by Mia Dymond
***
Alex rolled over in bed, severely annoyed by the obnoxious banging on the front door. “Marnie!” she yelled from her cocoon of warm blankets. “Make it stop!”
A distinct thud resonated from the direction of Marnie’s bedroom, and several colorful words followed while her friend stomped to the front door.
With a loud exhale, she threw back the covers and left the bed, just in case Marnie decided to deck the guest. She, too, marched across the distance and arrived just as her friend slung open the door. Bright, blinding sunlight speared her eyeballs but she still managed to identify the visitor.
Yes, he’s in danger of bodily harm.
“What the heck, Ryker?” Marnie squinted while she grasped his forearm and pulled him inside before she shoved the door until it snapped shut.
“Get dressed.”
“I beg your pardon?” Alex blinked several times in succession to clear her polka-dotted vision. “We were asleep.”
“Ten o’clock. Rise and shine. You wanted to go shopping, it’s time.”
“Says who?” she challenged.
“Me.”
“I need coffee,” Marnie mumbled.
“Tough. Train leaves the station in fifteen minutes.”
“Cool your jets there, cowboy.” Marnie stuck a hand on one hip. “First, we don’t need a chaperone. Second, we need at least an hour. And third, stop ordering us around like a drill sergeant.”
Ryker took one step forward, his gargantuan frame almost swallowing Marnie in the process. For half a second, Alex considered giving in. After all, they were already fully awake now.
“First, you don’t leave the apartment without me,” he said. “Second, I’ll compromise on thirty minutes. And third, Miss Carpenter, I’ll give you orders until you comply.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I’ll padlock the door from the outside.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Challenge me, short stuff.”
Alex grinned at Marnie’s gumption. Yet, even she knew when to soothe the savage beast. “You shower first, Marnie.”
“Now that we’re all on the same page, I’ll wait outside for thirty minutes. Any longer and you’re stuck here, possibly for good.”
Marnie opened her mouth to speak, but Alex intervened. “You made your point. Go so we can get ready.”
Ryker slipped out the door, much more quietly than he had entered.
“What is it with these guys?” Marnie headed for the bathroom. “I’m thinking they all have testosterone poisoning.”
Alex tended to agree and approximately thirty minutes later when she and Marnie sat in Marnie’s car, Ryker proved her point by tapping on the driver’s side window with a key. Marnie stuck out her tongue.
He simply braced one hip against her door with his back to her. Waiting her out, Alex assumed.
“Oh good grief!” Marnie huffed and rolled down the window. “What?”
He turned and smirked. “Seatbelts.”
Alex pulled hers over her lap and clicked it into place. “Just do it, Marnie.”
Her friend did as she suggested and then glanced up at Ryker. “Happy now?”
“Ecstatic.”
Marnie started the engine and pulled out into traffic. “Is he married?”
“No.”
“Girlfriend?”
“I’m not positive, why? You’re not trying to pair me up with him, are you?”
“What? No! You have a man.”
Even Alex knew her next question was lame but gave it a shot anyway. “Who?”
“Jackson, Alex. The two of you would be much happier if you’d stop circling each other and meet in the middle.”
“Don’t you mean if I wave the white flag and allow that bossy, alpha male to tell me what I can and cannot do?”
“You have a point,” her friend mumbled.
“What does any of this have to do with Ryker?”
“Nothing.” The words poured over Marnie’s lips in less than a millisecond.
Alex raised one eyebrow. “You want him.”
“Absolutely not. I’ll admit he’s smokin’ hot but way too arrogant for my taste. I’m used to telling people what to do, remember?”
“Then why is he going shopping with us?”
“I have no idea.” Marnie frowned and glanced into her side mirror. “Maybe you should ask Jackson.”
Alex sighed, dug her cell phone from the depths of her purse, pressed ten familiar numbers, and then lifted the device to her ear until a familiar voice spoke.
“Behave, Alex.” Jackson had obviously expected her call. “Ryker drew the short straw.”
“Shall I ask his opinion about lingerie?”
“Huh?”
“I don’t have any clothing, remember? Maybe he has a few suggestions.”
“No,” he growled. “Just get your shopping done and go back to Marnie’s. You’re a moving target.”
“You’re such a sweet talker, Detective.”
“Add it to the list,” he mumbled. “Just hurry the hell up.”
Alex raised an eyebrow at the following silence on the other end of the phone. She pulled the phone away from her ear and glanced at the screen, not entirely surprised to see that the call had been disconnected.
“We’re stuck with Ryker,” she told Marnie.
“Oh goody,” her friend drawled. “At least Giselle’s offers a great remedy.”
She silently agreed. Maybe after a few glasses of wine, she’d forget all about her shadow – or perhaps orchestrate a distraction. She gave her friend what intended to be a mischievous smirk.
Marnie’s eyebrows met in the middle of her forehead. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Maybe we can get a head start.” Marnie punched the accelerator, steered into the opposite lane, passed the car in front of them, and then re-entered the driving lane – all in approximately five seconds.
Alex clutched the handle above her door. “A courtesy warning would’ve been nice,” she said through gritted teeth as she glared into her side mirror. “But it didn’t work. He took the same racing class.”
