Ryker

by Trent, Emily Jane

  Amanda had her long red hair down, and it waved around her face like a halo of fire. Her blue eyes pierced into Jake. “I don’t have time to argue with you. Just let me deal with this and stay out of it.” She turned to see Ryker.

  “Problem?” Ryker said.

  Amanda let out a long breath. “He can be so exasperating. He thinks he knows everything. Can’t we put someone else on digital security with me?”

  Ryker narrowed his eyes.

  “Yes, I know…he’s one of the best,” Amanda said. “But he’s a jackass sometimes.”

  Ryker sat in the chair beside her desk. He didn’t want to get into their differences, figuring they’d work it out. “I want to talk to you about something.”

  “Mia?”

  Ryker had discussed this before. It was why he’d had Amanda take extra steps regarding James. The greater the understanding of his behavior, the better the chance of predicting what he might do, then implementing preventative measures.

  “That ex-husband of hers is a piece of work,” Amanda said. “He doesn’t deal with rejection well. The first line of defense is monitoring Mia’s mail, phone calls, emails, gifts, and so on. That way we can pick up any red flags that might be precursors to greater danger.”

  “I’ve been watching all of that, culling through all that you send me,” Ryker said. “And we tightened protection by keeping an eye on the guy. But his methods are cutthroat. He’s making it difficult for me to avoid confrontation.”

  “As tempting as that might be,” Amanda said, “it’s better to work toward containment. If you confront James, that could incite more extreme behavior, just what we don’t want. He would perceive any confrontation as a challenge and that will piss him off.”

  “This ultimatum, though,” Ryker said. “He will have to realize that Mia isn’t going to do what he wants.”

  “That concerns me,” Amanda said. “When violence occurs, it’s usually because the pursuer realizes that their fantasy isn’t going to happen.”

  “I intend to stick close to Mia, until we can nail down what that guy is up to.” Sooner or later, James would have to come to terms with letting go. Ryker predicted that he’d explode. The only question was: what would he do when that fury boiled up inside?

  *****

  Over the weekend, Ryker continued Mia’s self-defense lessons. He’d tightened security, but that didn’t absolve him of training her to defend herself. He showed her more advanced moves and didn’t go easy on her.

  Mia accused him of being bossy, but he impressed upon her that she must be able to defend against an attacker. Martial arts for sport wasn’t the same as learning to evade being a victim, and that included using any means to stop a person intent on harming or killing.

  Unpleasant though it may be, such skill was necessary. If Ryker had to bully Mia into competence, then he would. Her life might depend on it.

  While Ryker touched, held, and wrestled with Mia, he had to face his feelings for her. He was falling for her yet couldn’t let that show. The timing was bad. And personal emotion regarding a client was unacceptable. Whatever his heart urged him to do, Ryker needed to keep things on a professional level.

  On Monday, there was no word from James. The hours ticked by, and Ryker kept in touch with Mia. But she’d begun to wonder if the ultimatum had been a bluff. While Ryker waited and watched, he tended to the business of her security.

  Caleb and the team were on duty, with orders to report any suspicious activity. Throughout the morning, it was quiet. Mia was at her office, and James was under surveillance. Yet it was impossible to relax about the situation.

  While handling Mia’s mail, Ryker opened a letter from her bank. It was about her business account. He’d been looking for any communications that could be considered dangerous. But he hadn’t been expecting that.

  He leapt up from his chair, grabbed his phone, and headed for Mia’s office. This couldn’t wait.

  Mia was in a meeting, and the receptionist asked if it was important enough to interrupt. Ryker told her that it was urgent, then paced the lobby. It wasn’t long before Mia emerged with a look of concern. He hated to break the news, but it couldn’t be avoided.

  “Let’s go to my office,” Mia said.

  Once the door closed, Ryker didn’t waste any time. He handed over the letter. Mia read it, and her expression changed. She sank into her chair. “What? Can they do this?”

