Black Ice (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Lexie Davis

  “You know, if you want, I can stay with you again tonight. Or you could come back to my place. You don’t have to go home alone.” Ryder cleaned up their mess, throwing the trash away.

  “I’ll be okay.”

  It’d only been a few days after they arrived in town and the case had her running in circles. After packing up, Blake gathered her things, said her goodbyes, and walked to her car. She searched the area, before inserting the key and unlocked the door. The overhead light blinked on. It didn’t do that when the man waited in her car. She breathed a sigh of relief when she examined the inside of the vehicle. Nothing out of place.

  She glanced back at the department entrance and saw Ryder standing at the door, watching her. Everything was fine. No boogieman to worry about. She gave him a thumbs up and climbed inside, starting the engine with a solid crank. She pushed the locks on the doors for good measure and turned the heat up on high. She would be okay.

  Nothing to fear but fear itself.

  Chapter 4

  Ryder crawled in bed with a sigh of relief to his aching muscles. He needed a shower, but didn’t have the energy. He folded his pillow beneath his chin and closed his eyes, welcoming the bliss of sleep.

  Instead, the telephone rang.

  Groaning, he reached for his cell and glanced at the read-out. It was the lieutenant. “James.”

  “He’s attacked again.”

  “What?” Ryder came awake, rubbing his eyes, and he jerked up in bed.

  “I don’t know how we missed it, but Warren was the target this time. She’s okay right now. If it hadn’t been for a good Samaritan passing by she’d probably be dead.”

  Ryder’s heart dropped to his stomach. He swallowed hard. “What happened?”

  “He rewired the exhaust system so that it came through the vents inside her car. Naturally, she had the heat on high and blew the toxins inside the vehicle with her. She’s at the hospital being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning and some bumps and bruises from the tree she hit. Have you gained any progress on the case?”

  Ryder pulled on his pants with the phone resting between his shoulder and ear. “Not much.”

  “Get to working on it, James. I’m taking Warren off the case and making this the department’s top priority.” He hung up the phone just as Ryder grabbed his T-shirt.

  He knew he should have dragged her ass back to his house instead of leaving her to fend for herself. The attack scared her, even if she didn’t want to admit it. Flashbacks of his partner Tony filled his mind with a sense of history repeating itself. He would protect Blake and solve the case if it was the last thing he ever did.

  * * * *

  The hospital was crowded with the flu season providing a haven for those that were ill. Ryder never expected it to be so busy in the early morning hours, but he didn’t make it a habit to hang around hospitals either. A brightly lit Christmas tree stood in the corner of the main foyer, and Ryder groaned. He hated the stupid holidays.

  After gaining her room number from the nurses’ station—courtesy of his badge—he took a short elevator ride to the fifth floor. Her room sat at the end of the hall, door closed with an armed guard standing at the entrance. After Ryder showed the uniform his badge, he knocked on Blake’s door.

  “Blake?” He pushed it open and peeked inside. “It’s Ryder.”

  He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The room was small with all the hospital necessities, a bathroom on the left with the bed on the right. A rerun of an old sitcom played on the TV.

  He reached out to touch her foot, hearing a sniffle as she turned farther away from him. He hated this, the comforting. Women were complicated creatures, and he never knew the words they needed to hear at the time they needed to hear them. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, to let her know she was safe and not alone. But that, he imagined, wasn’t what she’d want from him, her partner.

  “Are you okay?” he finally asked for lack of a better conversation starter.

  She wiped her eyes. “I have to stay for observation. I wrecked my car. I thought I slid on a patch of ice, and the next thing I know, I’m crashing into a tree as I lose consciousness.”

  Even though he knew it broke a dozen rules, he crawled in bed beside her, pulling her into his arms. “Shh. You’re okay now.” He kissed the top of her head. “Do you need me to call your family?”

  She shook her head. “I’m fine.”

  He reached out to touch her arm. Her sniffles dwindled until they stopped completely. Her skin felt so soft beneath his fingers as he ran them along her arm, comfortingly. He didn’t know what brought on the tears.

  “Will you stay with me?”

  He linked his fingers with hers. “I shouldn’t have ever left you.”

  * * * *

  “Oh, my. She finally has a man in her bed!”

  Blake opened one eye to the loud voice that woke her. A hard male chest pressed against her cheek with arms of steel wrapped around her body. She took a moment to commit it to memory before she commented to her sister, the intruder.

  “I have a headache, Lilly. Keep your voice down.”

  “But he’s real! And hot…Damn.” She fanned herself. “You didn’t tell me you’d finally done the deed with the hottest guy in Minnesota.”

  “No deeds have been done, Lilly.” Blake pushed away from his chest. “I nearly died, and the only thing you’re interested in is my sex life.”

  “Since when do you have a sex life?”

  Blake closed her eyes with a groan as her mother, Lisa, entered the room. “This can’t be happening.”

  “Oh, dear.” Lisa’s eyes widened. “While you were in the hospital? Blake Elizabeth Warren, you should be ashamed of yourself.”

  The man next to her chuckled. Blake glanced over and saw Ryder’s pretty gray eyes shining back at her. If she hadn’t come so close to death the previous night, she would have wanted to die then.

