The jump of his body and his rough call of completion tapped into Diana’s protective side. As he collapsed on her, she cradled his head to her breasts, languidly running her hands across the broad expanse of his sweat-slick back, sensing his torment. Long moments passed before his body relaxed, and then he raised his head and gave her a sad kind of smile.
“It seems as if I’ve been waiting for that forever,” he said, and shifted onto the pillows of his bed, dragging her with him, obviously reluctant to let her go.
He cradled her against his side, and she nestled there, bathed in the heat of his body, her mind soothed by some unseen connection between them. As she lingered in his arms, she admitted to herself that she had been waiting for him forever, as well.
Chapter 17
Ryder had little time to enjoy the feel of her lying naked in his arms. The distinctive ring of her cell phone echoed from the workout room and she groaned. “I need to get that.”
He opened his arms and let her rise. Diana raced across the hall into the gym and then came back to sit on the edge of his bed. She checked the caller identification on the phone, dialed the number and waited.
Ryder shifted and sat directly behind her, his chest brushing her back. She murmured a halfhearted protest as he slipped his arm around her waist.
“What is it, David?” She covered Ryder’s hand with hers, keeping him from reaching up to cradle her breast.
Ryder heard the muffled reply on the other end of the call. She half turned to face him and asked, “Neither of the bouncers is home. Do you have any idea where—”
“Their free time is their own. They’re probably working at another club that’s open tonight,” he replied, annoyed that the investigation had somehow ended up in bed with them. He rattled off the names of two or three other clubs in the area. Diana repeated those names for her partner and then more softly whispered, “Yes, Ryder is still with me. I’ll meet you at The Zone as soon as I can. Wait for me.”
Ryder studied her as she ended the call and faced him. “I need to go.”
But he knew her leaving was about much more than having to meet her partner. She was withdrawing from him already. Running from emotions she couldn’t handle, just like she ran from the emotions involving her father.
He wasn’t going to let her go so easily. Reaching up, he smoothed an errant lock of hair before cradling her cheek. “You need to get some rest eventually. Will you come back?”
He wanted her to say yes with every fiber of his being, knowing that a repeat performance of tonight didn’t make any sense. Continuing this relationship would likely bring both of them a world of pain, but even as he thought that, he moved toward her, brushing his lips to hers.
Diana accepted the gentle invitation of his mouth, telling herself that this was it. She had faced her demon and was in control of it. But his touch sent her heart skittering in her chest and made her want to press him down into the dishabille of the bedcovers. Somehow she marshaled the strength to move away. “I need to focus on the case tonight, Ryder. I need—”
“Some space,” he finished for her.
Reluctantly, she nodded.
He shifted away, leaned back against the headboard and slipped his arms behind his head, exposing the broad, bare expanse of his chest. “Go, then. Call me when…”
She sensed his irritation. A lesser man might have taken the opportunity to lash out at her, but Ryder bit back any kind of retort. He waited there as she dressed.
When she was almost finished, he eased out of bed and grabbed a robe. “I’ll walk you out.” When he realized she was seeking her shoes which were in the other room, he said, “I’ll get them. Meet me downstairs.”
Diana nodded, needing that small separation to garner her resolve. What was she going to do about him?
She headed to the lower level and stood by the door until he came down the stairs. He handed her the sneakers, and after she had put them on and stood once more, he reached out and eased her gold chain over her head. He held the crucifix and medallions in one fist and studied her. “Watch your back out there.”
The intensity of his gaze, the heat and dark of it, snaked its way through her. “I will. Ryder, I…” She what? she asked herself, unsure of so many things.
Ryder cupped her cheek, rode his thumb over her lips as he tried to reassure her. “This isn’t easy. For either of us. We’re two creatures used to being alone.” He needed her to know what he was feeling. “What we have together…I know it’s complicated—”
“Ryder, that doesn’t begin to describe it.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “I need to think about this. About what just happened.”
“What did just happen?” He needed, more than anything, to hear that it had meant something to her.
Diana searched his face. The strength of the emotion there both unnerved and excited her. Had anyone else ever looked at her like this? As if she was his heaven and hell, his salvation and damnation all rolled into one? And could she handle that burden? “I don’t know, Ryder. All I know is what I’m feeling is intense and scary and…I need to go.”
As she stepped through the door, he took hold of her arm and urged her to face him. He bent his head, brushed his lips against hers and murmured, “Please be careful and…call me.”
She cradled the back of his head and deepened the kiss. As she pulled away, she whispered, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll let you know what’s happening as soon as I can.”
Once on the other side of the door, Diana hesitated. She stared hard at the fine wood that separated her from Ryder. Just a few inches kept her from…She rested her hand on the door as if by doing so she could touch him. But beneath her hand there was only the hardness and chill of the wood.
With three older sisters and an assortment of female friends, David was probably well familiar with the look of a woman who had been thoroughly loved. And as Diana leaned down to speak to him through the open window of his car, she knew that it was impossible for him not to see the way her lips were fuller, almost bruised from Ryder’s kisses. Not to mention the slight razor burn along the lower part of her jaw.
