by Lori Foster
“Tonight is the ceremony at the Historical Society. They’re honoring Senator Welling.” He watched her face and added, “I thought maybe we could go.”
Excitement brightened her eyes and added a smile. “You mean it?”
Now he was jealous. Welling represented her ideal man, and for most, his stature was as unattainable as the moon. “It won’t be a social call, honey. I want a chance to talk to your senator, and this seems like it might be the best opportunity.”
Her excitement remained plain to see. “He’s not just my senator, and Riley, you’ll like him a lot, I know it.”
Riley would have liked the guy more if Regina weren’t so infatuated with him. “If he cooperates with me, I’ll have no complaints.”
“I really don’t think he’ll have anything to share, but it’ll be good to see him again.”
Because he didn’t want to hear her talk about Welling, Riley kissed her quick and hard. He felt Butch nipping at his chin, his ear, doing all he could to scare Riley off. Riley drew back to stare at the little dog. “Where’s your toy?”
Butch’s ears shot up. He maneuvered down Regina’s leg to the floor and took off at a dead run for the hallway. He returned with the stuffed Chihuahua in his mouth and dropped it at Riley’s feet.
Riley laughed. “Smart dog. All right, I can play for just a few minutes, but that’s all.” And to Regina he added, “Finish up your coffee. There’s cereal in the cabinet, fruit in the fridge. Help yourself, okay?”
Her expression was tender when she nodded. “Thanks.”
Ten minutes later, Riley was on the floor, the stuffed toy caught in his teeth while he and Butch indulged in a feigned tug of war. Butch gave it his all, jerking and growling in his attempt to tear the toy away from Riley. Riley growled back, a stuffed tail and leg caught in his mouth.
Regina laughed. “You’re both nuts.”
Riley straightened. “Now he knows how to grapple. Did you see his triceps? Or would they be triceps, considering dogs don’t have arms?” Riley shook his head. “Either way, he’s buff and built like a lean bulldog.”
Butch took off in a flash, dragging the toy, but when Riley didn’t pursue him he returned only to smack Riley’s ankle with it. “No,” he told Butch. “I gotta go. Get Regina to play.”
Butch dutifully dragged the toy to Regina. She laughed. “Gee, thanks.”
Riley tipped up her chin to give her a long, thorough kiss. “If you need anything while I’m gone, just call me on my cell phone.”
He knew he had to leave before he decided not to go at all. Today he was going to get some answers. The sooner the better. Then he’d come home to Regina.
Soon he’d have everything worked out.
Chapter 8
THE SECOND RILEY WAS OUT THE DOOR, REGINA made plans. She called Rosie at work first to find out Ethan’s and Harris’s schedule. She didn’t want to call either of their homes if there was a chance she’d wake them. As firefighters, their hours varied. Rosie told her they were both on second shift that week, and that Ethan, at least, should be up and about.
She called him and made an appointment for him to visit her at Riley’s house. Next, she called Buck and left him a message since he didn’t pick up.
Finally she chanced a call to Harris. A woman answered, temporarily throwing Regina off. “Um, is Harris around?”
“Who is this?” the woman asked with heavy suspicion.
Regina was about to reply when she heard some grumbling in the background, then Harris’s voice on the phone. “Hello?”
“It’s Regina. I’m so sorry I’m interrupting.”
“No, you’re not.” That statement caused another ruckus in the background. Harris covered the phone, did some grousing, then came back to ask, “What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Oh, yes. I just…I’m going to be doing an interview on Riley and since he’s gone for most of the afternoon and he doesn’t want me to leave his apartment, I figured I could start by talking to his closest friends. Ethan’s coming over in a few minutes, and I hoped, if you weren’t too busy, maybe you could come by after him.”
She heard the amusement in Harris’s voice when he asked, “Does Riley know you’re inviting us over?”
“No, why?”
Now he laughed outright. “No reason. None at all. And yes, I’d love to come over. Hell, I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Want me to pick up Buck and drag him along? You can kill two birds with one stone.”