  “Yes, is the short answer,” Ryker said. “Your bank has the right to cut you off anytime it wants. The fourteen-day notice is a courtesy. But it makes you wonder why they’d want to lose you as a customer.”

  “Do you have any idea?” Mia said. “It doesn’t give a specific reason.” She looked at the letter. “It only says: if the bank deems you too risky, it can close your account.”

  “It’s my understanding that if the bank services a questionable account, they risk getting hit with penalties,” Ryker said. “A bank might shut down an account even when a customer isn’t doing anything explicitly illegal.”

  “I’m going to demand to speak with the bank manager,” Mia said. “If I don’t handle this, my account will be frozen.”

  Ryker informed Caleb of the issue, and of where he was going. Then he drove Mia to the bank. The manager was busy, so she had to wait. When he was free, she was called into the office. The manager introduced himself and greeted Mia cordially.

  “You may call me Leon,” he said. “And I must tell you that I regret that the bank is forced to take this action.”

  Leon played the role of concerned bank manager well. He was respectful and professional, but not helpful.

  “This is sudden,” Mia said. “May I know the reason for the action?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t have much information yet,” Leon said. “The matter is under investigation. You’ll receive more details as they are revealed. But I can tell you that the bank is within their rights to close your account.”

  After leaving the office, Ryker tried to think of something encouraging to offer. Mia would meet with Griffen and arrange to withdraw the company’s funds before the account was frozen. But that didn’t mean another bank would accept her. If one bank had reason for refusal, another might too.

  Ryker stepped outside first to make sure it was safe for Mia to exit. Then he walked her back to the car. An unidentified man from the next row made his way over. He didn’t look armed or dangerous, but not friendly either.

  “Mia Scott?” the man said. When Mia looked up, he handed her a document. “You’ve been served. This is the summons issued by the court as the first step in a lawsuit.” Then he walked away.

  Mia looked pale; she leaned against the car and flipped through the pages. “James filed a lawsuit against me. This document tells me when to appear to present my defense, and states that my property can be seized or attached.”

  Ryker tried to keep his cool, since blowing up wouldn’t help. “What’s the basis for the lawsuit?”

  Mia’s shock turned to fury. “James claims that he developed the learning tool, so has distribution rights. That is ludicrous. I’m the one with experience in the tech field. He couldn’t write a program if his life depended on it.”

  “This is just harassment.”

  “But it could put everything on hold,” Mia said. “My company could be hung up in a big mess with the court while this gets resolved.” Mia put her hand over her eyes. “Dammit…James wants to steal it all.”

  Ryker ushered her into the car, not wanting to stick around the parking lot.

  “I need a drink,” Mia said, which sounded like a good idea.

  *****

  The downtown bar wasn’t far, and it was inside a hotel. Ryker was familiar with the place, so knew it had good security. He took Mia to a table in a corner, where he could watch the activity in the room. Then he flagged a server.

  Mia ordered a cocktail, while Ryker stuck to club soda. The lawsuit was a new low for James. His ability to tell lies seemed to have no l
imit.

  Mia was quiet until her drink arrived, then she took a couple of sips before saying anything. “I’ll let Griffen know about all of this, and he can set up an appointment with our attorney.”

  Ryker felt protective. He hated the devious methods that James resorted to.

  “I won’t go down without a fight,” Mia said. “Now it makes sense why the bank doubts my authenticity. It’s so unfair.”

  “James has zero evidence to back up that lawsuit.”

  “You haven’t seen him in a courtroom,” Mia said. “I have. And I can tell you that in a legal arena, being in the right isn’t enough. James can wreak destruction on my business, and me, before I can get the suit dropped.”

  “You’ve been in court before?”

  “The divorce,” Mia said. “What a nightmare that was.”

  “He physically abused you; any judge would grant divorce on those grounds.”

  Mia huffed. “You’d think. Let me enlighten you. I hadn’t gone to the authorities and I had no witnesses. When my injuries were severe, I went to the hospital but lied about the cause.”

  “Why didn’t you file any police reports?”

