by Lori Ryan
“I’ll lose the company, won’t I?” Joel looked around the office. “You know, I haven’t had to take money from my dad to support this place in over a year.”
“Shit. I’m sorry, Joel. But I’ll tell the cops you had nothing to do with it.” He knew he needed to go to the cops. He couldn’t avoid it now.
“The publicity alone will kill us, even if they buy that I didn’t know Damon was coming in here doing this.”
“How do you think he did it?”
Joel shrugged. “He has the alarm code and it wouldn’t have been hard for him to grab my keys and get a copy made some time.”
They all had the alarm code to the building. Joel wasn’t exactly careful with it. If his hands were full or he was a little drunk when they swung by the office to grab petty cash or whatever, he’d tell them to punch in the code. As far as Billy knew, he hadn’t changed the code in three years.
Billy blew out a breath and walked back over to the computer. “All right. Let’s look at the times he logged in. See if we can figure shit out. We’ll print out the logs. Maybe at the very least, we can show you and Lyra weren’t in the building at the time.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Lyra grinned as she watched Luke walk down the hall. The sight of his retreating back and . . . assets . . . was enough to make her grin, but the fact he had one of the girls hanging from each of his arms was the real source of the smile. The girls, for their part, were shrieking as he swung them back and forth. His biceps flexed under their weight but he didn’t seem to strain in the least to hold them up.
Luke’s laughter floated back to her and she moved to catch up to them, jogging the last few steps before inserting her key in the lock. They’d taken the girls out for pizza and stayed out later than she’d planned. Any hesitation she had at letting Prentiss and Alyssa grow attached to a man who might not be in her life on a long-term basis was starting to flit away. He was exceptionally good at getting her to let down her defenses. Besides, with him living across the hall, the girls saw him several times a day anyway. There was little point in trying to keep them apart.
Still, she would need to be sure her daughters understood Luke was only here for a short time. That way, if he ended up wanting to continue to see her after he moved out of the building, the girls could be pleasantly surprised. If not, they’d have been prepared for the absence ahead of time.
She was pretty sure she was telling herself that as much as she planned to tell the girls. She wanted to protect her heart against this man, in case he decided this was a temporary stop for him.
“Okay girls, you can stay up and watch a few minutes of television if you make it into jammies and brush your teeth in two minutes.” She raised her phone and counted down. The girls knew the routine and thought the race was fun. “Three, two, one, and go!”
Twenty minutes later, the twins were in bed and she and Luke sat on the couch. The look he offered her now was one that said he was glad they were finally alone. She had to admit she was, too. As much as she loved them, being a single mom to young twins meant she didn’t have a whole lot of time to herself, much less time being an adult. And she had a feeling what Luke had in mind was very, very, adult.
He reached one hand out and pulled her closer to him. Not that she needed much convincing, but the way he pulled her into him was enough to kickstart a small flame in her stomach. Who was she kidding? It was a lot lower than her stomach.
“You know I really like spending time with your girls, right?” His voice was deep and he leaned in, almost breathing the words as he nuzzled her neck.
“But this . . . ” she said.
“But this . . . ” he echoed and closed his mouth on the spot he’d discovered the night before. The spot that always seemed to make her weak-kneed and panting. He moved his mouth across her neck, masterfully, and she couldn’t help the small mewl that came from her lips.
“God, I love the little sounds you make,” he said, his mouth dropping to her shoulder.
“I love the way you make me make little sounds,” she said, a small laugh coming from her. She didn’t laugh long. Instead, she flexed toward him, and he answered by pulling her onto his lap. Large hands held her in place as he took the kiss to new levels and she prayed the girls wouldn’t come out of their rooms for anything. She wasn’t ready to sleep with Luke, but she could do this with him for, oh, an hour. Or twenty.
Luke’s hands travelled up her torso, his thumbs slipping beneath the fabric to tease at the skin. She couldn’t stop the press of her hips into him if she tried. She didn’t.
Her whispered name was an oath on his lips as his hands worked over her breasts. Even through the layer of fabric her bra provided, the touch of his hands shot through her, awakening parts of her body that had lied dormant for a long time. Parts of her soul, too, if she were being honest.
“Luke,” she pleaded, and she felt the curve of his smile on her lips as he answered.
“Yes, Lyra?”
“More, please.” Her hips rocked into him again and this time, he ground up against her center, grasping her hips to hold her in place. His mouth didn’t leave hers, hot and hungry, as he rode her through their clothing like horny teenagers in the back of a car. Part of her couldn’t believe they were doing this. The other part was screaming at her to shut up.
She didn’t listen to either part for long. Her brain turned to mush as the sensations in her body took over. Luke freed the button on her pants and slid his hand, palm against her stomach, thumb slipping into her panties.
She let out a cry he managed to muffle with his mouth as his hand went south, but the pants were stopping him from getting to where she desperately needed him to be. He lifted her and moved so swiftly, it felt like she blinked and she was lying flat on her back on the couch, with Luke working her pants off her hips.