“I still got here first.” Her friend whipped the car into a parking space near the front door and killed the engine. “Hurry.” She unsnapped her seatbelt in one quick move. “We can lose him.”
Alex released a string of giggles while she unbuckled. “You know as well as I do that’s not even a remote possibility. Besides, even if by some miracle we managed to shake him, he’d call for back-up and we’d be on lockdown for sure.”
“Sorry.” Marnie grinned as they entered the store with Ryker only steps away. “A girl can dream.”
Once inside, it was only a matter of minutes before they both held a glass of red wine and a saleswoman had been designated to fetch and tote. Marnie sat in an oversized, pillow-cushioned, chair just outside the dressing room, kicked off her shoes, and curled her feet under her.
“I’ll be here until you’re finished.” She tipped back her glass, swallowed the contents and then smirked at the saleswoman. “I’ll need another, please.” She turned to Alex. “Take your time.”
Alex held out her hand, palm up. “Let me have your keys. I know how much you appreciate Giselle’s remedy.” Marnie relinquished the keys and Alex grinned while she tucked them into her pocket. “Enjoy your company while I shop.”
“Huh?” Marnie turned to accept the next glass of wine. “I’m enjoying the peaceful, testosterone-free environment.”
Alex headed for a nearby rack. “Not for long,” she tossed over her shoulder.
Ryker exhaled a hard sigh as he approached the dressing area and prepared for battle. Damn Stewart for setting him up. If he managed to come out of this assignment without injury, someone had hell to pay.
Very carefully, he lowered himself into a chair next to his opponent and hoped to hell she’d drink her wine and leave him alone. When she didn’t immediately acknowledge him, he thought he’d gotten luc
ky. Suddenly he was encouraged. With all the extra attention Alex seemed to receive from the sales staff, this mission would pass quickly, he’d deliver them to home base, and then quite gladly turn command back over to Storm.
Yeah, right.
He gave her a quick analysis in his peripheral vision, taking note that she’d almost emptied her glass. She kept her head turned away from him, an obvious hint that she wanted him to speak.
Might as well have a little fun.
“Who gave you a driver’s license?” he asked finally.
As predicted, she swung her head around to face him, her blonde curls bouncing with the force of her motion. “The state of Minnesota.”
“They should make you surrender it.”
“You kept up with me,” she countered.
“I did it safely.”
“So did I.”
“No, you didn’t. You almost took out the guy next to you.”
“I did not.”
“How fast were you driving?”
She swallowed the contents of her glass and signaled for the saleswoman to bring another. “I can’t remember.”
“You’re not driving home, are you?”
“No. Alex confiscated my keys.”
“Good for her. That’s one way to keep you off the road.”
The saleswoman arrived with another glass of wine and handed it to her before glancing at him. “No thanks.” He answered the silent invitation to drink with a grin. “I’m on duty.”
The woman shrugged and left the area, obviously not concerned that he had now engaged the enemy. A smart civilian would run for cover.
“Bite me.”
He looked down at the tiny ticking time bomb and bit back a smirk. Even narrowed, her baby blue eyes sucked him in. Deep pools of intelligence swimming with the temptation of sexy. Her pouty lips remained pursed with her obvious anger, a challenge to slip his tongue between, pry open her mouth, and then devour her until she begged even harder for that bite. Sixth grade teachers didn’t look anything like the sexy creature next to him in his day. Too bad – he might have actually enjoyed math.
“Gladly.”
“That wasn’t an invitation, Ryker.”
She folded her arms beneath her amazingly firm rack, a move that boosted the girls further into his line of vision. He licked his lips. Bite me, she said. Maybe just a little nip into the rounded, creamy swell of her left breast. Damn.
She cleared her throat. “Up here.”
He lifted his gaze back into hers and didn’t bother to disguise his appreciation for her breasts. And as much as he respected them, the whole twelve-year-old male population of her class probably did too. “I’m thinking you should consider teaching kindergarten.”
“Can we please get back to the previous discussion?”
“You mean argument?” He chuckled. “Sure, I kinda like your sass, Miss Carpenter.”
“You bring out the best of me,” she drawled.
He snickered at the aforementioned sass and glanced around the room. “How much longer do you think this will take?”
“Probably a very long time. I hope.”
“What is it about women and clothing? It doesn’t take me hours to buy what I need.”
“We have taste.” She tipped back her glass and swallowed every last drop.
He waited until she moved the glass from her lips and then snatched it. “Speaking of taste, you’ve had enough.”
Her eyebrows met in the middle of her forehead. “You cut me off and I’ll shop for you.”
“One more.”
“Maybe.” She grinned and signaled for yet another beverage.
Alex glared at Ryker as she paid for her merchandise and then grabbed Marnie’s arm as they left the store. “How much wine did you let her drink?”
“She had four glasses.”
“Four? Geez, Ryker you two must have had quite a conversation.”
“We did,” Marnie said from beside her. “Ryker doesn’t like to shop.”
Ryker just shook his head and headed for his truck.
“It’s a good thing I kidnapped your keys.” Alex led Marnie to the car, placed her in the passenger seat, rounded the car and settled into the driver’s seat.