  For a moment, Mia didn’t answer. She took a gulp of her drink then said, “Many women don’t file a report. There’s a stigma attached to it. The victim is questioned as though it might be her fault. And there’s fear of retribution. An abusive spouse is angered by any report of his actions, so he would go after the woman with more violence than before.”

  That made Ryker’s blood boil. He itched to get his hands on James.

  “The judge sided with James,” Mia said. “Oh, he granted the divorce. A woman is permitted to leave her husband. But his attitude was that my husband had been treated unfairly.”

  “That’s hard to swallow.”

  “You were at the meeting the other day,” Mia said. “You’ve seen James in action. Did he look like an abuser to you?”

  Ryker just looked at her.

  “No, I didn’t think so,” Mia said. “He is an upstanding citizen, a male who is respected in his profession. A violent man?” She shook her head. “No one believes that of him, not after meeting him.”

  Mia had another drink, then Ryker took her to dinner. There wasn’t much to be done immediately. Her attorney would handle things. But how long would that take, and how much damage would be done before he did?

  *****

  It seemed that once James attacked, he was relentless. A day went by, and the meeting with the attorney was scheduled. Mia had told Griffen and the team about the new turn of events. They would stick together and get through this. She was assured that she had their support.

  The next night, Mia decided to eat dinner at the condo. She didn’t feel like going out, needed a break. Ryker was all for that, so broiled steaks. He enjoyed seeing her relax, if only for an evening. After dessert, Mia settled on the sofa to watch a movie.

  She checked her messages before deciding what to watch. Ryker’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the look on her face. He waited, knowing it couldn’t be good.

  Mia handed him her phone. He stared at the post about Mia and James, but the words blurred. All he could see was the image. It was a photograph of them together, taken when they’d been a couple.

  It was a very sexy picture of Mia engaged in taboo activity with her husband. Ryker couldn’t take his eyes off the image. She was naked and in a pose that was beyond risqué.

  James was his rival, the crazy man who vied for Mia’s attention. And there she was on camera, lusting for her husband and performing an act that didn’t bear discussion in mixed company. Ryker felt overwhelmingly possessive.

  It was as though Mia was his, and that bond had been violated. It occurred to him that he was jealous. He didn’t dare look at Mia, just stared at the post. The caption claimed it was a photo taken from a private album. It had been posted anonymously.

  The image was shocking, even to Ryker. In a bedroom, it might not be. But flashed on a screen publicly, it created physical reactions that he couldn’t put aside. He didn’t understand, didn’t know how Mia could have behaved that way with James, the man who had hurt her.

  Mia looked up, and her gaze locked with his. Ryker tried to read her emotions but failed. “Is this real? Is this a picture that was taken of you…with James? Was it swiped from a personal album?”

  Anger flared in Mia’s eyes. She leapt up from the sofa and grabbed her phone. “Yeah, I really did that with James…all the time. I liked it. I’m perverted, but you just didn’t know that before.” Mia raised her hands. “I have to defend myself against you, too? Where does it end?”

  “You were married to him.” Ryker knew the instant he said it that it was like pouring gas on flames.

  “Urrrrgh,” Mia said, then stamped her feet. “Go ahead, gang up on me. I won’t give in, you’ll see. I don’t care what you believe. Why even ask? You made up your mind the instant you saw that picture.” She stormed to her bedroom and slammed the door so hard that the walls shook.

  Chapter 11

  Mia kicked off her shoes, changed into her nightgown, and went to bed. Yet she was too upset to sleep. She fisted her pillow, exasperated. It was impossible to find a comfortable position. She wanted to scream…at someone.

  She couldn’t be more embarrassed by how James had put her on display. If he could think of anything more devastating to do, he surely would. It was more than she should have to endure, and she was at her wits’ end.

  The burden of it all weighed on her. She’d been pushed to her limits. Now, she was furious with Ryker too. He’d hurt her by not trusting her. But if she had to explain that to him, it defeated the purpose. She’d thought he had faith in her, but she’d been wrong.