“Ready?” she asked, acting nonchalant, but as their gazes met and then skipped away, she knew that he knew.
But David said nothing about it, and she stepped aside so he could open the door and meet her on the curb. He filled her in on what had happened earlier in the night. “Quinn and Carpenter hit the two other clubs, but no one would admit to seeing either of the bouncers. I waited for you here, hoping a little feminine persuasion might be of help.”
“No one wanted to squeal on a pal, I’m sure. You’re right about the approach. Wait here while I try.” She quickly walked away and up the long ramp leading to the entrance. This club clearly wasn’t as popular as The Lair, where there had been a wait every night they had been there. Because of that lack of a crowd, the killer probably hadn’t been there. It was the crowd that gave him a wider selection and the anonymity he needed.
The bouncer smiled at her as she paid the admission and got her hand stamped. Inside the club there was none of the attention to detail evident at Ryder’s place. A few mirror balls were hung here and there. At the back of the club, a DJ in a glass booth spun tunes for the dancers. White Christmas lights along the edges of the booth made it look cheap and run-down. The dance floor itself was nothing more than painted cement. The dismal interior and canned music likely accounted for the lack of patrons.
Diana sauntered to the bar, where no more than a half dozen or so men and women were seated. One of the men was larger than the rest, but with his back to the bar, she couldn’t tell if it was Manny, the bouncer for The Lair. She slipped into the seat beside him. He smiled and shifted on the stool to face her.
“I’ve seen you at The Lair, haven’t I?” she asked with interest.
“I’m the head bouncer there.” He held out his hand as he introduced himself. “Manny Rodriguez.”
She took hold of his hand, shook it, then reached
inside her leather jacket and extracted her FBI identification. Holding it up for him to see, she said, “I need to speak to you. We can do it outside or we can do it down in our offices, which will take a lot longer. Which will it be?”
He cursed under his breath and slammed his glass down on the bar. Motioning to the bartender, he said, “I’ll be back in five.”
Manny walked ahead of her out of the club and down to the parked car at the curb where David waited, holding the envelope with the photos. Diana explained to Manny just what they wanted.
The bouncer roughly grabbed the pictures, flipped through them quickly and shook his head. “Don’t know the dude.”
“Really? Aren’t you at the door every night?”
Manny shook his head. “As the head guy, I make the rounds. Check to see everyone is where they’re supposed to be. That the money is being collected. If there’s a problem, I go out and try to keep it from getting out of control,” he explained.
Diana glanced at the snapshots, studying the one with the view of the bouncer’s fingertips as he waved at the suspect and victim. “Hold out your hands,” she instructed, and Manny immediately complied.
She studied his squat, thick fingers, realizing they were quite distinct from those in the photo. “Who else is at the front door on a regular basis?”
Manny thought about it for only a second, then provided the name of the bouncer they had tried to locate earlier.
“Is he the only one?” David asked.
Manny shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, unless he’s out or taking a break.”
David continued with the questioning. “If he’s taking a break, who replaces him?”
“Usually I do, but sometimes it’s Rick Black. He’s at the rear entrance. We don’t have that many people there. Alley creeps them out, you know?” Manny actually shivered.
“Why’s that?” she asked, wondering what would scare a guy the size of Manny.
“Found a dead wino a few weeks back. He’d been there for days before anyone noticed, since it’s so dark. Ever since then, people have been weirded out. Besides, Latimer regularly checks it out, so…”
Diana was well aware that Ryder sometimes checked the alley, but she was taken aback to find out he went there often. “What does he do in the alley?”
Manny shrugged, looked around and then leaned close to her to whisper, “He meets his lady friend—the doc. You know who I mean. You know what they probably do….”
Pain ripped through her, but she tried to contain it. “Yeah, you don’t have to draw me a diagram.” She faced David and hated the commiseration on his face. “You need anything else?”
David glanced at the bouncer and shrugged. “Only the address of where Rick Black might be tonight and…” He stopped, took a quick look at his notebook and continued. “If you can reach either him or Doug Baker, the other bouncer, let them know we aren’t interested in them. We just need to ask a few questions, okay?”
Manny looked the two over, as if gauging their sincerity. After a moment, he nodded and said, “I’ll try to track them down. Rick’s probably at home. He’s a family man.”
He reached into a back pocket, pulled out a small black address book and read a number to them. After returning the book to his pocket, he confirmed the name of the bar where Doug Baker would be.
“Went by there already. Nobody would fess up to seeing him,” David said.
“Doug’s had problems before. He’s a little skittish so he may be laying low.”
David looked at her. “I think we’re done here.”
“Yes, definitely done.” She headed for the car, needing a moment to deal with all the information the bouncer had provided. Trying to tell herself that whatever went on with Melissa in the alley was none of her business.
