Deadly Silence (Blood Brothers #1)(16)

“Myself.” She played with the coffee cup. “I was somewhere I shouldn’t have been, I did something I could get in trouble for, and you need to drop it right now.”

“Trouble?” He leaned forward, his elbows on his worn jeans. “What kind of trouble?”

“The kind that gets me fired.” She sighed. “Trust me that I handled the situation, and please drop it.”

“No.” His voice remained matter-of-fact.

Her mouth dropped open. “Listen, Ryker. I’m giving you an easy out here. Take it,” she snapped.

“I don’t want out.”

Her head jerked. “Casual sex doesn’t work for me any longer.”

“There ain’t nothin’ casual about our sex, and you know it.”

A quick knock sounded on the door. The door opened, and Brock poked his head in. “You busy?”

“Yes,” Ryker answered for her.

She turned to Brock. “What’s up?”

Brock glanced from Ryker back to her, red tingeing his cheeks. “We received discovery on the Pentley case. Want to discuss it over dinner?” Curiosity glimmered in his gaze.

“We just made dinner plans,” Ryker said quietly, his focus remaining on her.

Her temper simmered hotter, but she didn’t want a scene in front of her boss’s son. “Brock, I do have dinner plans, but I’m free this afternoon to go over the documents.”

Brock nodded, studying her. “All right. I have a meeting at two but should be finished within the hour. We’ll meet in the conference room. It’s nice to see you, Ryker.” He shut the door behind himself.

“Knock it off,” she said, crossing her arms, her jaw aching from clenching it so tight.

“He’s interested in you,” Ryker said evenly, his chin lowering.

She rolled her eyes. “If he is, it’s none of your business.”

“Boy, do you have that wrong.” Ryker shook his head. “I can feel that you’re scared, and I can tell that your stress level is at an all-time high. Are you frightened of me?” He rubbed a hand across his sharp jaw. “I mean, after last night? I don’t usually drink like that.” Vulnerability flashed through his eyes to be banished by the steady strength.

She sat back, wanting nothing more than to delve into the vulnerability and then burrow into his strength again. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“Good. Are you scared of whoever put that bruise on your pretty face?”

She blinked and tried to give him the truth without revealing the entire situation. “I’m, ah, concerned about the situation, not the idiot who hit me.”

“I can protect you.” The words were determined and the tone absolute.

“If I needed protection, I’d call you.” She wasn’t stupid, for pete’s sake. “I got into the middle of a domestic situation, and my face was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” It was the truth. Speaking of which, she glanced at the time on her computer. Julie should be calling soon, so she needed to get Ryker out of her office. “I have to work.”

His gaze narrowed until she wanted to squirm. “Was the domestic situation part of a case you’re working on?”

“Yes.”

“Divorce?”

“Yes.” She unfolded her arms and reached for her warm coffee cup. “I can’t discuss a case with you, and you know it. Privilege applies.”

“Hire me as a consultant again. Then privilege extends to me.” He glanced at the stack of files on her desk.

She fought the urge to put her hand over the files. “I don’t need a private investigator on the case, but thank you.” What she needed was for him to get out of her office so she could breathe again. He was throwing her off balance, and she had to be quick on her feet today. “I believe you have your own cases to worry about. We’re finished now.”

“No. We are nowhere near finished.” He stood. “I’m glad you’re not in danger, and that definitely eases my mind. However, I still want the name of the guy who hit you.”

“Why?” she snapped.

Ryker’s eyebrows drew down. “So I can beat the ever livin’ shit out of him, darlin’, and make sure it never happens again. Anybody who’d hit you is a bully, and a bully needs to be knocked down completely so he doesn’t do it again. That’s what happens now.”

His tone spoke of knowledge and old hurts. How could he be so calm talking about hitting people? “That’s illegal, Ryker. I’m not in danger and don’t need defending, so if you go batter some moron, you’ll end up in jail.”

“I don’t think he’ll press charges,” Ryker drawled.

Yeah, Mayor Jay Pentley was exactly the type of guy who’d press charges. “You going after this guy would get me into trouble, so it can’t happen.” Although somebody should beat the heck out of Jay, considering he’d been smacking his wife around for years.

“How?”

“Can’t tell you.”

“Won’t tell me.” Ryker stood by the door. “You’re forgetting what I do for a living.”

She wiped a hand across her eyes. “Ryker, I’m asking you to leave this alone.” He was the best at what he did, and he’d discover every little secret she had if he set his mind to it. Why was he acting like they were more than they were? Was it just ego? “Please. I took care of the situation.”