Claiming Felicity (Ace Security #4)(32)

She stared at him for a beat. “Uh . . . we’re partners, Cole. Of course I was here.”

“I thought you decided you wanted your money and were out?” he fired back.

Felicity couldn’t get pissed at him. She had told him that. “I changed my mind.”

“For good?”

“For good.”

“Can I please put your fucking name on the business now?”

She stared at him in shock. He sounded pissed. Really pissed. “I . . . It’s still not a good idea.”

“The fuck it’s not. If you think I haven’t known you could up and disappear on me one day, you’re insane. Every day I woke up wondering if today was the day one of my best friends would be gone. Every day I feared having to make this gym work without you. I started this place up knowing I might one day have to do it alone, but I dreaded that day with everything in me. I like working with you, Felicity. Everyone loves you around here. If you left, I’m not sure I’d have the enthusiasm to keep this place open.”

“She’s not leaving,” Ryder answered for her.

Cole’s gaze met Ryder’s, then he nodded and looked back at Felicity. “I still want your name on the paperwork.”

“Okay.” The look of relief in his eyes made her stomach hurt. She’d never meant to hurt her friend. Had thought he’d be better off without her. Hell, she’d thought he’d jump at the chance to buy her out. “But not yet. When all this is over.”

“Fine. But I’m holding you to it.”

Felicity nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Come on, love. You need to eat. And you haven’t had enough water today. Let’s go upstairs.”

She nodded and took hold of Ryder’s hand as she stood.

He led her upstairs as he had the night before and held open her apartment door. She walked in and stopped so suddenly, Ryder bumped into her. She would’ve fallen, but he grabbed her hips to keep her steady.

“What? What’s wrong?” Ryder asked, the easy-going persona long gone.

“Someone’s been in here,” Felicity whispered.

In a flash, Ryder shifted her until she was behind him, his arm out, preventing her from getting around him. “How do you know?”

“There’s a picture frame sitting next to the television that isn’t mine.”

“Anything else?” Ryder barked.

Looking around him, Felicity examined the room. She slowly shook her head. “No, what I can see from here looks normal.”

Ryder walked slowly and cautiously to the television and the picture frame. Using his long-sleeve shirt as a kind of glove, he picked it up and brought it back to Felicity.

“Who is this with you?” he asked.

Felicity looked at the picture, and her breath caught in her throat. When she could speak, she said, “It’s me and my old roommate, Colleen.”

Ryder turned the picture so he could see it. His only comment was, “I like your black hair better.”

She snorted. It wasn’t what she expected him to say. Not in the least. He wasn’t happy, that was clear. His neck was red, and his jaw was clenched tight, but he was trying to lighten the mood—for her. If she hadn’t already been sure she wanted this man, that would’ve done it.

“No one came up here today. I’d stake my reputation on it.”

“We were gone for a lot of the day yesterday,” Felicity said unnecessarily.

“I can’t believe I didn’t notice this last night or this morning,” Ryder murmured, obviously upset. “Go sit at the table, love. I need to check the rest of the apartment. You okay with that?”

Knowing he meant he’d be looking inside her room, Felicity immediately nodded. If she was going to sleep with this man, she needed to let him in. Completely. That meant inside her sacred space as well as inside her head.

Ryder put the frame on the kitchen counter as he passed it, escorting her to the table as if she couldn’t make it there on her own. Once she was seated, he knelt at her side.

Felicity stared at him. Here was the deadly man she’d only heard him speak about. In the small time she’d known him, she hadn’t seen this side. Oh, she’d seen him upset and concerned, but nothing like this. More than six feet of pissed-off male. It actually made the muscles in her body relax. This man wouldn’t let Joseph hurt her. No way.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“It’s okay if you aren’t,” he insisted. “It won’t change the way I feel about you. The way I see you.”

Felicity put her hand on his forearm. “If you weren’t here, I’d be a mess. I hate that he got inside my space, but you’ll protect me.”

“Damn straight.”

She couldn’t quite smile, but she could feel the urge. “Go on, Ryder. I’ll be right here. Make sure he’s not lurking under my bed or something. I’ll check my room after and see if he’s left me anything else.”

Ryder reached out with a hand as quick as lightning, pulled her face up to his, and kissed her with a short, but incredibly intense meeting of his lips to hers. Then, without letting go of her head, he pulled back a fraction of an inch and declared, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”