She sighed. Guess he’s still determined to fight this thing.
Conceding defeat—for now—she stepped back, making her way out of the kitchen. Before she left, she turned. “Liam?”
His gaze met hers. Though he seemed determined to stop any feelings he had for her, she knew they were there. He let them slip into his gaze every now and then, like right now. The longing in those golden eyes wouldn’t be missed by a one-eyed man. Gathering confidence from that revelation, she said, “I do worry about you. All the time. It’s what you do when you care about someone. And I care for you, Liam, deeply.”
With that, she turned, heading down the hall to her bedroom and what she was sure to be a fitful night of unrest.
Chapter 10
The dampness of the night seeped into Jason’s bones. Rough brick scraped his back through his thin cotton hoodie. A light drizzle, standard for this time of year, chilled the evening air. Where the hell was his contact? He was freezing his nuts off out here. It should never be this cold in the summer.
“Stupid state.”
Times like this he missed Arizona. It had been Trish’s dumb idea to move out here. Another bad idea in a long line of stupid ones. And the bitch wondered why he had to hit her so much. Not anymore. That last lesson had been her final lesson.
Checking the time on his burner cell, he cursed. His guy had five more minutes before Jason bailed. Asshole better show if he knows what’s good for him. He did not like to be stood up.
Soft footsteps sounded at the mouth of the alley, and he leaned deeper into the shadows until a familiar face came into view.
Letting out a breath of frustrated relief, he stepped forward. “You’re late.”
Mick scowled. “I got held up.”
“I don’t like to be kept waiting.” He injected as much warning as he could in those words. Must have worked, because the small, skinny man hunched over, averting his gaze.
“Sorry, man. But I got what you asked for.”
Anticipation hummed through his body, and he gave the guy a smile. “And?”
Mick pulled an envelope from his coat pocket. “Your hunch was right. The guy in the picture is her brother, Jake Ryder.”
I knew it! And he’d bet the last buck he had that pretentious-ass lawyer went running straight for her brother. If she wasn’t in WITSEC, she’d be with him.
“But, I’d be careful, dude. Guy’s a cop. A sheriff in some small town in the mountains.”
A sheriff? Fuck! It figured little Miss Law and Order would have a pig for a brother. Didn’t matter. How hard would it be to outwit some backwoods cop? He was smarter; he could sneak into town, grab Julie Ryder, kill her, and blow before anyone even knew he was there.
Something dark and hungry rose inside him. Vivid images of what he would do to her played in his mind, making his blood heat and heart race.
“I can handle it.” Grabbing the envelope from Mick’s hand, he shoved it into the back pocket of his jeans.
“We’re even now.” The guy’s voice shook slightly.
Good, he was still scared. He should be. Everyone should be scared of me.
“Yup. All squared away.” He didn’t plan on staying around much longer anyway. No more use for Mick and his skills. Turning away, he headed down the alley, only to be stopped by Mick’s voice.
“Then consider this a parting gift.”
Stopping, gut clenching with dread, he turned.
“The reason I was late? I saw your girl, Pam, on my way over.”
Pam was not his girl. She was just some chick he screwed, convenient, no one important. The rain started coming down in earnest as he waited for the other man to finish.
“She was walking into the police station.”
What the hell? A calm stillness overtook his body, but inside a war thundered. He wanted to scream, rage, kill, but he forced himself to keep his cool. Unclenching his jaw took effort. “You know why she was there?”
Mick shook his head. “Didn’t want to get too close. Pigs everywhere, ya know. But I’d be careful. Never can trust women.”
A truer statement had never been uttered.
Nodding, he turned and headed back to the hovel he called a hotel room. His mind whirled on the short walk over. What had Pam been doing at the police station? Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. Not for him. Did that bitch betray him? Righteous indignation burned through his body. Even his ears were hot. She better not have. The last woman who’d crossed him paid dearly.
When he reached the room, the lights were still off.
Good, she’s not here yet.
