Jared practically jogged from his car to the hotel lobby. The day had been more than he’d expected. The job more than he dared dream of. Everything about his new post intrigued him, especially not having to wear a uniform all the time. So why was he running to the woman he wanted to leave behind?
Stepping around the corner toward his suite, his pace slowed, but his heart raced.
Maybe she’d move.
Abruptly, he stopped. The person behind him almost knocked him over. “Sorry,” he muttered, then started walking again. Why would he even think that? He glanced around the beautiful hotel figuring they had event coordinators in a place like this.
“Oh, for the love of God.” He tossed his hands wide and glanced toward the ceiling. How could one woman flip his world upside down and toss him to space?
He’d given up this job once because he couldn’t leave her. She’d been too young and vulnerable. She was still vulnerable.
But that would soon change. They were close to putting an end to this case once and for all. And Ryan could move forward with her life. She’d proven time and again that she’d end up on top. And she sure as heck didn’t need him.
He shoved the plastic key into the door; a green light flashed, letting him in. Part of him knew he’d had no choice but to bring her along. It was for her safety. But deep down, even if she hadn’t needed the protection his badge offered, he wanted her by his side. That thought alone scared the crap out of him.
And there she was sprawled out on the sofa, book at her chest, eyes closed. Contentment seemed to shine from her face. It was as if she was smiling to herself. And she should. She had the whole world at the tips of her fingers.
He slipped into the chair across from the couch watching her chest move up and down in a slow, rhythmic dance. Her head tilted, then her eyes fluttered while her body stretched, sending the book to the floor.
She jumped to a sitting position the moment she saw him. “Damn it.” With her hand plastered across her chest, she took in a long, slow breath. “How long have you been there?”
“Five minutes, tops.”
“I didn’t hear you come in.” Her fingers threaded through her hair, then she tucked it behind her ears.
“Did you color your hair?” he heard himself ask.
“I did what they call lowlights. I’m surprised you noticed.”
“Me, too,” he said under his breath. “I think we had a break in the case.”
“My case?”
He shifted in his seat. The finality of this part of his life hit him between the eyes like the last page of a novel where the author filled in all the blanks giving you the happy ending you wanted. But he wasn’t happy. “It seems that Rudy Martin has had some contact with George, and Rudy’s car was seen in Lake George last night.”
“You’re still skeptical.”
“It’s my job to question. Look for the loopholes.”
“Do you remember the day of George’s sentencing?”
Jared stretched out his legs and kicked off his shoes. He’d never forget that day. “He threatened me.” Jared knew the man had meant it. George had never liked Jared, and made a concerted effort to make Jared’s life miserable.
“Actually, he said he’d kill you, after he took care of me.”
The hair on the back of Jared’s neck stood at attention. A memory of Ryan’s torn shirt, breast exposed, with George groping at her, flashed in his mind. “Rudy doesn’t have any motive for carrying out George’s plan. They weren’t all that close on the inside, but he makes the most sense.”
Ryan rose, stretching like a feline, then slipped between him and the coffee table. “Are you thinking out loud?”
“Something like that.” With a gaping jaw, he let his eyes roam her body. The perfection of her curves, the softness of her silky skin, and wild tigress that lived beneath the surface still amazed him. She was all woman, and then some.
“Drink?” She bent down to open the fridge and glanced over her shoulder, her rear end sticking out. “Jared?”
“What?”
“You’re staring.”
“You’re wiggling it in front of me.”
She shook her hips, laughed, then pulled out two sodas. “Keep thinking.”
“I can’t with this distraction.” He reached out, letting his hand linger on her rounded backside.
The soda fizzed when she cracked open the top and handed it to him. “Come on. George is behind bars.”
He lowered his brow. “Doesn’t mean Rudy’s not dangerous.”
“Didn’t say that.” The pink flesh of her lips curved around the soda can as she took a sip. She licked her lips, then said, “Anyone who’d befriend George would worry me. However, I’m honestly interested in how you think.”
“I’m a Neanderthal. I can’t think, remember?”
Her smile illuminated the room. “I’m serious. This is interesting, the way you approach a case. I want to hear the rest, and not just because it involves me.” She scurried back to the couch and got herself comfortable while he squirmed. “What you do, how you do it, intrigues me.”
A sense of connectedness washed over him, humbling him. No one, other than his parents, had ever really been interested in what he did. How he thought. Oh, people wanted the stories. Everyone always asked him if he’d shot anyone. Or how many times a day did he have to draw his weapon? The world wanted to know the gruesome details of being a cop. But no really cared what he thought, or what his work meant to him.
No one had ever seemed genuinely interested in what he actually did on a day-to-day basis. Just the gory details that made his job appear like a Hollywood movie. Her simple interest in his day meant he had someone to share it with. A thought that both bothered and comforted him.
“Suspect number one would be George and Rudy. Right now Nick is focusing his attention on them, but with that said, ruling out the other possible suspects is just as important. You can never be too careful.” His pulse increased with every word. Never in a million years had he ever expected to feel the importance of sharing his world with someone else.
He sipped his soda, trying to swallow his thoughts. His father always told him that change could be hard, even when you wanted it.
“Who’s second on your list?”
“Tom.”
Shock registered in her eyes. “I would put him at the bottom.”
“That’s why he’s number two. He’s not obvious, which makes him obvious, if that makes any sense. He does have access to your office, so planting that rat is plausible. Besides, you did turn him down, and men can get real mean when their egos are bruised.”
“He’s harmless.”
“Not necessarily. You’d be surprised what people can do when they feel scorned.”
