"I can take care of myself. And if I need help, I'll call whoever I want."
"Did you forget what that asshole did to Cilla?"
"I haven't forgotten a thing, Brendan," Livvy said sharply. "But my sister's forgiven him and moved on. You should do the same."
Ryan's hand tightened on the coffee holder. Livvy was defending him to Brendan Donovan. Her future brother-in-law. The guy Ryan had confronted at the hospital after Jack Murphy'd been shot.
Warmth slid through him. Livvy was taking his side. Telling Donovan to back down. His throat thickened and he struggled to swallow the lump.
Shame and guilt spilled through him whenever he thought about what he'd done to Cilla Marini. Livvy's sister. This was his opportunity to make some amends. He'd watch out for Cilla's sister. Make sure Livvy didn't get hurt. Make sure Bates couldn't ruin another life.
"Forgiveness isn't that easy, Liv," Donovan said.
"It's exactly that easy," Livvy retorted.
Ryan was close enough to the door to see Livvy nose to nose with Brendan. She held Donovan's gaze for a long, tense moment. Finally Brendan raised his hands and stepped back.
Ryan had heard enough. Time for Brendan to stop haranguing Livvy. He strolled into the room, set the coffee on the table. Lifted one out and handed it to Livvy, passed her the bag with bagels and cream cheese. Then he turned to Brendan. "Donovan. You need coffee? A bagel?"
Brendan stared at him with cold eyes. "Don't need anything from you, Ward."
Ryan shrugged one shoulder. "Suit yourself." He chose a bagel for himself, lifted another of the coffees out of the holder, and sat down at the conference table. Across from Livvy. No way was he going to fan the flames of Donovan's temper by cozying up to Livvy.
To his surprise, she pushed her bagel across the table, then walked around to sit next to him. Clearly choosing sides.
Livvy lifted her chin at Brendan, as if daring him to challenge her. Donovan narrowed his eyes at her. "Him? Really, Liv?"
"None of your damn business, Brendan Donovan."
"You gonna bring him to dinner?" Brendan crossed his arms over his chest.
"Maybe," she said, examining the bagels before pulling one out.
"There'll be a lot of chest-thumping if you do." Donovan scowled at her.
"You know I like a good show," she said, opening the cream cheese.
Donovan stared at her. She held his gaze a heartbeat too long, then calmly spread cream cheese on her bagel before passing the tub to Ryan.
"You enjoying this, Ward?" Brendan finally said. "Is that why you're sticking around?"
"I always appreciate a good melodrama," Ryan said. "But I'm here because I sent her to Philby. Figured you'd need my input."
Donovan scowled at him, but didn't say a thing. Ryan's lips twitched, but he didn't let the smirk out. Livvy had beaten Donovan at his game. On top of that, Ryan was right and Donovan knew it. They needed to pool their information if they hoped to catch Philby's murderer.
The room was silent, tension bouncing off the gray walls, as Ryan chewed a poppyseed bagel and watched Livvy eat hers. He'd been stupidly delighted when she'd chosen poppyseed, too. Were they going to be one of those couples? The ones who seemed to have a mind-meld?
His hand shook a little as he lifted his coffee. No. They weren't going to be a couple at all. He needed to straighten out his life before he could get involved in a relationship. He and Livvy could have fun, but it would end when this case ended. She deserved better than him.
And he needed to get his act together before he tried to be part of a couple.
Livvy brushed the bagel crumbs off her hands, took another sip of coffee, and turned to Brendan. "All right, Brendan, what did you find at Philby's place?"
Donovan's gaze snapped over to Ryan, then back to Livvy. "Pretty much what I told you. Nothing else in his place was disturbed. No footprints. No casings left behind. We have the techs dusting for fingerprints, but I'm guessing nothing will pop."
"Sounds professional," Ryan said.
Donovan glanced at him and nodded reluctantly. As if he hated to agree with anything Ryan said. "Looks like it."
Ryan turned to Livvy. Her foot bounced against the floor, and her fingers drummed on the tabletop. He wanted to reach over and put his hand over hers. Help her settle. But not with Donovan in the room.