Storming over to the closet, he grabbed his black duffle bag. The few possessions he owned were shoved inside including… “Ah ha! There you are beautiful.”
He pulled out a large, deadly sharp hunting knife. Next, he sat on the bed to wait. Didn’t have to wait long. Less than twenty minutes later, the door to the shitty motel room opened, and Pam stepped in. When she saw him sitting on the bed, she jumped.
“Jason! You scared me, baby. I thought you were meeting Mick.”
He watched her cross the crappy, threadbare carpet, glancing at her neck where her pulse raced. Nervous? She should be.
“I did.” He toyed with the knife, picking his nail with the sharp tip.
She watched the movements, gaze widening. “Did he tell you what you needed to know?”
“He told me lots of things.”
Her breath hitched, hands twisting together.
The slow simmer of anger ratcheted up into a boiling inferno. Gripping the knife in one hand, he stood. “What were you doing at the police station, baby?”
She paled, face going white as a sheet. That pretty, lying mouth dropped open. God, he was so sick of women fucking him over.
“It’s not what you think, Jason. They brought me in for questioning. I didn’t tell them anything. They know I was in the courthouse the day you escaped. They’re interviewing everyone who was there that day. I swear.”
Maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe not. Didn’t matter. The woman had outlived her usefulness. He took another step forward. Pam scurried backward, tripping on her heels and falling on her ass.
“Please, I swear. I didn’t tell them anything.” Her hands came up, shielding her face, waving him away.
He wasn’t going anywhere. Not ’til this was over.
“Jason, baby, you don’t have to do this.”
No, he didn’t have to do this. Oh, but he wanted to. That delicious rush built inside. The same feeling he had when he sank the knife into Trish over and over again. The same euphoria he felt imagining hacking the lawyer to pieces.
“Don’t worry, Pam. I’ll make it quick.”
The woman had helped him, after all. She deserved a little mercy. But Julie Ryder deserved none. The soft rasp of the blade as he stabbed it into the housekeeper’s chest was music to his ears. As he dug the knife in and twisted, he let his mind wander to his next kill. He would enjoy dragging out that bitch’s torture. When he was done with the lawyer, she’d be begging him to end it.
Chapter 11
Liam poured himself a second cup of coffee. Eyeing the pot, he thought about downing the whole damn thing. Maybe the caffeine could break through the cloudy fog surrounding his brain. One part sleep deprivation, one part unfulfilled lust, both due to a sexy little lawyer who had him tied up in knots.
Thank the heavens above, Julie had been up and gone by the time he shuffled out of his room that morning. She’d left a full pot of coffee and a note saying she was tending to Wind Chaser. For a split moment, he’d thought about heading to the barn to find her, but then sanity reeled him back in. He needed less time around her, not more.
A huge yawn cracked his jaw. Rubbing at the morning stubble on his chin, he gulped down more of the liquid stimulant. His shoulder gave a slight ache when he brought the cup to his lips. Ignoring it, his gaze wandered out the window, unconsciously focusing on the barn. Even when he tried not to, his thoughts wandered to Julie.
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Shoulder burning where her lips had touched last night, he swore he could still feel the soft kiss. It had taken everything in him not to kiss her in that moment. He’d wanted to. So many, many things he’d wanted to do to her, with her. How he’d managed to stop he still had no idea. Willpower had always been something he prided himself on, but last night, Julie almost managed to break it.
Ryder’s little sister.
Repeating that phrase in his head was the only thing that saved him from committing a colossal mistake last night. No matter how much his dick disagreed with him, Liam knew he made the right choice. His body, however, lodged its complaints by making him toss and turn all night. Sleep had been non-existent, hence the gallon of coffee currently jolting through his system.
Finishing the last drops in his cup, he started to go for another when the peal of his cell disturbed the quiet morning air. He fished it out of his pocket, checking the ID before answering.
“Hey, man.” A smile tugged at his lips. “How goes the honeymoon?”
The sound of slot machines ringing carried over the line. “This place is crazy. Did you know you can still smoke in the casinos?” Ryder coughed over the line. “I can feel the tar coating my lungs as we speak.”