He moved pillows and stretched out beside her. “I won’t take it any further,” he whispered, a gruff ache in his voice. “I just need to see you come, Lyra.”
He paused a beat, she guessed to see if she would protest. She wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t planning to protest a damned thing. She was too mindless for that right now. She snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him to her.
And then his mouth was on hers and his hand found the heat and wetness between her legs. His fingers didn’t hesitate as he brought her to a mind numbing orgasm with startling speed. She clutched his shirt as her body shook in his arms and a moan crossed her lips.
When the waves of pleasure passed, he held her, nuzzling her neck as her breath evened out.
“God, you’re beautiful, Lyra. So damned beautiful.”
Warmth spread through her and she met his eyes. “I was worried.”
He pulled back, meeting her gaze. “About what?”
She pressed her lips together but he waited, and she had a feeling he wasn’t about to let her off the hook. The man probably also had the patience to wait her out. “I’ve had two babies. My body isn’t quite, I mean it’s just that . . . ”
His eyes narrowed and intensity swamped his gaze. “You’re beautiful. Trust me.” He pressed his erection against her thigh. “See?”
She laughed at the playful grin that took over his face.
It took more time than it should have for the soft knocking to break through the haze in Lyra’s head. She was completely wrapped up in the feel of Luke’s arms around her, of his hands on her, his mouth on her neck, her lips. The feel of his hard length pressing into her as she straddled him. That kind of thing did things to a woman’s ability to focus on interruptions, especially when they were definitely not welcome ones.
Luke pulled back and frowned at the door. “Is that your brother?”
Lyra sat up with a jolt. He was right. That was her brother calling to her through the door in the kind of stage whisper meant to see if she was awake and inside without waking the girls.
“Damn,” she said, as she climbed off Luke’s lap with his help, the absence of his hands on he
r markedly depressing. “What the hell, Billy?” She asked rhetorically.
Luke stood and gestured over his shoulder as Lyra pulled her pants back on. “I’ll wait in the kitchen.”
She nodded. They were on the same page. She’d ditch Billy. Fast.
Lyra waited until Luke had gone into the small kitchen before opening the door with a scowl. She loved her brother. He’d been there for her all these years when her parents hadn’t been, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t kick him out. She hadn’t been with a man in … well, in far longer than she cared to acknowledge, even to herself.
One look at Billy stopped her short. He looked awful. His hair stuck out in all directions and he looked almost like he’d been crying. If she didn’t know better, she might think he had. Her brother wasn’t that type, though.
Her thoughts went to her parents. She might not be able to forgive them for their attitude toward Caleb and her daughters, but on some level, she still loved them. If something had happened to them, the news would cut deep.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” She asked the question as she moved aside to let him in.
“I’m so sorry, Lyra. I’m so sorry.” As he spoke, she realized he held a stack of papers in his hand and she glimpsed the logo for Joel’s company on the corner of the top page.
Lyra moved in front of him, stopping his movement. “Sorry for what? You’re scaring me, Billy. What happened?” Something tight and heavy balled in the pit of her stomach and all thoughts of making out with Luke vanished. With some surprise, she realized she wanted to call Luke out here, to have him by her side for this, his strong presence helping as her brother seemed to crumple before her eyes.
Billy sat heavily on the couch and looked up at her. “I fucked up Lyra. I really fucked up. But I’m going to make it right.”
Lyra sat next to him. Mothering two young twins alone had taught her a few things. One was that things were rarely as bad as people thought they were when they were in the thick of it. Sure, she’d never seen Billy as worked up as this, but she’d get him to explain what was going on and they’d work it out, together.
Unease spread through her chest as she looked at him and glanced back to the stack of papers. “Tell me, Billy.”
He didn’t look at her as he spoke. “I’m going to make it right, Lyra. I promise. Me and Damon have been working on a . . . ” He seemed to struggle with how to explain things. “A business. The short story is that we’ve been collecting information from different companies.”
The unease left her chest and flowed through her body, prickling at her scalp. Collecting information. She knew that was Billy’s way of saying they’d gotten something they weren’t supposed to have through means they shouldn’t have used to get it. Billy wanted a shortcut in life. He always had. If he had information, he’d gotten it the wrong way.
“What kind of information? What companies?”
Now he glanced at her, but quickly looked away. Her pity for him was gone. Because something told her this was about to tie back to her in some way. That he was going to need her to bail him out. Sure, he’d bailed her out plenty over the years by sitting for her when she needed help. By coming over and giving her breaks when the girls were sick. By being her extra set of hands. But bailing Billy out always meant something different. It meant truly bailing him out of trouble when he made stupid choices that left him in bad spots.
“Computer companies, defense contractors, bioengineering facilities, research labs.” He ran his hand through his hair again and blew out a breath. “The kind of companies that have information that shouldn’t get out there.”
Her mouth dropped open and he raised his hands in defense. “We wanted to see what we could get and then go to the companies with it. Tell them how to plug their leaks.”
“For a price,” she said, realization dawning on her. “That’s illegal, Billy.”
