The wind was chilly and I shivered, huddling inside Ryker’s coat. We stopped by his motorcycle and he pulled me into him, his hands inside the jacket and curled low on my hips. Ryker’s body blocked the wind and I pressed against him, twining my arms around his neck. His hands slid to my rear.
“We’ll finish this discussion later,” he said.
“All right,” I agreed. “Do you want to—”
“McCrady? Is that you?”
Ryker went rigid, his head jerking up to look behind me. “Fucking Christ,” he muttered. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”
I twisted to try and see who he was looking at, but his hands were vises around my waist.
“Go inside. Now,” he ordered.
Ryker’s tone was steel, precluding any argument. The look on his face scared me, and his eyes were cold and locked on to someone behind me. He turned me, pushing me behind him and toward the building. I hurried for the door.
“It is you! Well how about that?” The voice was coming closer and, despite the words, didn’t sound friendly. If anything, the man sounded pissed. And what he said next made me stop in my tracks.
“What a surprise to see you alive,” the man said to Ryker. “But that can be remedied.”
CHAPTER FOUR
I was two steps from the door but spun back around. A man had approached Ryker while two other men flanked him like security guards. The one who’d done all the talking was shorter than Ryker, with salt-and-pepper hair and a hard face. His nose was crooked in a way that said he’d had it broken and not set back right.
“Whaddya say you take a ride with me, McCrady, and tell me where you been for the past four years?”
Alarmed, I tried to think what to do. These guys didn’t look nice and they’d obviously mistaken Ryker for someone else. He was outnumbered, and was that a bulge I saw underneath their arms? Were they carrying guns?
Just then, I saw my mother and Parker come out of the building. My dad wasn’t there—probably paying the bill still—and they were talking. Neither had spotted me yet, not in the dark. Hoping I was doing the right thing, I scurried back to Ryker, squeezing through the men and putting myself as a shield between them and Ryker.
“Hey, honey, can you do your business later?” I asked. “My parents want to talk with you.”
Ryker looked furious and I knew I’d pay for interfering later, but I didn’t care.
“Who’s your girl here?” the man said. “You on a date, McCrady?”
I expected Ryker to correct the man, but he didn’t. “It’s none of your business, Leo.”
“Sage! There you are! Come here, dear.”
All of us turned to see my mother beckoning me.
“Am I interrupting a meeting with the parents?” the man asked, his sarcasm thick. His gaze turned to me.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” I said stiffly.
“Pardon my manners,” he said, offering me a slightly mocking tip of his head. “I’m Leo Shea.”
“Sage Reese,” I replied, polite but not friendly. I still stood in front of Ryker, blocking them from him. If they took him, it’d be over my dead body. “C’mon,” I said to Ryker. “You can talk with your … friends … later.”
I tugged his hand, pulling him out from between where the three men had hemmed him in.
“Catch you later, Leo,” Ryker said.
“You can count on it.”
Parker and my mother were talking, but I noticed Parker’s sharp eyes were watching the exchange. Leo and his guards got into a waiting car and pulled away from the curb. I let out a breath of relief once they were gone.
“What the hell were you doing?” Ryker hissed in my ear.
Yeah. I’d been right. He was seriously pissed.
“What was I supposed to do?” I hissed right back. “Let them put you in a car and dump you in the river?”
“You were supposed to do what you were told and go inside.”
“Wasn’t that Leo Shea?” Parker asked, and I realized he’d come up behind us. I glanced at him.
“Mind your own business, Parker,” Ryker snapped.
“Wasn’t Shea indicted for drug trafficking a few years ago?” Parker asked, ignoring him. “But the case got tossed, right?”
Ryker’s hand was nearly crushing mine as he stared at Parker. I winced as his hold got even tighter. Parker’s gaze flicked to mine, then our joined hands.
“Ease up there, buddy,” Parker said. “Sage needs both her hands to type.”
“I’m not your buddy, so fuck off,” Ryker shot back, but his grip immediately eased. “C’mon, Sage. I’ll drop you off at home on my way in to the precinct.”
Parker and Ryker were staring daggers at each other. I could practically feel the testosterone aggression pouring off both of them. With an internal sigh, I left them to it and hurried to my mother just as my dad exited the building. I gave them both a kiss and hug good-bye and thanked them for dinner.
“Shall we take you home, dear?” Mom asked, pressing her lips to my cheek.