Vegas was like a whole other country. He’d been there a few times on assignment. Didn’t much care for all the noise and drunkards. Wasn’t his scene.
“Why are you gambling? I thought you’d be holed up in your room for two weeks straight.” Chuckling, he gave into the age-old male bonding ritual of shit-giving. “Don’t tell me you’ve run out of steam already? My condolences to Kayla.”
“Laugh it up, jackass.” The sounds of bells and whistles faded. “But for your information, I just dropped off Mrs. Ryder at the spa for an hour so I could arrange a romantic night on the town.”
Yup, his friend had fallen head first into love town. Lucky bastard didn’t seem to be bothered a bit by it either. A part of Liam envied what Ryder and Kayla had. To know your feelings with such assuredness must be nice.
“So, how are things?”
The hesitance in his friend’s voice rubbed him wrong. Liam told Ryder a little about what had happened, not the nitty gritty details, only the fact he got shot by a terrified ten year old. A scared little boy who shouldn’t have been in that hellhole of a house to begin with. Poor kid. His gut turned sour thinking about the whole situation.
Fists clenching, he pushed away his irritation. “Depends on what you mean? You asking about your house, which is fine and in one piece, or did that wife of yours turn you into some pansy who needs to talk about feelings constantly? Because I’m fine.”
Fine and freaking dandy.
So what if his career hung in the balance. He could always do…something.
Truthfully, he had no idea what to do if he weren’t in law enforcement. It was all he knew, all he was. Being an FBI agent was a goal he worked toward since he was in the fifth grade and Johnny Kelpinger’s dad came to speak at career day. One look at that shiny badge, hearing the stories of protecting the innocent, saving the day, and he’d been hooked.
Who was he if he wasn’t a field agent?
“Yeah, yeah, you’re fine.” A horn honked, and he heard Ryder swear. “I think pedestrian polo is an actual game out here. I swear I’ve almost been hit a dozen times. Anyway, I’m just checking in.”
“Everything’s good, man.”
“Great. We get back in ten days. I’ll pick up Wind Chaser when—”
“Actually, Wind Chaser is here. Picked her up from the Denning ranch yesterday.”
“What? Why are you taking care of my horse? You don’t even like horses.”
This was the part he didn’t want to reveal, but he had to. Nervously rubbing the back of his neck, he cleared his throat. “No, um, I’m not taking care of her. Your sister is.”
There was a pause on the line before his friend asked with confusion, “Julie?”
“You got another sister I don’t know about?”
“Shut up, jackass. What is Julie doing there?”
His gaze wandered out the kitchen window to the barn again. As if summoned, Julie emerged. Wind Chaser walked a steady gait behind her, the horse’s reins in her hand. Leading the large animal into the fenced off paddock, she stopped and turned. He watched in fascination as Julie stroked and nuzzled the creature. The morning sun glinted off her inky black hair, a smile brightened her entire face, and those dark chocolate eyes sparkled. His breath caught in his chest. Did the woman have any idea how beautiful she was?
“Hello? Liam? Did I lose you? Damn spotty mountain reception.”
“No, I’m here,” he spoke quickly before his buddy hung up. “Sorry, what did you ask?”
“I asked what my sister was doing there?”
“Said she came up for a little vacation time.”
She walked the horse around the pen. He tracked her every movement, pulse speeding up when she turned and he got a fantastic view of her ass in some very flattering jeans.
“I seem to remember that being the same bullshit line you tried to feed me.”
Yeah, nothing got past the sheriff of Peak Town. Shaking his head, he focused on his coffee cup instead of Julie Ryder’s amazing backside. He was on the phone with the woman’s brother. How low could he sink?
“She’s not telling me everything, that’s for sure.” Wind Chaser whinnied in the distance, causing his gaze to return outside and zero right in on Julie again.
Sinking pretty damn low, Liam.
“Why do you say that?”
