Page 75 of Redemption

Maybe Victoria still had doubts about a career as a PI. Maybe uncertainty gnawed at her subconscious as to whether she could carry on as a legitimate bounty hunter. Those had been her concerns before.

Still, she had told him the truth about where her head was, even at the most uncomfortable of times.

“We’re similar in many respects.” He walked around the edge of her desk and eyed the drawer she’d kicked shut. “You know that, love?”

Her eyes flitted up to his. “How’s that?”

He’d already explained he was a sniper. There wasn’t much to say other than the obvious. But the maps, the coordinates—she was a bounty hunter earning a takedown for cash, and he was looking for a kill shot.

“You’re tracking somebody down.” Ryder lifted his shoulders, a nonchalant push that he knew what she was working on, no matter when she’d started on it. “That’s what I do. I’m a hunter, a tracker. Sometimes, it’s best to take a position and wait, but more often than not, an offensive move is more efficient.”

Morbid, really, what he was saying if it was taken out of context. He didn’t know who she was after, but he had only gone after the worst of the worst. And there would always be judgment on him as to whether or not he should be given such power, to take someone out, to pull the trigger, to decide if somebody lived or died, just because they were within the crosshairs of his rifle. It wasn’t something he took lightly. But it was something that the world needed because evil existed in the form of men and women walking around, blending in with others, wanting to destroy humanity in the most depraved of ways. What Ryder did was for the greater good. But Victoria wasn’t a sniper. And he had no idea who she was tracking or why. The more she fidgeted with her ponytail, the more he knew she didn’t want to talk about it.

“Who are you hunting, Victoria?”

She glanced down and lied with a smile that didn’t reach the beautiful eyes he wished would look back up. “No one. Like I said. Old files, reliving the glory.”

He let her feed him the lie… for now. Ryder walked back a few steps, giving her the room to breathe around whatever mistruth she needed. “Are you glad to be home?”

A harsh laugh fell from her lips, but she tilted her head up, letting him see her eyes. “I haven’t decided yet.”

At least he knew that was a truthful answer.

When he’d showed up in her town, he wasn’t sure if he was going to make himself known to her. But who the hell was he kidding? There wasn’t a chance to be this close to her and not say hello. Part of him wanted to make sure she was adjusting back to life and not screwing up, but the other part of him couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

Parker had provided him lists of her acquaintances, friends, and business partners. To date, Victoria had only reached out to one person. Ryder had wondered about that the entire flight to Iowa, and the more he replayed her desk full of paperwork, the more he noticed the twinge of concern tightening in his chest.

Victoria had confessed the truth about her family, her terror about Sweet Hills accepting her back, and yet she’d lied about the papers scattered across her desk.Why?

“When will you decide?”

Her eyes dropped to the drawer. “Probably when I find some type of closure.”

Damn.The dots connected. That wasn’t any old job or paperwork. It was her outstanding bounty: Yuri Maysak. The Russian gunrunning bastard sold her out to the Mikhailovs.

The unease in Ryder’s chest expanded into his stomach. Worry bled into his muscles. “Victoria, who was in that folder?”

Her pupils dilated as she straightened then toyed with her cell phone with nonchalance that didn’t fool him. “I told you. I was just looking over old files.”

“Fine.” He ignored how he cared for her, the level of attraction that he had which could hide every flaw and conceal every question, and Ryder stared at the raw realness behind the desk. Dark circles under her eyes. Stress lines that hadn’t been there after the hell of Russia. Was she paler? Had she lost weight? In a week? Victoria wasn’t sleeping.

“Want to take a break and get some coffee?” He stepped closer, still assessing what was now becoming obvious and apparent.

“Sure.”

He couldn’t decide if there was a hint of hesitation in her agreement. “I’m not asking to play tourist in your hometown. Let’s just go grab a cuppa and breakfast.” He rapped his knuckles against her desk. “You can’t ignore basic human necessities like food.”

Her stomach growled as if on cue, and he raised his eyebrows.

“My stomach is a traitor,” she laughed.

“Whatever that means.” He smiled. “As long as I get breakfast in the heartland.”

“Would you settle for the best coffee ever?”

“How about this? I’ll make a bet with you.”

“What’s that?” Victoria leaned forward on her desk, and for the first time since they got comfy in her office, she looked interested in something other than whatever she buried in that bottom desk drawer.

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