Page 27 of Locked Down

Ryker didn’t bother responding because Archer had hung up. He let out a long breath as he parked his Porsche. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to figure out what the hell Davis was up to. The man was keeping him on the periphery of things. Yes, Ryker ran the senator’s security but he wasn’t allowed to sit in the office while Davis made calls. Nor did Davis talk freely in front of him.”

What he needed, he decided as he took off his clothes and stepped into his shower, was to bug the office and the house.“Shit,”he mumbled. It wasn’t going to happen. Too many variables. He couldn’t be positive it would always be him who swept for bugs. If it was one of his guys then they’d find the bugs and there was a chance they would report it to Davis before he could stop them. Too risky.

What he needed was dirt on Armstrong so the man would flip on his boss. Even that was a risk. What if Armstrong was a true believer? Then nothing would make him flip on his boss and he’d tell Davis what Ryker had tried. Not a great option either. He made a mental note to get Flynn run a deeper dive on Armstrong, maybe even follow him discreetly and see if that gleaned anything interesting.

He got out of the shower and toweled himself off. He could ask Vic, but he was pretty sure she wasn’t in the loop. She seemed afraid of Davis and he didn’t seem to want her in his inner circle for some reason. He kept her at arm’s length. That whole relationship was odd and would require more extensive research. He remembered the feel of Vic’s soft curves against his hard body. Yeah, that was the kind of research he wanted to do.

Off limits,he reminded himself as he walked into his bedroom and crawled into bed. A few hours of shut-eye might help him come up with a plan. He tried to relax his body, but his head kept spinning. Even his Ranger training of deep breathing to settle himself was useless.

He flipped onto his side and squeezed his eyes shut. Whiklow was a serious monster. Not in the same way as the monsters Ryker usually dealt with. Whiklow was a power monster. He ruled or controlled whole industries and his decisions affected the economy of many different countries throughout the world, including the US. Whiklow and Archer had always walked carefully around each other as far as Ryker knew. He’d seen them in the same room exactly once and it was like watching two alpha wolves circling one another.

He renewed his effort with a couple deep breathing exercises to try to shut down his brain. He needed sleep so he could be sharp. He was going to have to create a window of opportunity for himself. All he needed was a moment where he could search Davis’s bathroom for the burner phone. That would maybe give him somewhere to start.

And where did the shooter come from? Who wanted Davis dead? The‘attempts’they created were made to drive Davis into asking for help. The fact that his niece was so incredibly desirable was a…complication Ryker didn’t need.

He didn’t want Vic anywhere near any of this. He didn’t want to stop and think about how her almost getting shot had made his knees wobbly, or how it almost killed him to not go directly to her. And he definitely didn’t want to think about why he had Tony drive her home today instead doing it himself. Not that he wanted any man around her besides him.

His dominant fear was that if he’d driven her home today, he wouldn’t leave and that would be a stupid, reckless thing to do. Didn’t matter how vulnerable and sad she looked. He needed to keep his distance, stay aloof. But man, he wanted to hold her and tell her he would make sure she was okay. He wanted to keep her safe and secure. No safer place than his bed. Safe from the outside world but not even close to being safe from him. But he wasn’t safe from her either. Nope, he was in mortal danger of taking her to bed and sleeping with the enemy was always a bad idea.

THIRTEEN

Vic sat on the sofa and sipped from a mug of tea. It wasn't bright and early, and she wasn't at her uncle's. It was Sunday. A day of rest, and she was determined to take it off. She'd silenced her phone last night and slept through all the early morning calls. Her uncle had started calling her ateight-oh-fivea.m. Five minutes. That's all the grace he'd given her. When she woke up just after eleven, she found she'd missed some fifteen calls. She'd taken a shower andwas starting to getdressed when she realized she didn't want to go to her uncle's. Likereallydidn't want to go.Now,it was almost noon, and she sat in her apartment with the TV on but notreallywatching anything.

She shouldcallher uncle andapologize, but she was…terrified. There, she admitted it. If he yelled at her today, as she suspected he would since the day ended in Y, she'd burst into tears. She felt fragile, and she hated the feeling. Biting into her bagel, she realized shewas going tohave to call her uncle sooner rather than later. He would yell and scream at herandthen she'd have to walk on eggshells for days.Actually,she was shocked that he hadn't sent Floyd or someone over to pull her out of bed. There must have been someone there who he was worried about how it would look or something.

Thatwas horrible. It wouldn't killherto be kinder inherthoughts towardheruncle. He'd rescued her when she'd needed him as a teen.Living with him hadn't been ideal but she'd been a hell of a lot better off thanwhatshe'd experienced living in her parents' commune.Then again, she did get shotatFriday night, so maybe one day off wasn't out of the question. She took another bite of her bagel.

Once she finished it, she would call and beg forgiveness.

A knock sounded at her door. She jumped and stared at it. Should she answer it?

"Vic?"Ryker's voice came through the door at her.

Shit. Shewas dressedin a pair of sweats and a t-shirt with her hair hanging down her back and not a stitch of makeup on.Thisought to frighten him off. And that was what she wanted. She'd decided that yesterday when Tony took her home instead of Ryker. It was better to keep her distance from the sexy man. She didn't need any distractions. She had less than three weeks left. Nineteen days, to be exact. Making it through those nineteen days had to be her focus. Tall, gorgeous men needed tobe ignored.

"Vic, I know you're in there. Answer the door."

Or not.Ryker needed tobe ignoredor she mightdosomething stupid like kiss him again.

"Either answer the door, or I will bust it down. Your choice."

He wouldn't dare.Would he?She stared at the door.He would. She knew it on a fundamental level. Ryker Sterling did what he wanted when he wanted.

"Shit,"she murmured as she got up and went to the door. She opened it slowly and stared up into those stunning blue eyes. They were the color of a stormy sea. She moved out of the way as Ryker came through the door and then closed it after him.

He turned and gave her an assessing gaze."Are you okay?"

She sighed."Yeah, I put my phone on silent and slept late. Then I just…couldn't face my uncle's ire until I had a shower andsomebreakfast."

Ryker's eyes narrowed."I see. He wants to see you. I had a hell of a time stopping him from sending Armstrong over to pull you out of bed."

As she'd thought."I'm sure,"Vic said as she rolled her eyes. She let out a loud sigh."I just want a fucking day off. Is that too much to ask?"she demandedhandson hips."I meanIgot shot at Friday nightandthen I had to be part of a dog and pony show at brunch yesterday.Can't I just have one whole damn day to myself?"

Ryker stood with his arms across his chest, assessing her with his steely gaze. He wore jeans today with a light blue button-down that matched his eyes. He was hot as hell, a fact that just pissed her off more. She wanted to scream. To throw things and jump up and down and yell at the top of her lungs, just like a fucking toddler.

More, she wanted tobe finished. Out of Washington. Away from the scary big bad wolf she knew her uncle to be.

And she wanted to get a fucking life. Her own life. Not be run by someone else's ideas and plans for her.

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