Page 50 of Locked Down

“Lazlo goes with your uncle all the time? How long are they gone for?And how do you know they’re going to somesort ofplace and not to meet someone?”

“I don’t really. I don’t knowfor surehe’snot meeting someone, but I do know whenhegoes because my uncle has a tell.He gets this furtive look andhecarries this black leathersatchelthat’snot his normal briefcase whenhe’s leavingthe office.When hegets back, he’s gripping the satchel like his life depends on it. His knuckles are white the entire time. So, I know he’s going somewhere and picking something up, something important to him.”

Ryker ran a hand through his hair. How was he going to figure this one out? What was he picking up that was so important?“Is there any pattern to it? Have you noticed he always disappears on a certain day or at a certain timeorhow many times a month? I need something to go on.”

Vic shook her head.“I haven’t noticed any pattern. I only notice that he’s doing it because he looksso obviouslysuspicious.”

Ryker tapped the wall behind him.“Okay, think back to when you noticed him leaving last time. What time of day was it? And do you remember anything else about that day?”

Vic closed her eyes and let out a long breath.“It’s always mid-afternoon, like after lunchbutnot toward the end of the day, so probably between two and four p.m.?”She opened her eyes.“The last time he went was the Tuesday before you started. I remember because I wason my wayto talk to him about a brief he wanted me to write. His phone rang, and he said it was an emergency and he needed itright away. I worked through lunchandwhen I went to give it to him, he brushed me off and sent me out of his office. Two minutes later, he came out with hissatchel,and Lazlo, and they left.”Vic met Ryker’s gaze.“I think he always goes Tuesdays,and I think ithappens every two to three weeks.”

Ryker’s instincts prickled.Thiswas a string he could pull.His gut saidthis was the thing thatwould lead him somewhere good.“You think he’ll be going this Tuesday, as in tomorrow?”

Vic shrugged.“Probably. Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’ll be tomorrow.”

That didn’t leave Ryker awholelot of time to figure out whatthe hellwas going on.Theydefinitelyhad to hit the office tomorrow and sneak a look at Tracy’s computer. He also might need help tracking Davis without Lazlo noticing. He would be on high alert. He made a mental note to call Archer and request backup.

Things were finally getting interesting. He mightactuallymake progress. He glanced at Vic. She didn’t meet his gaze.Toobad itcosthim the respect of someone whose opinion hevalued.

“I’ve got to go. I’ll be here early to pick you up.”He moved over to stand in front of her.“Do not leave here without me.”He meant it as a warning.He wouldn’t tolerate her taking anykind ofrisk.Even if he knew no one was out to get her, he wouldn’t take chances with her life. He wouldn’t put anything past Davis.

She snorted and rolled her eyes.“Whatever,”she said and folded her arms across her chest.“I can take care of myself. I don’t need you to order me around, too.”She glared at him.“You’re making me do shit I don’t want to do as it is. I hate you for it.”

The words cut him deeply.Heradmission shouldn’t matter to him. He was used to people hating him. But not Vic. It bothered him way too much that Vic hated him. It hurt. He reached out and pushed her back against her fridge, and then he kissed her hard. She resisted for a second and then melted into him. She returned his kiss, and as their tongues danced, he knew he’d made a mistake. He didn’t have the willpower to leave. His hands cupped her ass and brought her against his hard-on. He needed to be inside her. To hear her scream his name as she came. He deepened the kiss as she ground against him.

His cell went off, jolting him back to reality. His chest heaved as he stepped back and pulled out his cell.“I’ll be here bright and early, Vic. Be ready.”He turned and left the apartment as he answered his cell.“Sterling.”

“Youokay, man? You sound funny,”Cash commented.

Ryker leaned against the back of the elevator.“It’s been an interesting day.”

TWENTY-ONE

Vic reluctantly opened her eyes and sighed. Glancing at the clock she confirmed that it was 4:55 a.m., five minutes before her alarm was supposed to go off. She hit the button, threw the blankets off and got out of bed. Padding across the cold floor, she entered her bathroom and turned on the shower.

She’d slept fitfully last night. The situation with her uncle was so surreal and overwhelming, and definitely something she had no interest in getting involved with. Whatever the hell Austin was up to, it didn’t involve her. She shouldn’t have to be part of it. But he was family, whether she liked it or not. That should mean something. And here she was, about to betray him. She let the hot water pound into her shoulder blades, trying to melt away the guilt building in her gut.

It was all Ryker’s fault. He was making her do this. He was so sure her uncle was up to no good. Part of her wanted to prove him wrong; wanted to show him that her uncle really wasn't that bad of a guy, that he was just doing what everybody else in Washington did, play fast and loose here and there. But the other part of her, the part deep down, the part that knew no matter what his excuse, he really was trying to pimp her out to one of the Washington elites so he could make a strong alliance. That part of her knew her uncle was not acting in anyone’s interest but his own. And it was that part that she had to deal with.

In the end, it was really her own fault. She’d called Archer Gray. She all but demanded Archer supply protection. And he’d done exactly that. He’d sent Ryker and Ryker was calling all the shots here. That was probably the worst part of this mess. She’d slept with him. Slept with a killer. Hadn’t he told her as much?

She scrubbed her skin with a loofah. What rankled her more was that she didn’t feel bad about her time in bed with Ryker. If she were one hundred percent honest, she wanted to do it again. When he’d kissed her last night after she’d said she hated him, he was calling her bluff. He was right. She didn’t hate him. As a matter of fact, she was falling for him. Falling for him was the dumbest thing she could do, but somehow spending time with Ryker always made her feel better. She was safe with him. And she could be honest with him. There was no need to pretend to be something she wasn’t. She could just be Vic with him no matter what and she hadn’t realized how much she needed that. Needed him in her life.Stupid.

She rinsed the conditioner out of her hair. Ryker was a major problem that she’d brought on herself and wasn’t going to go away. The more time she spent around him, the more she fell for him. She not only physically wanted him in every way, shape, and form, but emotionally, she craved the way she felt around him. Safe and secure as it nothing could touch her. Yeah, Ryker was an issue. Her addiction to him had to stop. She was leaving soon and then they would really be over. She could make it for another couple of weeks, couldn’t she?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Shit.

She wiped the soap out of her eyes. She’d been so pissed at him when he was ordering her around but when he threw her over his shoulder, it was…exciting. Her nipples went taut just thinking about it. What did that say about her? She put her face under the spray. Yeah, it was all too much.

Frustration and anger were two emotions that had always lived within her. They overwhelmed her at times. When she was a teenager on the commune, she was always frustrated and angry. Everyone said it was just because she was a teenager, hormones and all that. In reality, it was because she wasn't able to do what she wanted to do. She did not want to live her parents’ lifestyle, and that was hard for them and everyone else to swallow, but it was hardest on her. She was a square peg in a round hole. And the present circumstances brought it all back.

She toweled herself off and dried her hair before putting it up in a messy bun. She pulled on a gray pencil skirt and a white blouse. She looked exactly as her uncle would want her to, proper and professional. She checked her makeup and then went downstairs to wait for Ryker.

He arrived within five minutes. She opened the door and climbed in and he handed her a coffee.

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