“I already called him. He’s working.”
“He’s the boss. If he can’t take off for a few hours, who can?”
Regina laughed. “No, that’s okay. I’d rather talk to each of you one on one.”
Harris snickered. “Really? All right then.” He laughed again. “This is going to be fun.” He hung up before Regina could ask him what he meant.
RILEY MADE IT to Cincinnati in a little less than an hour. It was easy enough to find the newspaper building. He thought about going in to talk to Carl first, but changed his mind and parked in the lot for the insurance company. At the lobby desk, he asked about seeing Luther, and was told to go to the fourth floor.
On the elevator ride up, Riley thought about what he’d say. He realized he wanted Regina’s ex-beau to be guilty, just for the satisfaction of cleaning the guy out of her past. If she did have any residual feelings for him, finding out he was the one harassing her, with nothing but hurt feelings to motivate him, ought to take care of it.
There was no one at the receptionist’s desk. Riley glanced at his wristwatch, saw it was lunchtime and waited only a moment before mentally saying, To hell with it. He strode to Luther’s door, raised his hand to knock—and got a whiff of sickeningly sweet smoke. Pot.
What the hell?
He tried the door, but it was locked. After knocking sharply, he called out, “Luther Finley?”
There was a lot of shuffling movement behind the door before it finally opened. A man close to Riley’s height, with straight black hair and shrewd blue eyes, stood there. His suit was immaculate, expensive and in good taste.
He made a great appearance. Shit. First the senator, and now this clown. If Regina was drawn to GQ men, Riley didn’t stand a chance.
“Yeah? Who are you? What do you want?”
So this was the man Regina had bought sex books for? This was the man she’d hoped to please in bed?
Riley wanted to punch him in the nose. The urge to do so made it difficult to breathe. Ruthlessly, Riley brought himself under control. He would not behave like a Yeti. He would not prove himself to be a jealous fool.
Looking beyond Luther, Riley saw an open window, a desk drawer slightly ajar. Perfect. If he couldn’t hit him, he could at least have the upper hand. There must be a fairy godmother sitting on his shoulder, to be given this advantage.
“Can I help you?” Luther said with strained impatience.
“You Luther Finley?” At the other man’s nod, Riley flashed a badge. “I’m Riley Moore, with the Chester Police department. I need a moment of your time.”
Luther’s eyes opened wide and he reeled back two steps. “The police? What the hell did I do?”
“I want to ask you about an acquaintance of yours. Understand, Mr. Finley, this is an informal visit and you’re not in any trouble. Yet. I’d just like some information.”
Riley saw the moment the man relaxed, wrongfully assuming he’d ignore the pot. “Yeah? About who?”
“Regina Foxworth. She seems to have gotten herself into a bit of trouble.”
The look of curiosity faded beneath a smarmy smile. “Regina is in trouble?” He actually laughed. “Yeah, sure. Come on in and pull up a chair. I’m glad to help.”
And Riley thought to himself, I just bet you are.
REGINA HANDED Ethan a tall, icy glass of cola. “Now, tell me what you know about Riley.”
Ethan looked more wary by the second. He glanced around the obviously empty apartment and said yet again, “I’m not sure this i
s a good idea, Regina.”
“No, it’s okay. Riley gave me permission to interview him. And he didn’t want me to leave the apartment, so this is a good compromise. He won’t mind.”
“Uh-huh.” Ethan sipped his drink, still undecided. “What exactly do you want to know?”
Regina studied Ethan while she considered what to ask him first. He was a very attractive man with his dark blond hair and deep, intelligent brown eyes. As a firefighter he was, by necessity, built almost as handsomely as Riley. But she’d never had any interest in Ethan. No, she’d seen Riley and been lost. She’d fought her reaction to him, but fighting did her no good. Last night had proven that.
She sighed. “Has Riley had any recent romantic involvement?”
Ethan choked, stared at her, and choked some more. She got up to thwack him on the back, but Butch didn’t like that and started to howl. For some unknown reason, he’d taken a real dislike to Ethan.
