The last time she’d followed Ryker into a bathroom, she’d ended up on her back, moaning his name. Was that only a night ago? So much had happened, she just couldn’t grasp a thought. Who would want to kidnap her? It was good that it was okay to be afraid, because she was terrified. She stepped gingerly over his discarded clothing, not sure how much of the wetness was actually Jonny’s blood. “Ryker?” she pushed open the bathroom door.
Dark tile and chrome fixtures made up the bathroom with its double vanity and three-sided glass shower stall. A toilet was in a side room. Ryker stood under the spray with steam billowing all around. His head was down, and the water sluiced over his muscled back and down to the tile, spreading over his bird tattoo like it was dancing along the fire.
She hesitated to go inside, and that just pissed her off. “Hey. The guy had no clue why somebody wanted to take me?” The very thought made her stomach hurt. Her nicely routine life, the one from a week ago, seemed far out of reach.
She wasn’t sure she could survive in this reality without a safe routine.
Ryker looked up and allowed water to stream over his face. Then he turned away from the spray and grabbed soap off the ledge. “The guy knew only about the job and not where they were supposed to take you.” Anger vibrated through the steam.
Her breath quickened, and she kept her distance, leaning back against the door. Ryker in a furious mood didn’t bode well, and she wasn’t sure how to handle him. If she could handle him. “The failed kidnapping has to have something to do with Julie’s murder, right?” Finally, her brain was kicking into gear.
His eyes flared a hard bluish green. “That’s the most likely scenario. Either the person who killed her thought you saw something that day or maybe they think Julie told you something.” Ryker lathered up his hands. “I’m not sure, but I do have a line on Jonny’s buddy—the one who hired him for the job. As soon as I get my hands on him, we’ll get the name of the guy who hired him.”
“More torture,” she hissed.
He turned then, his gaze harsh. “I’ll do what I have to do, Zara. Nobody is going to get to you. I promise.”
She recognized a vow when she heard one. This one made her shiver. There had to be something she could do to figure out this mess and get back to her ordered life. “I want to go into work today. See if I can find out anything about Julie or her case. See what kind of connection I may have to the case.” Figure out why somebody had tried to kidnap her.
Ryker nodded. “I agree. We have to act as normal as we can, and I’ve been hired by your firm, too. I can cover you all day as we read the files.” He soaped his chest, and his chin lowered. The anger turned into a smoldering tension…one with a dark promise. “You should probably shower before going into work.”
Tingles exploded beneath her skin. Even pissed and way too dangerous, the guy was insatiable. His mood intrigued her when it should warn her. She’d been nearly kidnapped, Ryker had tortured a guy in the boiler room, and now he wanted to have sex? How was any of this her part of reality? “With everything going on right now, I’m just not sure where we stand.”
“We stand together. Take off your clothes.” He stopped moving beneath the water. Vulnerability flashed across his face for the briefest of seconds.
She paused as realization hit her. The man felt responsible for everyone and everything, now, didn’t he? “This isn’t your fault.”
His jaw hardened. “Three men broke into your house, and one put his hands on you.”
She blinked. He was blaming himself? Oh, that wouldn’t work. Everything in her wanted to ease his fury and help him find peace. Right or wrong, she wanted to help him. To be the one woman in the world who could. So she dropped her jeans to the floor.
He opened the door for her with a muscled arm after she’d ditched her sweater.
Warmth and the scent of soapy male filled her world.
He drew her under the spray, letting it wash down her back. “So long as we keep working with each other, we’ll figure us out.” He reached for shampoo to lather through her hair, his big hands caressing her scalp, his gentleness in direct conflict with the turmoil in his eyes.
She closed her eyes and tipped back her head, allowing pleasure to wash down her entire back. “I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.” The idea of a man like Ryker ending up behind bars hurt her chest. He was wild and free…and he’d die in containment. “You can’t take risks like the one you took tonight.” No more torturing people.
He chuckled and rinsed the suds from her hair. “The guy broke the law by hitting your house, so there’s no way he’d go to the cops. My detaining him wasn’t the risk that you think.” He tugged on her hair, and she opened her eyes.
The water had slicked his dark hair back from his face, highlighting the strong angles. “Are you scared?” he asked.
She paused and let the question sink in. “A little.” Somebody had entered her house with the intention of kidnapping her. Three men, actually. If Ryker and Greg hadn’t been there, she wouldn’t have been able to fight all three of them off. “I just don’t know what’s going to happen next, you know?” On so many fronts.