“It’s Ryker’s fault,” her friend mumbled.
“Huh?”
“Never mind. Don’t make me ruin my buzz.”
“You need a nap when we get back to your apartment.”
Marnie snorted. “Nope. I’m going to fix us something for dinner. Then we can play cards or watch a movie.”
“You don’t have to keep me entertained, Marnie.”
“I’m not. It’ll be fun.”
“Fun.”
“Yes, fun. You do remember what fun is, don’t you?”
“Of course. I have fun at the DRAMA meetings.”
“That’s not enough, Alex. You need to have fun more than once a week.”
Marnie’s statement echoed in her brain while Alex drove the distance to the apartment. Her friend was absolutely right. She spent way too much time working. In the beginning it had been to build her client base. Then it had become a habit. A habit that she intended to break with one certain person.
She glanced out the car window as she parked in Marnie’s designated space and turned off the ignition. Speak of the devil.
Parked several spaces down, Jackson left his truck to greet Ryker and gather Intel about the morning’s events. The scowl on his face told him the exchange wasn’t pleasant. A certain amount of fear passed through him as Ryker signaled at Marnie’s car where both women pulled shopping bags from the back seat and then moved to the trunk. He arrived at the same time as Ryker and glanced at the numerous packages on the sidewalk.
“Did you leave something for anyone else?”
Alex shrugged her shoulder, causing her purse to slide down her arm. “Funny.”
“And you were driving because …”
“Speed Racer had a lot of wine during our marathon shopping session,” Ryker answered for her.
“Speed Racer? You mean Marnie?”
“Yes, Marnie,” Ryker continued. “She’s a danger to society. She needs to go to driving school.”
Jackson bit his tongue. He’d never seen Ryker so flustered.
Marnie snatched a couple of bags out his hands. “There’s nothing wrong with the way I drive. Or shop.”
“Really?” Ryker held out his palm to Alex. “Keys.”
She quickly placed them in his hand and shut the trunk.
“I was perfectly happy to offer Alex my expert opinion on her choice of outfits. But, nooo – someone kept buzzing in my ear like a mosquito. The entire time!”
“Ryker?” Alex and Jackson said in unison.
“Yes, Ryker,” Marnie scoffed. “He wouldn’t stop talking.”
When they finally made it to the front door, Ryker inserted the key and turned the knob. “Sonuvabitch.”
“What?” Jackson pressed forward, dropping bags while he pulled his weapon.
“This door wasn’t locked.”
“Yes, it was.” Marnie frowned. “I know I locked it when we left.”
Ryker glared at both women. “Stay here.”
He followed Ryker into the apartment. “I’ll take the right side.”
The other man nodded and took the left.
Jackson kept his gun aimed in front of him, cocked and ready to fire, as he moved first into the spare bedroom. His heart pounded when the afternoon breeze tickled his neck through a baseball-sized hole in the window next to the bed. Careful not to alarm anyone, he checked the closet and then entered the guest bathroom. Dread climbed his spine as he read two messages written in red, bold letters across the mirror.
You can’t hide.
No one is safe.
Quickly he returned to the living room, relieved to see Ryker had completed his patrol as well.
“Clear on this side.”
Ryker nodded. “On this side too. Anything suspicious?”
“Hell yeah.” He signaled all three of them to follow and led them to the bedroom Alex currently called hers.
Alex gasped at the hole in the window. “Vandals?”
“I’m afraid not.” He pointed at a large rock resting on the floor. “Apparently, this was thrown in so the intruder could reach inside. The window latch is undone.”
Alex turned to look around the room. “I don’t think anything’s missing.”
“There’s more.” He led them into the bathroom.
“Spiteful, isn’t she?” Alex leaned against the opposite wall.
Ryker pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll notify the police.”
Marnie paled. “Oh my gawd, Alex! Someone is really trying to kill you!” She began to sway and Ryker’s arm stopped her descent.
“Do you need to sit down?”
“No,” she scoffed, “just be still and let me hang on for a minute.”
Jackson moved his attention back to Alex, his first instinct to fold her in his arms and assure her he would protect her. He knew, however, that would be an insanely bad idea at this point – if he had any hope of winning her trust, he’d have to let her deal with this on her own. For now.
The sound of screaming sirens dragged his attention back to the issue at hand and as soon as officers appeared on the scene, he and Ryker followed them through the apartment and answered questions as best they could.
The girls sat on the sofa while the officers took their statements and crime scene technicians dusted for fingerprints and snapped pictures. Alex looked a little shell-shocked but overall Jackson had to give her credit for maintaining her composure. Until he dropped the next bomb.
“Pack up, ladies. We’re moving you to a secure location.”
“Oh really.”
“Yes.”
“I might be more agreeable if you gave me a little more information, Jackson.”
“Zip it, Alex!” Marnie groaned. “How on Earth do I get myself in the middle of things like this? I try to be good but trouble always finds me.”
Ryker cleared his throat. “You won’t mind staying where we take you.”
“Now, Alex.”
She refused to budge.
“Damn.” Jackson released a heavy sigh. “Alex, would you please pack your things so we can get you the hell out of here?”