Gasping and wheezing, Ethan waved her away. Regina resettled herself, allowing Butch to skulk back into her lap with a surly look thrown toward Ethan.
“Well?”
“What does that have to do with your interview?”
In the primmest tone she could muster, Regina lied, “His social habits will be of interest to everyone reading the article. They’ll want to know about him, not just his work.”
Ethan didn’t look convinced. He drew a deep breath, cast her another suspicious look, and finally murmured, “He dates. Not seriously, not often.”
“Really?” Now that was interesting, considering the amount of energy Buck and Harris apparently put into tomcatting around. And from all accounts, Ethan had been worse before Rosie brought him to his senses. “So he’s selective?”
Ethan frowned over that. “I have no idea. It’s just that Riley is…different. He’s not like most guys I know. He thinks differently and he sees the world differently.”
“He’s dangerous.”
Slowly, Ethan nodded. “I suppose you could say that, but only to someone on the wrong side of the law. To most people he’s an advocate, a defender. Riley uses all his skill to help protect people.” Ethan settled back in his seat, a little more at ease. “If you could have seen how he took that guy down—the one he found in your apartment—it was something else. Riley didn’t look winded, didn’t look like he’d used much effort, and he didn’t look like he had a speck of emotion in him. Cold, swift and effective. One second the guy was running and the next he was completely immobilized by Riley. It was both awesome and a little unsettling.” Then, more to himself than to Regina, Ethan murmured, “It still amazes me that he left the SWAT team to come here.”
“Why did he? Do you have any idea?”
“Not a clue. Riley only lets people in so far. I’d trust him with my life and I know he’s one of the best men around. But his past is off-limits. Not once in the five years I’ve known him has he given so much as a single clue.”
Disappointed, Regina let out a long breath. Trying not to be too obvious, she asked, “Who has he been seeing most recently?”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “You.”
“No, I mean before I moved in here.”
“You.”
“But we didn’t…”
“Date? Doesn’t matter.” Ethan gave her a warm smile. “I remember we were all at Rosie’s for dinner the day after we first met you. Riley talked about you—”
“Saying what?”
Ethan shrugged. “It wasn’t what he said so much as how he said it. We all knew right then that he was interested. And the day of the fire…”
Ethan grew silent, stiff. He couldn’t talk about that awful day without looking a little green. He closed his eyes, took two shallow breaths, and swallowed. “As distracted as I was that day with Rosie, I noticed how Riley staked a claim.”
Regina pulled back. “He did what?”
Grinning, Ethan nodded. “He laid claim to you.”
Flushing a little with umbrage—and with pleasure—Regina said, “But that’s ridiculous.”
“What did you think it meant when he picked you up and didn’t put you down?”
“My head was bleeding. I was dazed.”
“And unable to walk?” Ethan snorted. “He held you because he wanted to and because he decided you were his. Any guy within seeing distance knew it, and because Riley is who he is, they paid heed.”
“But he hasn’t asked me out or in any way acted interested.” Ethan raised a brow and she quickly amended, “Until recently, I mean.”
“Baloney. He’s tried to teach you how to defend yourself and he’s been following you around, keeping an eye on you, making your welfare his business. And he stares at you, Regina. Cracks Harris and Buck up, just to watch the way he watches you.” Ethan smiled at that. So did Regina. “Riley’s not one to spill his guts, but if I had to guess, I’d say you are a major distraction.”
And then what? “You really think so?” She hated sounding so hopeful, but if Riley cared a little for her, if what he felt was more than just sexual…well, that would change everything.
“I know so.” Ethan glanced at his watch, then stood. “Sorry to rush off, but Rosie has a few hours free.” His grin told Regina all she needed to know. They loved each other so much. She wanted what they had, the closeness, the caring.
If she could have that with Riley, it’d be more than she’d ever dared to hope for.
RILEY PACED around the desk to the open window. “So you and Regina were engaged?”
Luther snorted. “Is that what she told you?”
