour,” Ryker said to her ear and led her out of the area after shaking his brother’s h
and.  “Go for it,” she heard him say to his brother, Ash, and then Ryker was nudging her out of the room.  She peered back and saw the elation on everyone’s face and knew she must have given them some incredible information.

“What’s going on?” she asked when they were in the
hallway.

“
The woman behind my brother had been arrested for murdering her ex-fiancé.  The supposed victim was the same man in the picture, the one who you met with yesterday over lunch.  Which means that he wasn’t murdered and he is alive and well, pulling another scam.  So you not only saved the woman – whom I suspect is very important to my brother based on his activities recently – you also potentially saved several, possibly many, people from being scammed by the man in the picture.  Hopefully, the police are going to turn their investigation away from murder to fraud.”

Cricket’s face was beaming with excitement.  “That’s incredible!
  Wow!  I’m glad I was walking by at the right time,” she added. 

“Me too,” Ryker replied, taking her into his arms, uncaring of the rest of the world as he bent down to kiss her in his very own lobby. 

“I’ll see you tonight,” he said when he lifted his head.  “And we’re going to talk.  You’re going to tell me everything and we’re going to get all of it straightened out.”

She stepped out of his arms and
tried to hide the worry.  “Until tonight,” she replied with a nervous nod. She might have mentally agreed to give him the information, but that still made her anxious.  She’d never revealed any of her family history to anyone so this was a huge step for her. 

She was in the hallway waiting for the elevator when the beautiful brunette appeared through the doors accompanied by a
nother taller, stunning brunette.  Both women were gorgeous but in different ways.  The shorter one seemed friendlier but the taller one was willowy, like one of those top fashion models, but not that tall.  And she didn’t look mean.  Nor did she look like she starved herself.  She had a softness to her that was much more attractive than the anorexic skeletons that strolled down the runways with zero body fat and missing wisdom teeth so their cheekbones looked more pronounced. 

She pressed the elevator button more harshly than was needed
since she felt pale and washed out next to these two stunning women.  Where was a plant to hide behind when one needed it? 

“You’re the woman who just helped me stay out of jail,” the shorter woman said with a huge grin on her lovely face.  “Are you okay?”

Cricket’s thumb once again touched the ring on her finger, needing to feel it to make sure it was real.  That he’d really given her such a significant symbol of the way he felt about her.  He would most likely want it back by the time she finished dinner with him, but it was hers for now and she wasn’t going to hide it on the chain around her neck. 

“I’m
okay,” she said, wishing things were different and that her life wasn’t so complicated.  “Nothing a good martini can’t fix,” she replied with a self-deprecating smile.  She thought about her father and Ryker, still not sure how to make everything work out for the men in her life that she loved.  “Men are just so confusing!”

“Why don’t you come with us?  I don’t know about the martinis,” she cautioned, “but the margaritas at
Durango’s are perfect for anything that ails you.”

Cricket considered the option.  She didn’t know these two women, but she could definitely use a night on the town with some women her own age.  “I’m not sure I should be around humanity right now,” she came back, thinking about the
enormous issue weighing her down.  Her lover or the father who loved her…what a monumental issue to overcome.

Mia laughed.  “That’s exactly where I am.  I’m Mia Paulson,” she said.  “And we’re heading out to celebrate me not being in jail for the rest of my life.”

The willowy beauty stepped forward at that moment, extending her hand in a warm, friendly greeting.  “I’m Autumn.  I work as the office manager at The Thorpe Group so I really know how frustrating those men can be!”

Cricket smiled back, taking Mia’s hand in hers and shaking it with more confidence than she felt.  It had been a long time since she’d had friends her own age. 
She remembered Jason’s furious rantings about his newly wrapped office and decided to take the afternoon off.  She already had her resignation letter typed up, so why not? “That sounds like a perfect start to the weekend.  I think I’ll join you after all.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were sett
led at one of the back tables of the local hangout, a pitcher of margaritas in front of them with three glasses, already filled.  “To avoiding jail time and men!” Autumn said. 

“Wait!” Autumn called out mid-toast.  A moment later, Autumn jumped up and walked to another table where a woman was sitting all alone, looking like her martini might be the enemy.  She had curly, bohemian hair that she tried to contain, but Cricket suspected that it didn’t always cooperate.  When
Autumn and the new woman walked back to their table, Autumn immediately introduced her.  “This is Kiera and she’s one of the newest team members at The Thorpe Group.”

Mia was almost dancing in her chair, so excited to meet the new woman to the group. 
“She’s the one who found the information about Jeff’s current fiancée buying the new BMW,” she explained to Cricket with a huge grin.  “If it weren’t for the two of you, I would be in jail right now being charged with embezzlement as well as murder.”

When all four of them were sitting down once again, Kiera with a full margarita as well, they proceeded to drink, eat salty chips and tear up the male population, laughing at their foibles and their challenges. 

Cricket liked Ryker’s office manager instantly.  She might look like a stunning model, but she was much more friendly and down to earth.  And apparently, Autumn had men problems just like the rest of them did. 