He didn't care if Donovan got into it with him. But he didn't want the guy going after Livvy when he wasn't around.
Before Donovan could continue, Cilla Marini walked in, followed by a short woman with tousled blond hair. Katya Sobieski. She used to work in Ryan's district. "Hey, Bren," Cilla said.
Donovan turned and held her for a moment, then hugged the blond woman. "Thanks for coming over, Cil. You, too, Katya."
Cilla spotted her sister sitting beside Ryan and hurried over. Livvy stood up, and Cilla hugged her tightly. "How are you doing?" Cilla murmured.
"Better." Livvy glanced at Ryan, and the tension around her eyes eased. A tiny smile lifted one corner of her mouth.
Cilla switched her gaze to Ryan. "Ward. What are you doing here?" There was no animosity in her voice. No hostility. Just curiosity.
"I'm working with Livvy on the Bates case," he said. "I'm the one who gave her Philby's name."
"Oh." Cilla raised her eyebrows, her gaze snapping from him to Livvy and back again. "Interesting."
"Gus Swenson playing his usual games," Livvy said.
Cilla nodded to the blond, who was talking to Donovan. "You know Katya, don't you, Ward?"
"Yeah, we used to work together." He nodded at the blond. "She transferred out after that mess with her partner, Henry Bennett and that serial rapist you caught."
"She's in the sixteenth now. Passed the detective's exam last month." Cilla grinned at Sobieski. "Since Bren and I can't be partners, I settled for Katya," she said.
Sobieski raised one eyebrow. "You lucked out and you know it, Marini."
Before Cilla could answer, Connor, Quinn and Mia crowded into the room. In seconds, all the Donovans, as well as Cilla and Sobieski, were talking at once. Livvy joined in, clearly at home with the Donovan family. Ryan watched the give and take, the easy flow of conversation in the close-knit group, and he swallowed. The Donovans were nothing like his family.
A sharp stab of loneliness speared through him, even in the midst of so many people. He was the outsider here. The stranger. Tolerated only because he had information they needed.
Even Sobieski was part of the group.
A hand settled on his back. Ryan glanced up and saw Livvy standing beside him. She was talking to her sister, but she squeezed his shoulder gently.
Including him.
Letting him know she hadn't forgotten him.
He wanted to reach for her, to thank her. Instead, he pressed his fingers into the table, hard enough to whiten his knuckles.
He wouldn't do that to her. Not in front of the Donovan family.
Before he could give into temptation, Brendan whistled. The sharp, piercing sound made everyone freeze.
"We need to exchange some info. Katya, you used to work the twenty-second, where Philby was killed. Cilla, you, Livvy and," he hesitated for a fraction of a second, "Ward are familiar with the Bates investigation. You three jokers," he nodded at Connor, Quinn and Mia, "are pretty much worthless on this case, so you can get lost. Let's get down to business."
In moments, the other Donovan siblings had vanished and everyone else sat around the table. Livvy reclaimed her seat next to him. As Brendan began talking again, Livvy wrapped her foot around his. Nudged her knee against his, and left it there.
Ryan swallowed the giant lump in his throat. She was lining up on his side. Drawing him into the Donovan circle.
He didn't know about the Donovans. Wasn't sure they could ever accept him as part of their circle. Wasn't sure he'd even want to be part of the Donovan circle. But he sure as hell wanted Livvy on his side. As close as she could possibly get.
Chapter 9
An hour later, Livvy's shoulders relaxed as she walked out of the nineteenth district station beside Ryan. After the initial chest thumping, Brendan had calmed down and treated Ryan like a colleague. A fellow cop who could help with his investigation.
There were moments of snark, but for the most part, everyone had behaved. Cooperated like actual adults. They had a plan.
"Thank you for reminding Brendan to start sweating Jerry Williams and Freddie Sampson," she said as she slid into his car.
Ryan shrugged as he tugged on his seat belt. "He's a good cop. He would have done it anyway. I know those meatheads, though. Williams will be easier to crack than Sampson, which is why I suggested Donovan start with Jerry. But both of those losers need to know the deal."