  The truth hurt, but it was better that she realized it sooner rather than later. That didn’t make it any better. Mia had started to believe him. The way he stayed close and seemed to care had made her lower her guard. Yet she should have known better.

  Hadn’t she had enough experience with men to know that she couldn’t depend on them? What did it take for her to not make that mistake again? Had she really been viewing Ryker as a potential boyfriend, a real relationship?

  Mia buried her face in her pillow, disappointed in herself. All of this wouldn’t hurt so bad if she hadn’t deluded herself into thinking that Ryker cared. She was a client, no more than a job to him. She’d best remember that before he broke her heart.

  Devastated, Mia stared at the ceiling, trying to figure a way out of the mess. Her life was falling apart, and there didn’t seem to be much she could do about it. She hated feeling weak and despised James for putting her in a vulnerable position.

  Her injured feelings would heal, but she wasn’t sure that she could keep her life glued together. As if things weren’t bad enough, she found herself dreaming of Ryker—envisioned being naked in his arms.

  Reason urged her to block him out, but her body refused to cooperate. Traitor that it was, feelings of desire swamped her, so she hugged a pillow to her chest to quell the sensations. Dammit, why did Ryker have to do that? Couldn’t he have trusted her just a little bit more?

  *****

  At breakfast, Mia maintained the wall of silence. Wisely, Ryker didn’t mention the argument, because if he did, there was no guarantee what her reaction would be. She watched him make waffles and flip the bacon sizzling on the stove.

  He had the nerve to be sexy as hell in his jeans and tight shirt. The sleeves clung to his arms, accentuating his biceps. The sight of his wide shoulders and strong back turned her on, and that only made her madder.

  It wasn’t fair. If Ryker was going to betray her, at least he could be decent enough to be unattractive. Mia looked at her coffee then took a sip. She had to keep her eyes off her bodyguard. She couldn’t seem to control herself, which was annoying.

  It had been a bad idea for Ryker to take the role of close protection and stay at her condo. On the one hand, Mia was safer—but only from exter
nal dangers. On a personal level, she was vulnerable as hell. She was being taken advantage of.

  With Ryker in the bedroom next to her every night, she couldn’t be expected not to feel anything. It irked her. If only she really didn’t like him. But he had a charming way about him, and kept his calm, despite her moods.

  There was a lot right about Ryker. Too bad he’d messed it up.

  Ryker slid the plates onto the table and sat across from her. He ate his food without comment, then refilled his coffee. If he thought that she was going to apologize, then he was mistaken. He’d let her down and would have to admit it.

  Mia finished her waffle, trying to stay tough. It was awkward. Heck, she was eating breakfast with Ryker like he was a roommate—or a lover. For some reason, she felt out of her depth. She’d been angry before, but that hadn’t bothered her.

  But shutting Ryker out was more difficult than she’d thought.

  When the dishes were in the dishwasher, Mia grabbed her purse and waited in the living room for Ryker to drive her to the office. It was going to be a long ride, considering the rift between them. She could take the heat if he could.

  Ryker acted as if everything was normal. He wasn’t chatty, but he opened the door for her. His professionalism was a stab to the heart. If only he’d been irate; that would show he felt something for her. Mia was down on herself for wanting him to care and struggled to believe that it didn’t matter.

  At her office, Ryker escorted her inside then stayed as her security. She wished for Caleb but didn’t say anything. She’d have to put up with the strained relationship for now. Iris followed her to her desk, and Mia was glad to have someone to talk to.

  “You look tired,” Iris said. “Didn’t you sleep well?”

  “You don’t know the half of it.” Mia told her everything, leaving the worst for last.

  “I can’t believe Ryker behaved that way,” Iris said. “And more shocking is James. That man is a menace.”

  “It’s overwhelming,” Mia said. “I have to go in there and tell Griffen this news. It’s one thing after the other. Sure, the team has supported me. But how long will that last if this keeps up?”