Cricket laughed and joined in the conversation
, enjoying herself immensely, feeling a connection with these women that she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.   Josie, Allyson and Debbie were wonderful, but they were at a different stage in their lives than Cricket.  She couldn’t connect with her office friends.  Not the way she felt like she could talk to these three women. 

She actually groaned when she saw Ryker move forward.  When she saw three other men looking almost exactly like him, she glanced down at her margarita glass, wondering if she might have had more to drink than she thought.  She looked back up
to find that Ryker was standing behind her, taking her glass and downing the rest himself. 

“What are you doing?” she asked, irritated that he would steal her drink. 

“I’m saving you from yourself,” he explained with a wink. 

“Why are there so many of you?” she asked, turning to grin up at him
, forgetting for the moment how nervous she was at having to explain her family to him.  Well, and the fact that he was going to run for the hills as soon as he heard.  She was just going to enjoy these last few minutes with him, her fuzzy mind told herself. 

He lifted her out of her chair gently, almost laughing when she sagged against his side.  “There’s only one of me, my love.  The rest are my brothers.”

Her eyes widened.  “Really?  I might have been their sister-in-law!” she sighed, wishing things could end differently. 

“
You are going to be their sister-in-law,” he countered, pulling her out of the bar.  She didn’t see him wave to his brothers but nor were his brothers paying much attention to him either.  He noticed that each of them were coaxing, arguing and teasing their respective women out of their chairs as well.  He and his brothers had been sitting at the bar listening to the four lovely women berate each of them in particular and men in general.  He suspected that Cricket wasn’t drunk, but she was feeling very relaxed.

At the door, he glanced back and realized that each of his brothers looked like they were feeling the exact same way he felt right at the moment.  Possessive.  Interesting, he thought, but he didn’t have time to analyze that at this point.  He wanted Cricket all alone and she was relaxed enough now with the tequila to hopefully tell him all her secrets.  He should be a gentleman and just bring her home so she could sleep it off, but he wanted information.  Once he knew what was wrong, he could more easily protect her.  And he was damn well going to protect his
woman!  She wasn’t going to run away from him either, which is what he suspected she wanted to do. 

Cricket
shivered as the cool, night air hit her.  She was about to complain and pull away from Ryker but before she had a chance, a heavy coat was put around her shoulders.  She looked up and Ryker was walking right next to her, wearing only his shirt because he’d taken off his jacket which was now around her, keeping her warm from his body heat. 

She smiled up at him, automatically moving closer as his arm wrapped around her shoulders.  “Everything turn out okay after we left?” she asked
happily, enjoying the warmth of his coat as well as his arm around her like this.

He chuckled as he thought back to the scene in Durango’s. 
“I think everything is going to be better than all right.  Mia Paulson is probably right now in Ash’s arms,” he came back. He wasn’t sure about Autumn and Xander.  That could be explosive.  But when he thought back to their interaction, they didn’t appear to be at each other’s throats tonight.  Odd, he thought. And Axel was looking strangely confident of Kiera’s status. 

“That’s great,” she replied, sighing with relief that her new friend was out of danger and Ryker’s arms were still around her. 
When they entered the exclusive restaurant, the hostess perked up as soon as she saw Ryker.  “Your table is ready, Mr. Thorpe,” she said and took two menus, leading them through the mostly-filled tables. 

When they were seated, Cricket used her menu to cover her face while she looked around
, feeling more than a little warm.  She probably shouldn’t have had that second margarita, she thought, trying to focus on the menu.  She had no idea what she wanted to eat, having eaten too many salty chips.  But she’d order something, just to satisfy Ryker. 

Suddenly, that crazy
feeling, as if something were very, very wrong came roaring back to life.  She hadn’t felt it at the bar, but she just knew that someone was here, someone trying to watch her.  She looked around as inconspicuously as possible, trying to see if anyone were hiding behind a menu or looking in her direction. 

When she didn’t spy anyone watching her, she relaxed slightly and lowered her menu.  Looking up, she knew she’d been caught once again.  Ryker was watching her, his eyebrows raised in question. 

Darn it!  She definitely shouldn’t have had that last drink!  She carefully put the menu down beside her and took a deep breath, ready to tell him everything. 

But at that moment, the waiter arrived.  “Can I take your order?” he asked with
a bit more force than she expected.

Cricket looked up at the
cryptic waiter, surprise initially in her eyes but they widened in horror when she took in the crazy looking waiter standing beside their table.  “Dad?” she gasped, letting the word slip out before she could stop it.  Yep!  Those were strong margaritas!

Her father’s eyes narrowed and she suspected that his eyebrows would show his anger, if she could actually see his eyebrows.  The man was wearing a wig that was so fuzzy that it covered his ears and his forehead.  He was even wearing a mustache that, if one squinted and looked through several windows, might appear real. 

“You look ridiculous, Dad,” she told him brazenly  She should be nervous and anxious that he was interfering once again, spying on her and driving her nuts.  But she was only angry – and for all of the same reasons.  The man was interfering and wouldn’t leave her alone.  “Take that horrible disguise off and get out of here.  I’m talking to Ryker and I’ll deal with you later.”