Stiffening, Riley kept his back to the other man and asked softly, “Are you saying she lied?”
He snickered. “No. She thought we were engaged. But you know how it is. Regina’s one of those women who has to have everything right and proper. She’d never have let me in her bed without a ring on her finger.”
The clawing need to break the bastard’s nose nearly choked Riley. “I see. So you lied?”
“I told her what she needed to hear. If you’ve met her, then you’ll understand. She’s so ladylike on the outside, I thought maybe she’d be a wildcat in bed. That made the deception worthwhile, or so I thought. But she was still stiff as a broom. No satisfaction at all. It was like sleeping with a damn board.” He gave a hoarse laugh. “What the hell does this have to do with the trouble she’s in?”
Riley turned to Luther with a cold smile. “Someone is bothering her. Damaging her property, scaring her. I’m trying to figure out who.”
Luther shot to his feet. “You’re accusing me?”
“Just gathering the facts—though it certainly sounds like you have a store of animosity for her.”
“No. Hell no. You can stop gathering right now. When we split, I said good riddance to the little prude.”
“No regrets, huh?”
Luther grunted. “Hardly.” He took two incautious steps toward Riley. “You know what that twit had the nerve to do?”
Riley cocked a brow, but Luther didn’t wait for him to reply. “She bought some goddamned books on sex, and she actually wanted to talk to me about them. She acted like I held part of the responsibility for her lack of enjoyment in the sack. I told her it was damned tough to satisfy a cold fish. She got pissed, and whenever she got that way, she got all stiff and righteous with her haughty little nose in the air.”
Riley’s smile hurt. “Yes, I know what you mean.”
“You’ve seen it, haven’t you?” Again, Luther didn’t wait for a reply. He nodded, then chuckled. “Well, I was sick and tired of her acting superior so I told her it’d help if she’d try a little harder to get my interest. She’s so damn skinny, I suggested a boob job.” Here he laughed outright, even slapping his knee.
Riley churned with anger, but not by so much as the flicker of an eyelash did he let Luther know. “She’s slight, but I haven’t noticed her lacking at all.”
“Then you haven’t seen her naked. She’s got a nice ass, but the upstairs leaves a lot
to be desired.”
Riley went mute with rage. It was bad enough that Regina’s childhood had instilled in her a need to make a good impression, but then to have this jerk tear her down and make her think her best wasn’t good enough….
Luther’s grin lingered. “Man, she hit the roof. She got all red-faced and told me she wouldn’t marry a man who didn’t want her as she is.”
Satisfaction swelled inside Riley. Bravo, sweetheart, he silently congratulated her. Then through his teeth, he asked, “That ended the engagement?”
“Blew it to smithereens, which was more than fine by me. She tossed my ring back at me, walked away and I haven’t seen her since. I haven’t wanted to see her since.” He leaned back on his desk and crossed his arms. “You know what? I bet she rubbed some other poor bastard the wrong way and he’s retaliating. It’d serve the little witch right to get hassled a bit. Maybe it’ll get her to loosen up and live a little.”
Riley figured Regina would loosen up when the right man loved her, namely him. With trust would come complete comfort. But until then, he couldn’t let Luther get away with insulting her.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then moved forward half a step. Very calmly, giving Luther no warning, he said, “Let me explain something to you.” Without haste, he reached for Luther’s upper arm, clasped him in his right hand, easily found a pressure point, and applied the right grip to make the man’s knees buckle and to force a short screech of pain from him.
Eyes wide with fear and teeth gritted in pain, Luther literally hung in Riley’s one-handed grip.
Without compassion, Riley watched him writhe in agony. In a voice more deadly because of its softness, he said, “Regina Foxworth is mine. Eventually I’ll marry her. Anyone who insults her insults me.”
Luther let out a long broken groan. “You didn’t tell me that. Hey, I’m sorry!”
Riley shook his head. “No, not good enough. You see, how do I know that you won’t go spreading these nasty rumors about her to other people? I think I should impress on you exactly what I’ll do if I ever hear of you even mentioning her name again.”