His sister Fiona, the sensitive book lover, often lectured him that he didn’t give any woman enough of a chance and one day he’d regret it. He couldn’t conceive of losing control enough to open his heart.
“I can’t envision having such a big family,” she said. “It was always just Mom and Dad and me. Now it’s just me. They died in a car accident.”
The grief in her tone stirred an echo of empathy and understanding in his heart. His mother had been gone for years, but the loss was as fresh as if it were yesterday.
“I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.”
His cell phone chirped. He checked the number then answered, listened as he scooted his chair back and hung up. “We need the check,” he called to the waitress.
“What’s happened?”
Anticipation revved in his blood. “The BOLO on the Seville got a hit in Manhattan.”
Meghan scrambled out of her chair. “Then New York, here we come.”
“Not tonight. We’ll meet at the station first thing in the morning. I’ll make arrangements for us to take the first flight to New York. The NYPD can take care of it for now.”
“But-”
He held up his hand. “Nothing can be accomplished if we’re dead on our feet. Tomorrow will be soon enough. Besides, we don’t know if this is a real lead or another dead end.”
Worry clouded her pretty eyes. She bit her lip, something he’d noticed she did when nervous or scared. For a short time they’d managed to put the anxiety and fear aside. Now it slammed back into place. He could only hope they found Georgina tomorrow and arrested Christina. He wasn’t sure how much more of this Meghan could take.
Nor why her well-being mattered so much to him.
After escorting Meghan to his father’s house to retrieve her rental car, he’d followed her to the beachside cottage she rented. He’d made sure the place was secure before beating a hasty retreat, needing to put some distance between them.
His emotions were running high. His attraction to Meghan messed with his judgment. Not a combination that bode well for success. He had to get a grip. Keep things in perspective. He’d been delivered an emotional blow. A child was missing, a murderer on the loose and they had only one lead.
Instead of heading to his own home just down the beach from Meghan’s, Ryan went back to the police station. The place was well lit. He waved to Jackson who sat at his desk drinking coffee, waiting for a call on this quiet night.
From his office, Ryan made the necessary flight arrangements to New York for him and Meghan.
His brother Douglas appeared in Ryan’s office doorway. “Hey, I thought you left.”
“I did. Now I’m back.”
“You heading to the Big Apple in the a.m.?” Douglas asked, stepping fully into the room.
Ryan ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah. Taking Meghan with me since I know she’d just follow me anyway.”
“You could lock her up,” Douglas suggested with a sardonic grin.
“Believe me, I’ve thought about it.” Ryan leaned back in his chair. “The woman’s become the bane of my existence.”
Douglas hiked a hip on the edge of Ryan’s desk. “You got it bad.”
Ryan shot straight up. “What? No.”
Douglas snorted. “I’ve watched the way you two have danced around each other for six months. Now you’re practically joined at the hip.”
“Not my doing,” Ryan snapped, feeling thoroughly cranky now.
“Right.” Douglas shook his head. “You know, she’s a good-looking lady. Smart, too. And stubborn.”
Ryan eased back again. “You got that right. Stubborn doesn’t even cover it.”
“You should bring her to Charles and Demi’s engagement party. She and Demi know each other.”
Ryan had forgotten about the upcoming celebration. Charles and Demi had become inseparable after Charles helped take down Demi’s stalker. Now he was going to make her his wife and the kids’ mom. They made a good couple. Complemented each other. Ryan was glad his brother had found some happiness after the heartache of his ex-wife’s abandonment.
He scowled. Bring Meghan? To a family function?
Hmm. Maybe if he included her, gave her a chance to know his family and came to care about them, she’d be less likely to go public with his father’s duplicity.
But bring a date? No, it wouldn’t be a date. He wasn’t ready for that. It would be a strategic move meant to protect his family. It wouldn’t mean he and she…they were a couple.
“I’ll ask her. After we get Georgina back and put Christina behind bars.” He pinned his brother with a hard look. “But it’s not a date.”
Douglas’s knowing grin burned a hole through Ryan’s conscience. “You keep telling yourself that.”
True to his word, the next morning Ryan was waiting for her when she arrived at the police station. He still had on his uniform.
“Did you get any sleep?” she asked. Her own night had been fraught with nightmares of guns and car chases.
“Some. There’s a cot in the back room,” he replied, running a hand over his stubbled jaw. “Hang tight for a minute. I’ll be right back.”
Meghan watched him disappear down a hall.
The knot that had formed in her chest last night when he’d asked her who’d hurt her had lessened slightly, but the tension in her shoulders hadn’t let up. Their dinner together had been congenial once the food had arrived. By tacit agreement they’d stayed away from the topic of his father and her revealing words. She’d enjoyed hearing how he felt about his family, his siblings. And though talking about her parents always brought a pang of sadness, talking to him was surprisingly easy.
In the light of day, she wasn’t sure what had transpired between them last night. But whatever it was didn’t matter. They had a lead on Georgina. Meghan might be holding her only living blood relation by nightfall and her cousin’s murderer would be in jail.
Ryan returned with only the slightest bit of a limp, reminding her of the danger. Anxiety formed a lump beneath her breastbone.
He’d shaved and changed into civilian clothes. Well-worn jeans that looked good on his long, lean legs. A button-down dress shirt, open at the collar and rolled up at the sleeves. In his hands, he held two black flak vests with the words
“Any chance I could convince you to stay behind?” he asked, his blue eyes searching her face intently.
“No way.”
His mouth twisted at the corner. “Didn’t think so.” He handed her a vest. “Just in case.”
The heavy weight of the body armor slammed home how precarious the situation had become. But they were in this together. Partners.
She hoped that neither of them found their heads in the crosshairs of sniper fire. Again.