"Yeah," Livvy said. She glanced at Ryan, wondering if he realized he'd called Brendan a good cop. "Once they know what happened to Philby, even those two jokers will realize they might be next in line for a late-night visit. Offering them protective custody in exchange for testimony might loosen their tongues." She rolled her shoulders, feeling the tension ease. "I planned to talk to Gus today, anyway. I'll tell him we'll need to work something out with Sampson and Williams if they're willing to testify against Bates."
Ryan glanced at her as he stopped at a red light. "I'll drop you off at the Daley Center."
"You don't have to do that." She scanned a work email, then slid her phone back into her briefcase. "You said you were going back to your apartment. My office is in the opposite direction. Drop me at my place and I'll drive in myself."
A muscle in Ryan's jaw jumped. "Not happening. Bates is in clean-up mode. I don't want you wandering around by yourself." He swiveled to look at her. "Where do you park when you drive to the Daley Center building?"
"The office rents a floor at one of the parking garages."
His hands tightened on the steering wheel and the car leaped ahead when the light turned green. "You really want to walk through a dark parking garage by yourself? With every car a possible hiding place? I thought you were smarter than that, Livvy."
Ryan's words sent a chill shivering down her spine. They were a reminder she was involved in a nasty case. With a lot at stake. "You're right. I hadn't thought about that creepy parking garage." She spotted El tracks a few block away. "Drop me off at that Red Line station. I'll take the El."
"Now you're just jerking me around." He accelerated through a yellow light, accompanied by the flash from the red light camera. "Damn it!" He slapped the steering wheel. "You're making me crazy, Livvy."
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'll pay for the red light ticket." She laid her hand on his thigh. "You don't have to waste your time babysitting me. It's broad daylight. The El will be fine."
"First of all, I'm a cop. I won't get a fucking red light ticket." His tires screeched as he pulled to the curb and swiveled to face her. "I'm not babysitting you. You're capable of taking care of yourself. I know that. But…" He jerked his head toward her briefcase on the floor. "You carry a gun in there? And if so, do you know how to use it?"
"No. No gun." She wrapped her arms around herself, the thought of needing one making her stomach twist.
"Livvy, I don't want you going anywhere by yourself until we get this case under control." He slammed his hand on the steering wheel, making it wobble. "A guy was killed this morning because you were going to ask him about Bates. You've been asking a lot of questions about Anson. Where do you think that puts you on the 'people to get rid of' list?"
She sucked in a breath. "You're trying to scare me."
"Damn right I am. Is it working?"
Yes. It was. "Fine," she said. "Drop me off at the Daley Center Plaza."
He stared at her for a long minute. "You gonna call me when you're ready to leave?"
"Yes. I'll call you. I promise." She put her hand on his thigh and squeezed the hard muscles. "I get that this has gotten dangerous. But it's one thing to kill a low level dealer. I don't think they'll go after an assistant state's attorney. Bates knows what a shit storm that would cause."
"You think he won't go after you?" Ryan snorted. "Think again. Bates has been in Cook County Jail for a month, and he doesn't like it. He's getting desperate. Why do you think he hired a big dog attorney like Bennett?
"Now he's worried because you're finding the weak links in his chain. Screwing things up for him. If he thinks getting rid of you would derail the case against him, he wouldn't hesitate to send someone after you."
"I'm not the only ASA on this," she said, reaching for his hand. "There's a whole team of us working on the Bates case."
"But you're the one working with me." His voice gentled and he slid his fingers between hers. "You're the one who talked to Sampson and Williams. You're the most immediate threat. The most dangerous."
She stared at their joined hands, the connection sparking between them. She felt safe with Ryan. Protected. Why was she jabbing at him?
Finally she lifted her head and met his concerned gaze. "You're right, and I apologize. I'm not used to someone…taking care of me. Thinking about my safety."
"What kinds of assholes have you been dating?" he said, bringing their joined hands to his mouth to press a kiss to her wrist. Then he set them on his chest. His heart raced beneath her hand.
Dating. The word sent a frisson of anticipation through her. "Is that what we're doing? Dating?"
Flattening her hand against the hard wall of his chest, he held her gaze. "What would have happened last night if our pizza hadn't shown up when it did?"