Memories of last night came rushing back, the fear on her face when she revealed the reason she’d been up. It broke his freaking heart to see her upset. He wanted to kill David Tyler. Never before in his decade with the FBI had he wanted to walk on the other side of the law. The rage for what happened to her, the anger at himself for being unable to stop it, ate at him. His stomach turned in on itself. At this rate, he’d have a stomach full of ulcers.
“She had a nightmare last night.”
The noises on the other end of the phone quieted. Ryder must have found somewhere secluded. Hard thing to do in sin city.
“Did it have to do with David?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.”
He shared his friend’s sentiment.
“I should have gutted that asshole for what he did.”
“Come on, buddy. You and I both know you wouldn’t have done that.” At least, he was pretty sure. The guy had tried to kill the two most important women in Ryder’s life. Hard for a man to let anyone walk away when they threatened a loved one. “He’s not getting out. Ever.”
He’d see to that himself if he had to. David Tyler would stay behind bars forever.
“I shouldn’t have left.” Ryder’s defeated tone rang out clearly across the miles.
“You have to live your life and let Julie live hers. She’ll get through this. She’s tough.”
“You’ll look after her ’til I get back?”
Unable to stop himself, Liam allowed his gaze to follow her as she placed a foot in a stirrup and hefted herself into the saddle. With a quick tap to Wind Chaser’s flanks, the horse started an easy trot. Julie bounced up and down, hair flying in the breeze, laughter spilling from her sweet lips. She was such a sight to behold, his heart damn near stopped.
“Yeah.” He coughed, clearing his throat. “I’ll look after her.”
There was a paused on the end of the line, then Ryder’s accusing tone, “Is there something going on between you and my sister?”
Liam picked the wrong moment to take a sip of his coffee. The hot brew spewed over the counter as he choked on the liquid. “What? Wh—” More uncontrolled coughing. “Why would you ask that?”
A soft chuckle sounded in his ear. “I don’t know. There’s just always been this…thing between you two.”
Yeah, a thing he kept locked up because… “She’s your sister.”
“She’s an adult and he
r own person. And honestly, man,” Ryder’s tone turned serious. “She could do a lot worse.”
What the hell? Did his best friend actually give him the go ahead to start something with his sister? No. Liam only had brothers, but he knew it was written somewhere in the bro code that little sisters were never allowed to date, especially not one of your buddies.
“I don’t…it’s…it’s not like that. I swear.”
A noncommittal noise came over the line. “Sure, whatever you say. Just keep an eye on her, please.”
No problem there. He hadn’t been able to take his gaze off her. “You got it.”
“Oh, and, Liam, if you hurt her, I’m going to have to break your face. Fair warning.”
There was the big brother threat he expected.
“Noted.” But unnecessary, because he wouldn’t be hurting Julie.
Touching the screen, he disconnected the call and set the phone on the counter. He wouldn’t be in a position to hurt her because he wasn’t starting anything, for numerous reasons. One of them being, the woman was just too good for him. She was joy and laughter, adventure and light. Who was he? A busted up, soon-to-be-ex FBI agent who let the world jade him. He’d look out for her, protect her, stop anyone who tried to hurt her, but be with her? No, he couldn’t do that.
His heart sank like a stone in his chest. Julie Ryder deserved more than he could offer. She would be better off with someone else, someone who could give her everything her heart desired, make her smile with the bright joy that radiated out of her every day.
Dumping the rest of his coffee in the sink, he grabbed a towel to wipe up the mess from his coffee spit take. There were just some things in this world too precious to taint. He could never be with Julie, no matter how much his stupid body ached for her.
Chapter 12
Julie stepped into the kitchen as Liam shoved his cell into his pocket, a confused, slightly upset expression on his face.
“Something wrong?”
His head snapped up, appearance going blank when he saw her. “What?”
“I asked if something was wrong. You look upset.”
Arms crossed defensively over his chest, he leaned back against the counter, trying to affect a casual pose. Yeah, she wasn’t buying it.
Love on the Forbidden Side Page 7