“So, that makes him more suspicious to you?” The inquisitive look she gave him warmed his heart. And made him nervous as hell.
“There are too many unknowns with him.”
“What do you mean by ‘unknowns?’ I mean, you know he’s got some kind of record. You know that he doesn’t take no for an answer.”
Jared coughed, covering up a laugh. “You don’t really say
no
too well. And even if you did say it flat out, it was probably done in a very ‘nice’ manner. He might feel like you led him on, and you owed him. Might be as simple as he snapped or something more sinister, some deep-seated sexual issue, like being molested as a kid or something. We just don’t know his history, and that makes him dangerous.”
“Lots of things about him you don’t know.” She nodded, like she really understood. “He never talked about his family or anything. On our date I tried to get him to open up, but it seemed like he didn’t want to share anything about himself, only wanted to know about me.”
Jared could see the wheels turning inside her mind. He enjoyed sharing his thoughts with her, but it was an unfamiliar sensation. One he shouldn’t get used to. For the year he’d lived with Lisa, she never once asked him about his job, just when he planned on quitting and going into politics like his father. “It’s important to dig up as much as possible on Tom so we can understand his frame of mind. The more people you can rule out, the closer you get to the real culprit, before he strikes again.”
“Who’s next?” She shifted in her seat, excitement sparkling in her beautiful eyes.
“It’s a tie between Lisa and Eddy.”
“Can I give it a try?” She bit down on her lower lip. She had no idea how sexy she looked when she did that.
“Go ahead.” He smiled, unable to keep her at bay or his enjoyment from just being with her. They were friends, so this was normal, right?
“First, Eddy likes women’s underwear. Mine went missing. I also made a minor snafu with his name while—”
“That’s not a minor thing. Crimes of passion happen all the time.” Not to mention how every time he thought of the weasel touching Ryan it made his teeth grind. Freaking pervert. How she could ever have liked that idiot was beyond Jared. “Jealousy makes people do some crazy things.” But Jared wasn’t jealous. No reason to be. Just concerned.
Right
.
“Eddy could be mad because I thought he was weird, I mean the underwear thing. I might have made fun of him.”
“That could cause him to snap, but he doesn’t really fit the profile, because he’s more concerned about seeing women in their underwear and not with the act of sex. Wanting to kill me because I touched you really doesn’t fit his profile, but it sure as shit fits Tom’s. You turned him down, but not me. He’s probably pretty pissed about that.”
“I suppose. If he knows I didn’t turn you down, which we don’t know for sure.”
“True enough, but he owns a camera and seems to know how to use it.”
“I won’t argue that. I can see why you love your job. It’s fun.” She tucked her feet under her bottom and stretched out her arms.
He undid the top button of his shirt. It bothered him that this situation felt like it should be a part of his daily life. “Dealing with whack jobs, it’s hard work. And if I screw it up, someone could die. Not something I want to happen, especially when my friends are involved.”
A slow smile spread across her flawless face. “I think you’re very good at what you do. Now, on with Lisa. I don’t like her much.”
“The feeling’s mutual, babe.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“It’s just an expression.” He tossed his hands wide and laughed. “Never going to change, babe. Now let’s hear your theory on Lisa.”
“Okay, babe.” She winked, a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.
“Funny.” He laughed.
“This is based on my observations and what you told me.”
“That’s good police work.”
She smiled at his remark, then adjusted her hair. “For some reason she thought I was a threat to her, and she planned on getting rid of me. When that didn’t work, she tried to force you into realizing you couldn’t live without her, but then Johnny…Johnny died.” A sudden rush of sadness filled her eyes. “I loved him, you know.”
Jared nodded. “That was obvious. You were very good with him.”
“I didn’t think you ever noticed.”
“I was jealous,” he admitted. “I didn’t know how to connect with him, you did. He smiled at you.” For the first time in years, he saw Johnny alive, in her arms, being loved.
“Lisa didn’t make it easy for you.”
“Our marriage was a mistake; Johnny wasn’t,” Jared whispered.
Ryan nodded, then took a sip of her soda. “To Lisa, I stood in the way of her happiness. It was easy for her to place all the blame on me. And from what I can gather, she still holds a grudge.”
“No lie, she’s definitely up there with Tom.” Tired of fighting his desire to be closer to Ryan, he moved to the sofa. He slipped his hand through her silky hair and across the back of her neck. “There’s more about her life I can’t share with you, but just know she’s a scorned woman.”
“She feels wronged by us.” Ryan sighed, then shifted her weight, resting her head on Jared’s shoulder. “George feels wronged by the world.”
“Still like my job?” He wrapped his arms around her firm body and lifted her into his lap.
“Is it hard to be so cynical about people all the time?”
He opened his mouth to give his standard cop response, that in the right set of circumstances, any person could be capable of committing some of the most outrageous crimes. But when his eyes locked with hers, for the first time in his career, he questioned his own reasoning.
The woman looking back at him was pure and honest as the winter snow was white. For the first time, he questioned his goals and what he really wanted out of life. He wasn’t supposed to be able to love.
“Sometimes,” he said. “But the citizens of this fine state need me to be cynical.”
“I guess someone’s got to do it. I’m glad it’s you.” She cupped his face, fanning her thumbs across his cheeks. “When does your new job actually start?”
“They’d take me tomorrow.”
“I don’t want you to stay behind because of my case. While I know you’re probably one of the best cops around, Nick seems pretty good.”
“Nick’s the best.” He kept his look serious. “No offense, but no matter what, I plan on being here by the end of next week. I’ve even got a place to crash until I can find a house.”