Livvy drew in a deep, shuddering breath. She'd thought about that most of the night, the details unspooling in restless, erotic dreams. All featuring Ryan. "I don't think we would have had dinner," she whispered.
"You're right. Five more minutes, and neither of us would have heard your doorbell." He kissed her hand one more time, then let her go and pulled into traffic again. "So I think we're dating." He glanced at her, one side of his mouth curling up. "Even if we have to sneak around."
"Is that what you want?" she asked, disappointment crashing through her.
"Hell, no. But you said we couldn't get together because that high-priced attorney of Bates' would use it in court. So we're left with sneaking." He shot her another glance. "It's either that, or stay away from each other. Your choice."
Her heart fluttered. So did other parts of her. "Sneaking," she whispered. "Definitely sneaking. We're on the same side. It's not like we'll be passing secrets back and forth during pillow talk."
"Got news for you, babe." He pulled up to the curb at the Daley Center. "The only kind of pillow talk we'll have will be 'yes. More. That. Right there. Oh, God'." He grinned at her as he slid out of the car. "The only secrets I want to know are what revs your engine. Where you want me to touch you. And how loud you scream when you come."
He opened her car door, glanced around and held out his hand to help her out of the car. "Think about your answers. There'll be a test later."
She swallowed as they walked across the plaza, too turned on to speak. As she reached for the door to the building, his hand tightened on hers. "Call me when you're ready to leave. I'll pick you up right here."
"Okay," she managed to say. "I will."
He studied her face. His self-satisfied smirk told her he knew exactly how aroused she was. "I'll see you later, Livvy."
She stared at his mouth. "Looking forward to it."
"Me, too." He squeezed her hand, then let her go. He stood waiting as she walked inside. He was still there when her elevator door closed.
* * *
Livvy closed Gus Swenson's office door carefully, her hand gripping the doorknob tightly to prevent herself from slamming it. She wanted to make the walls shake with her fury. She wanted to tell Swenson exactly what she thought of him.
He'd told her to work harder. To get something solid against Bates. The connection between Philby's murder and Bates was too thin. It wouldn't hold up in court, especially with Henry Bennett defending Bat
es.
After fifteen minutes of negotiating, she'd managed to wring from Gus a promise of protective custody for Williams and Sampson if they coughed up any useful information. But his dismissal of the rest of her efforts stung.
She stormed into her own office and sank into her chair. The last time she'd met with Swenson and gotten pissed off was after he'd assigned her to work with Ryan.
Some of her anger dissipated as she thought about how that had turned out. Gus's smug expression at that initial meeting told her the state's attorney had expected fireworks between her and Ryan. Lots of shouting and anger. Gus had been stirring the pot, hoping something would boil over.
Huh. Maybe Gus was shrewder than she'd realized. Something had boiled over, all right. And as a result, she and Ryan had put aside their history and actually worked together. They hadn't yet found the silver bullet that would take Bates down, but they were circling closer.
The personal connection they were forging? Gus wouldn't care about that.
But for the last couple of days, Livvy had spent a lot of time thinking about it.
Livvy swallowed, thinking about what might happen that evening. After Ryan picked her up.
She wasn't impulsive when it came to men. She went slowly. Cautiously. The debacle with James Dugger more than a month ago had been an aberration, and it had only reinforced her usual restraint. Fortunately, she'd caught him going through her briefcase before he could read the file she had on his buddy David Blaine.
She was falling for Ryan too quickly. She knew that. But he was different. He didn't want anything from her. They'd been forced together by Swenson. He was the last man she should be interested in, after what had happened between Ryan and Cilla, but he wasn't that man anymore.
He was protective of her. Thoughtful. Concerned about her safety.
And he made her pulse race and her heart pound like no other man ever had.
Last night, he'd done nothing more than give her a foot massage, and she'd melted into a puddle on the couch. Spent all night thinking about the kiss they'd shared.
Shoving the images out of her mind, she grabbed a pen, opened a folder for a case she was taking to trial in a few weeks, and tried to put Ryan out of her mind. Mooning over him all day would only lead to frustration and clock-watching.
Save Me Page 8