Ryder pounded the heavy bag, his blows hard and fast, and without pause. The animal in him simmered beneath the surface, waiting to erupt. The urge lay dormant under his skin, wanting to savor a human treat. He had passed up a taste of Diana earlier, but now he was close to the edge. He hadn’t been that way since…
He couldn’t remember. Maybe since he had first been turned. Back then, his bloodlust had barely been contained. It had taken years and years for him to learn to curb it. To feed without killing. And even then, it had been nearly a century since he had fed on a living being. Now he craved it like an addict craved a drug.
But it wasn’t just any drug he craved—only Diana.
Playing in the background, as he worked out, were the sounds of a new alternative rock band who had sent him a demo CD in the hopes of being hired. The tunes were catchy, the rhythm easy to keep. He thought about moving to the beat with her, her body pressed tight to his, her hips swaying….
His fangs burst forth as his arousal grew, human battling animal. He stopped and grabbed the bag as he became dizzy from the desire sweeping across him. Taking a deep breath, he battled it, then went on with his workout. He would pound the heavy bag until he could no longer raise his arms. Until he was so weak and tired that exhaustion would claim him and keep him from satisfying any of those unwanted urges.
As the music played, another sound intruded. He stopped and tried to concentrate on it, but the music was too loud. By the time he reached for the remote control for his stereo, there was silence.
He returned to his workout, each blow on the bag bringing him closer to regaining the illusion of control.
Chapter 18
Diana stared at the cell phone in anger. Ryder was not picking up and she wondered where he had gone after…No, it would be better if she admitted that she was more concerned about who he had gone with and not where.
“He’s not answering?” David asked, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned on his car.
“No.” She dialed the number again. It rang and rang and the answering machine came on. She left Ryder a message, dialed the number for his office at The Lair and left a similar message. As she clipped the phone back onto the waistband of her sweats, she looked up at her partner. “Ready to hit the next club?”
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”
“What do you propose I do? Chase after him?” she retorted hotly, stung by the fact that maybe Ryder had found her so lacking, he’d sought someone else out immediately after their…She couldn’t even put a name to it. Tryst? Affair? Lovemaking?
“You can choose to avoid it or you can deal, Di.”
She hated his ability to stay cool when she wanted to rage. “I’ll deal tomorrow. Let’s get going to the next club.” She looked at her partner with a defiant tilt to her head, daring him to push her so she could vent some of her anger. Transference, she recognized as a psychologist, but, in some perverse way, satisfying.
David raised his hands as if in surrender, sensing she was spoiling for a fight. “Handle it when you can. For now, one car or two?”
Her own standard-issue nondescript sedan was parked around the corner. She needed to head home for sleep eventually. “Two. After this, I think we should check in with the others and call it a night.”
David didn’t argue with her. He looked tired and had been at it as long as she, without, of course, the interlude of incredibly mind-blowing sex.
She walked to her car while David got into his. She needed the time to think and to cool down. The drive to the next club, however short, would help her to get things in perspective.
The headache had settled in with a vengeance that not even her third cup of café latte had cured. Diana leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, trying to take a few minutes to relax in the hopes of quelling the pain. The minutes passed, but the dull ache in her head remained, nagging and insistent.
It was the result of too little sleep and a restless night plagued by dreams of Ryder. Erotic dreams that had woken her and left her shaking with need. She rubbed at her temples, trying to massage the pain away. When that proved useless, she reached for her coffee and finished the last few dregs.
She was about to
head for another cup when there was a knock at her door. “Come in.”
Maggie made a face as she took in Diana’s condition. “You look like death warmed over.”
“Is that your expert medical opinion—”
Wagging a finger at Diana, she said, “Don’t give me lip. How many hours of sleep have you had?”
“More than most of the squad, so don’t lecture me, Mama Maggie. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“You wanted info on Melissa Danvers, right?” Maggie eased into the chair in front of Diana’s desk and crossed her long, elegant legs.
Diana remembered but had assumed Maggie’s silence meant there wasn’t anything worthwhile to report. “What gives?” she asked, trying to appear cool although she was anxious to hear what Maggie had to say.
Maggie shrugged. “Melissa is the daughter of my old professor. Her father and grandfather, and just about every other Danvers before her, were doctors. Like her dad, she specializes in hematology and is just finishing up that specialization.”
Maggie was holding something back. She wouldn’t meet Diana’s gaze and her hands fluttered nervously in the air as she spoke.
“Now give me the dirt you think I don’t want to know.”
Maggie lifted her head and squarely faced Diana. “She lives with—”
“Ryder Latimer. Old news. He told me so himself.”
Maggie’s green eyes widened in surprise. “Didn’t take you for the type.”
Diana leaned forward in her chair and braced her elbows on her desk. “Type? What do you mean by that?”
“Someone willing to be part of a messy threesome—you, Ryder and Melissa.”
“Ryder says she’s an old family friend.” The response sounded lame even to Diana’s ears, and Maggie laughed harshly.
“None of my sources could confirm it, but she is living with him. In this day and age—”
Darkness Calls Page 14