  “He’s my partner,” Blake said, rolling her eyes. “Ryder James, meet my mom, Lisa, and my sister, Lilly.”

  Ryder sat up, smiling the entire time he shook her mother’s and sister’s hands. “It’s a pleasure.”

  Lilly giggled. “Do you have any brothers?”

  Lisa slapped her daughter’s arm. “Ignore her. She’s got a boyfriend. It’s nice to meet you, Ryder.”

  Ryder glanced back at Blake with a smile. “I need to go home and shower. Do you need anything?”

  He reached out to brush her cheek, almost convincing even her that they were lovers. The soft caress sent a warmth through her body, both comforting and arousing at the same time. She leaned into his hand right before he pulled away.

  “I’m good for right now.”

  He nodded. “Call me if you need anything.” He bent and pressed his lips briefly against hers.

  The slight touch of his lips stunned her speechless as she watched him pull away and wink at her. He told her family goodbye and left without another word, closing the door behind him.

  “You have to tell me everything!” Lilly squealed as she pulled her seat closer to Blake’s bed.

  Lisa grabbed her planner. “Do you want to be a spring or summer bride?”

  Blake fell back against the mattress with a stupid smile on her face. She didn’t have the words to respond to their questions or the desire to. All she could think about was the feeling Ryder stirred in her body, and that alone, was enough.

  * * * *

  Ryder arrived at Seth’s house with a patrol car behind him, sirens blaring, lights flashing. He couldn’t make an arrest based on speculation, but he could drag Seth Cameron’s ass down to the station for questioning.

  “What’s going on?” Seth Cameron asked.

  Ryder watched as an officer requested he come willingly to answer questions regarding Blake. “I didn’t do nothing! I don’t even know that bitch.”

  He shoved at the officer and they threw him to the floor, handcuffs around his wrists. Ryder chuckled to himself. They cleared
out shortly afterward, going back to the station for questioning. He hated that part of the job. Most liked to bullshit with them, wasting a lot of everyone’s time.

  And Seth Cameron was no different.

  “I want my lawyer. I have rights!”

  Ryder waved the officer out of the interrogation room. “I’m going to ask you a simple question, and you’re going to give me a yes or no answer. Did you attack Detective Warren two nights ago by sneaking into her car and wrapping your arm around her neck?”

  “I’m not saying anything.”

  “Wrong answer.” Ryder pulled him out of the seat and shoved him against the concrete wall behind him. “Don’t make me ask the question again.”

  Seth glanced away before finally meeting Ryder’s eyes. “Yeah, I did. So what?”

  Ryder drew his fist back, and a hand caught his arm before he landed the blow against Seth Cameron’s cheek. He turned to see the lieutenant and pushed the man away from him.

  “James, my office. Now.” He waved two officers in. “Book him. He admitted he assaulted an officer.”

  Ryder made his way through the chaos of the department and entered the lieutenant’s office. He plopped down in the chair and prepared for yelling. Instead, he watched the other man calmly take the seat across from Ryder.

  “You need to cool your anger down, James. This is a case, first and foremost. If you’re going to make it personal, tell me now, and I’ll take you off of it. There is no room to mix business with pleasure. Like it or not, we’re working on a deadline.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I know Warren is your partner, but you can’t go around beating up little punks that push your buttons. You need to ask the right questions, gain the answers, and end this case. Do you have any leads?”

  “Theories.”

  “Work out the details. Get me a report at the end of the day.”

  Ryder stood, and the lieutenant stopped him. “I know it’s none of my business right now, but if your feelings are turning personal toward Warren, you need to be taken off the case. I will take you off.”

  Ryder nodded and left the office. Blake had good instincts. Perhaps she could help solidify a lead.

  * * * *

  “Mom,” Blake tried to refrain from yelling, “really, I’m okay.”

  Lisa fluffed her daughter’s pillows again. “I know that. The doctors here are taking good care of you.”

  She counted to ten. It was pointless. She let her mother tuck the sheet around her like she was a child and bit the inside of her cheek as she listened to her sister chat on the phone with her boyfriend. If she didn’t have a headache before, she did now.

  “I think you should come home when you get out of the hospital.” Lisa finally took a seat next to the bed. “You don’t need to be alone.”

  Before Blake could refuse the offer, Ryder stepped inside the room with a wide grin on his face. “Good afternoon, ladies.”

  He pushed Blake’s feet to the right side of the bed and sat. He gave her his full attention. “A lot happened today during your absence.”

  “You have a lead?” Wishful thinking, but worth a shot.

  “No, I need your help with that.” He glanced over at Lisa. “Uh, have you eaten anything yet?”

  She shook her head. “Mom, will you go to the cafeteria and get me something?”

  Lisa glanced between Ryder and her daughter. “A cheeseburger?”

  “Sounds great.” Blake moved slightly. “Take Lilly with you.”

  Once they left, Blake sighed, flopping back against the pillows. “There were times today I wanted to call you to come up here and shoot me.”

  Ryder chuckled. “That good, huh?”

  “I love them, but they are driving me crazy.” She opened her eyes and met his. “What happened today?”