“We’re not hacking into the companies.” This was said with indignation and she didn’t want to know how he’d justified this in his head.
She purposely tried to relax her jaw. “Then how are you getting the information?”
“Their employees are giving it to us.”
She raised a brow. She didn’t need to ask him why they’d simply turn over that kind of information. The question was written on her face.
“We’re running fake scenarios in a private online group. We collect information as people release it in these hypotheticals. In the end, we’re doing the companies a favor. These people are leaking information they’ve signed nondisclosures about. Some of them have military clearances. The faster these companies find out who can be trusted and who can’t, the better.”
Lyra closed her eyes for a minute, trying to resist the urge to shake him. He was older than her, but you wouldn’t know it at times.
“Only . . . ” He didn’t continue and she wasn’t sure she wanted him to.
She waited as he met her gaze with pleading eyes.
“Damon has gone off on his own. He’s selling the information to some bad people. Really bad people.” He looked sick and she felt a small amount of pity for him, but mostly she felt fear. Just fear and anger at him for being so damned stupid.
“You need to stop him.”
“I can’t. Oh God, Lyra, I can’t. He’s locked me out of things and he’s set up everything . . . He’s set it all up to look like you were behind things. He didn’t make it obvious, but if the police go looking, it’s going to come back to you as the ISP holder for the chat group online. He logged into your computer from Joel’s office. Joel might be implicated.”
The cold that ran through Lyra was unlike anything she’d felt since she was told Caleb had been killed.
Until she heard the deep voice coming from the kitchen. In that moment a whole new level of cold washed over her and she felt her world tip on its axis.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Luke stepped from the shadows of the kitchen. He could let Billy keep talking. Let him incriminate himself further, but there was no need. What he needed to do now was to get things taken care of to get Lyra’s name cleared and to stop Damon from selling the information. He’d help Billy out as best he could—help him cut a deal for less jail time, but the information and Lyra took priority now.
“They already have, Billy.” He said the words, knowing it would shove a wall between himself and Lyra that likely couldn’t be torn down, but he couldn’t do what he needed to do to save her and keep her name out of this unless he got Billy to talk. Got him to help take down Damon and any other accomplices out there. “They’ve got her name and the evidence tying her to the auction. I’ll need you to come in with me and tell me everything you can so I can take down your accomplices and keep Lyra out of this.”
He didn’t look at Lyra. Couldn’t. Because the look on her face was visible from the corner of his eye. She looked sick. Betrayed. Slain. And he’d done that.
Lyra didn’t speak, but Billy did. “What the fuck? You’re a cop.”
Luke shook his head. “Not a cop. I’m not even on the books. But you’ll be dealing with the military on this one.” He glanced to Lyra now and held her gaze. “I’ll help you all I can. We’ll talk to the right people. But you’ll need to tell them everything. Do everything they ask.”
Billy was nodding and Luke looked back to him. “I can’t make it go away, but I can try to help you if you help us stop the auction. Help us get your buddy and maybe lure a few of the buyers in too, if we can do that safely.” Luke spoke evenly, even as his chest felt like someone had run a truck straight through it.
Lyra was looking at him, but there wasn’t anger or rage or hurt in her eyes. Those gorgeous eyes that had been so lit with passion and heat moments before were now flat. Dead. She’d shut him out as surely as if she’d simply carved out the past few weeks and made him disappear from her life.
He’d thought it would feel good to be back to doing something with purpose, something that could make a difference in peoples’ li
ves. And, shit, it should. If they could stop this auction, keep this information from getting out, he’d save thousands, if not millions, of lives. Not many could say that was all in a day’s work.
Instead, he felt hollow.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Lyra watched in stunned silence as Luke led Billy from her apartment. There were no handcuffs, no officers to escort him out. Her brother simply walked out with Luke by his side.
It took her a minute to process what had just happened and kick into gear. She needed to get Billy a lawyer. She needed to get down to the police station and figure out how to protect her brother through this.
“Wait,” she said to the empty room. Luke had said he wasn’t even on the books. This was military, he’d said. What the hell did that mean? And where would he take her brother?
“Crap, crap, crap,” she whispered, still quite aware of her sleeping girls in the next room. She was in no shape for them to wake up and see her. A bitter laugh bubbled out. How different the circumstances were from only half an hour before, where them waking up might have meant finding her and Luke messing around on the couch.
Lyra glanced at the clock and prayed her friend would still be up. She texted a quick nine-one-one “call me” message to Tracy and then turned her cell phone ringer down while she stared at her phone, waiting for the call.
Moments later, the call came and she swiped her thumb across the screen to connect it.
“Hey, what’s up?” Tracy said, not sounding at all perturbed at the late hour.
“I need you to call Neil for me, please.” Tracy’s ex, Neil, was a lawyer. They’d had a hell of a battle during the divorce, so Tracy wouldn’t call him lightly, but she also knew Lyra wouldn’t ask lightly, either.
There was no hesitation in her friend’s response. “Absolutely. What should I tell him you need?”
