“But tell me what happened,” I persisted, not fooled by his vague reply. “Are you hurt?”
He looked down at me, an eyebrow cocked. “Do I seem hurt to you?”
I felt a blush creep up my neck and he laughed slightly. Reaching for the lamp, he switched it off. “Go to sleep, sweetness.”
My eyebrows went up at the endearment, even as something warm curled inside my chest.
I snuggled against him again, wondering if I’d be able to sleep. I was incredibly happy … but Ryker lingered in the back of my mind.
Why had he done what he did? Was he safe? Despite what had happened, I was worried about him. But I no longer felt I could trust him, or what he said he felt about me. He’d talked about being with Branna as though I should just understand. Did he have feelings for her, feelings that ran deeper than what I’d thought we’d had? Had anything he’d said over the past few months been real? He’d slid into the skin of McCrady so easily … as easily as he’d kissed Branna while I watched.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Someone banging on the door downstairs woke me up. I sat up, confused for a moment as to where I was. Parker was no longer beside me and I heard the shower running in the bathroom.
The banging came again and I jumped up and grabbed the robe hanging on the inside of my closet door. Throwing it on, I belted it as I hurried down the stairs.
It was really early; the sun wasn’t even up yet. The outside lights on the house illuminated things enough for me to see as I glanced out the window before opening the door.
Ryker.
I hesitated, but then he started on the door again so I yanked it open.
“Thank God,” he said when he saw me, looking relieved.
But the anger from yesterday came surging back. “How the hell did you find me?” I asked.
“You have my truck,” he said, as though it was obvious.
“So?”
“I’ve put a lot into that truck. It’s LoJacked.”
Ah. That explained it. Modern technology and GPS.
“Why are you here?” I asked. “Did Branna not satisfy you? Or have you come to shoot me again? Maybe you’ll get lucky and the gun won’t be empty this time.” I went to slam the door, but he shoved his foot in it and forced his way inside.
“Babe, listen to me—”
“Don’t call me that,” I cut him off, furious. “You should leave.”
I turned away, but Ryker grabbed my upper arms and spun me back around, holding me too firmly for me to get free.
“I knew the gun wasn’t loaded,” he said. “My life depends on knowing my weapons. I could tell by its weight the second he handed it to me that it wasn’t loaded. It was just a stupid test of Leo’s. Do you honestly think I’d fucking shoot you?”
“You pointed a gun at me and pulled the trigger! What the hell was I supposed to think?”
“What’s going on?”
We both turned to see Parker standing at the foot of the stairs. His hair was wet and he wore only his jeans, but his gaze was shrewd as he took in Ryker’s hold on me. He must have heard the yelling.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Ryker asked. I saw him take in Parker’s bare chest and feet and his jaw tightened.
Parker’s stride was eating up the floor. “What the hell is she talking about, Ryker?” he asked, ignoring the question. “You shot at her? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“The gun wasn’t loaded,” Ryker said. “I could feel the magazine was empty.”
“What if there’d been a bullet in the chamber? Did you think about that?” Parker looked livid.
A bullet in the chamber? Nausea curdled in my stomach.
“It was empty,” Ryker insisted.
“You took a chance and got lucky. Now get your hands off her.” Parker shoved Ryker and he let me go, stumbling back a couple of steps.
A dangerous glint came into Ryker’s eyes and it scared me. The tension between the two men was white hot and only needed a spark to set it off.
“No,” I said, putting myself between them and putting up a hand in front of each. “We’re not doing this. There’s enough going on without you two being at each other’s throats.”
They looked at me and for once seemed to see sense. Ryker turned away and heaved a sigh, shoving a hand through his hair. I saw Parker’s body relax slightly as he, too, eased off.
“Why are you here?” he asked Ryker. “Aren’t you supposed to be working undercover? What if Leo had someone follow you here?”
“He didn’t. I’m here because I was worried about Sage and had no way to reach her. And to tell you that Leo’s organization is the one supplying Viktor.”
“What?” I asked just as Parker said, “How do you know?”
“Because I’m the one he hired to find you,” Ryker said grimly.
“That’s convenient,” Parker said.
“Exactly.” Ryker replied. “If we can get your CIA contacts to work with us, we can set him up with fake intel and they can nab him.”