  “Seth Cameron confessed to assaulting you. He didn’t say anything about the carbon monoxide poisoning but he did admit to the other. He’s lucky my fist didn’t mess up his jaw.”

  Blake stared at him, her stomach fluttering.

  “Look, I need your help. I know you’ve been taken off the case and—”

  “Whoa.” She held up a hand. “I’m taken off the case?”

  “Yeah. Lou said the killer had made this personal. Two attacks against you within two days are too many. He removed you from the case this morning.” Blake glanced away. “But I need you. I need your help. I think we’ve made a great deal of progress since day one. I need someone to talk over all this shit with me so we can come up with a perp.”

  “Wow. The legendary Ryder James admitted he needed me.” Blake chuckled. “You’re going against Lou’s orders?”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time. Besides, we’re just talking. It’s not like I’m dragging you along with me to make an arrest.”

  “Fine. Talk. What have you got?”

  “I don’t think Seth Cameron killed Sophie Stevens. But I do think he’s tied in somehow.”

  She closed her eyes. “He had complete access to security. Of course he’s tied in. The killer needed someone to cover his tracks. And that includes the thing with me, too.”

  “So how do I get the info from him?”

  “Good question.” She yawned and opened her eyes. “I doubt he’ll give you much. Have you done a background check on him?”

  “Not yet. It’s next on my list after I leave here. I’ve been too busy doing the whole interrogation thing I haven’t even seen a computer today.”

  She debated her options. Stay with her mother and continue the madness she’d been through all day or help Ryder with the case. “I get out of the hospital in a few hours if my oxygen level is up and stable. Do you need me to help?”

  “No. You need you rest. I’m pushing it right now by being here.” He stood and gripped the bed rail. “Go home, get some sleep, and I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  She nodded with a smile. “I want to talk to you about a few things.”

  “What?” He stood and glanced at his watch.

  “The kiss you gave me earlier.”

  He grinned. “What about it?”

  “We’re partners, Ryder.”

  “So? It was a little kiss, Blake. Not that big of a deal.”

  Blake’s hopes crashed, and she wasn’t sure exactly why she held them so high. Of course it meant nothing to him. It really didn’t mean anything to her either. Not that much anyway. She felt like a fool. “Oh.”

  “If it was a big deal, something worthy of a conversation afterward, I would have done this.” Ryder cupped her cheeks and pressed his mouth against hers. Gently, he coaxed her lips apart and slipped his tongue between. Blake moaned and moved her tongue against his. He was so strong, so bold and determined, she could only imagine what kind of lover he’d be. His thumbs rubbed her cheeks lightly as he cupped her face in his big hands.

  “Their cheeseburgers looked nasty, so I got you nachos. Oh—” Lisa’s voice ceased and Blake pulled away from Ryder.

  “Thanks, Mom.” She held Ryder’s eyes with her own. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  He grinned. “I’ll call you.”

  She watched him leave, wishing he’d stay instead. She couldn’t blame him for not wanting to hang around. She didn’t want to be there, and her family probably scared him enough.

  “You two are pretty serious, aren’t you?”

  Blake scooted down in her bed and pulled the sheet higher on her body. “No, mom. He’s my partner.”

  “Yeah, and I bet you can’t stop thinking about him in the sack, huh?” Lilly giggled from the side.

  Even though Lilly was the eldest of the two Warren girls, she often acted like the youngest. Blake accepted the food her mother handed her and prayed she could make it through the day without doing bodily harm.

  Chapter 5

  Ryder opened his door, wearing a pair of jeans and nothing else. Blake gave him a half-hearted smile. Two days out of the hospital and her cheeks were still too pale, her expression filled with fatigue. She
wore an oversized T-shirt with a pair of jeans that made her body seem tiny, fragile, and weak. It brought back the reality that she nearly died and he hadn’t been there to save her.

  “I thought we agreed to meet at your house?” He tipped his beer to his lips.

  “Well, I figured since we’ll be working on the case, your house is quieter. My house still has my mother and sister.”

  Ryder pulled her to him, folding his arms around her body. “Do you feel okay? You look a little pale.”

  She linked her fingers at the small of his back. “I’d really like a nap. I haven’t been able to sleep with my family around because my mom woke me every few minutes to make sure I was still breathing.”

  He closed and locked the door. “Go pick a bed to sleep in while I make you some tea.”

  “You’d give me your bed?”

  Ryder found himself wanting to give her the world if he had the ability to. “Why not? You gave me your bed. If you want to sleep there, you can sleep there.”

  She pulled away and met his eyes. “What are we doing, Ryder? Because I’m really confused. First we’re enemies, then partners, and now you’re kissing me like you want it to mean a hell of a lot more.”

  Ryder ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I like you, Blake. I wanted to talk to you so many times today and hated that you weren’t there with me. I’ll be honest, it tears me up inside to think of what happened to you. I should have driven you or followed you home or something.”

  “So you’re kissing me because you feel guilty?”

  “No. I’m kissing you because you’re too damn cute, and all I ever think about.” He cupped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her forward. “And I’ll keep doing it until you tell me to stop.”