hand while slamming his knee into his groin. As the guy doubled over, snarling something in a Slavic language, Ryder punched him in the face, knocking him out just as the other one jumped on his back. Within seconds he had the man flipped over his head and sprawled across the hot asphalt. With a well-placed kick into the bastard’s face, Ryder left him in the same shape as his partner, both of the idiots bleeding and unconscious.
Shoving the thug’s gun into her bag, Ryder threw the strap back over his shoulder and took a death grip on her hand, jerking her to her feet and hustling her toward the Jeep. He didn’t waste any time getting her inside, then made his way around the front, tossed her bag in the back, and climbed behind the wheel.
“Now what?” she asked, gripping the seat belt with both hands as she watched him crank the engine.
“Rado has obviously figured out where you’re at,” he said, not even winded from the fight, though he flexed his right hand as if it was sore, before curling it around the steering wheel. “That means he most likely knows you’re here with me. We have to assume that my place is being watched.”
Her grip on the seat belt tightened. “Which means what?”
His expression was grim as he turned his head and looked out the back window, peeling out of the parking space so fast the tires squealed in protest. “It means we can’t go back there,” he grunted, giving her a hard look before accelerating out of the lot. “So I’m taking you to that safe house.”
FIVE
AS RYDER STEERED THE JEEP THROUGH TOWN, LILY LISTENED to him talk to Ben on his phone. He told the sheriff what had happened, then arranged to have a patrol car sent to the motel, though he doubted Rado’s men would still be there. She knew if she hadn’t been with him that he would have taken the time to question and arrest them himself. Hell, if they’d tried to hurt her, instead of jumping him, they would have ended up dead. But he’d left them because he’d wanted to get her out of there as quickly as possible, his protective instincts making her heart beat just that tiny bit faster, even though she was still upset that he’d ended things in the motel room before making love to her. The way she saw it, if a man wasn’t willing to have sex with you after going down on you, then the odds were high that he just didn’t want you. That hurt. So much that she couldn’t think of a single thing to say to him after he’d ended the call, her arms wrapped tight around her middle as she tried to put on a brave face.
But it wasn’t easy when she felt like a freaking idiot for running to him with her whole
“The safe house is in the Westbrook neighborhood, on the north side of town,” he murmured, breaking the silence. “I have to swing by the station to get the keys, but that should only take a minute. Ben’s making arrangements for some extra security at the house, but we should beat them there.”
Without looking at him, she asked, “Who’s he sending over?”
He lifted his shoulder in a shrug, repeatedly checking the rearview mirror to make sure no one was following them. “I don’t know. But once they get there, I’m going to head back over to my place to pick up a few things.”
“Won’t that be dangerous?”
He shook his head. “Not if I go in on my own. I’ll be quick, and I know how to get in without being seen. I’ll also grab the stuff that you left in the guest room while I’m there.” As if he expected her to argue, he added, “But I won’t be gone long.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she murmured, figuring he was itching to get away from her. “Just do what you need to do. But be careful.”
She could feel the questioning force of his gaze as he turned his head to glance at her, before looking back at the road. But he didn’t say anything, and neither did she.
Thirty minutes later, they were pulling into the driveway of a Spanish-style, single-story house at the edge of a well-to-do neighborhood. Lily wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but she could understand Ben wanting to unload this place off the city’s budget if there wasn’t any need for it. Ryder drove up the flower-lined driveway, parking around the side of the house, and they made their way in through the side door using the keys he’d picked up on the way there. They took the time to do a walk-through, familiarizing themselves with the floor plan, and Lily told him she would like to take the smallest of the three bedrooms, so long as it was okay with him. She’d decided she liked its bathroom the best because of the gray and white tiles that covered the floor and the walls. They were similar to the tiles in the bathroom she had in her apartment back in Virginia, and she was desperate for anything that reminded her of home.
Picking her bag up from where Ryder had set it down by the sectional sofa in the living room, she said, “If you don’t need me for anything, I’m going to go ahead and grab a shower.”
“Another one?” he asked, pushing his hands in his front pockets as they eyed each other across the room. Her hair had still been damp when they’d left his house that morning, so he knew she’d taken one before getting dressed.
Deciding she wasn’t going to tiptoe around the issue, she gave him an honest answer. “My bare ass was on that grungy motel room carpet. I’ll feel a lot better when I’ve scoured myself with some soap and hot water.”
His gaze got a little sharper, as well as his tone. “You didn’t seem to care at the time.”
Lily snorted. “Trust me, once the glow faded and I realized what a liar you are, it’s all I’ve been thinking about.”
Before Ryder could argue his side of things, she left the room, closing the bedroom door behind her. He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his eyes, a frustrated curse on his lips. Too wound up to sit down, he paced the length of the room a few times, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do about her. He still hadn’t come up with an answer when someone knocked on the front door. Rather than check the security cameras in the control room, he walked over and looked through the peephole, another gritty curse on his lips when he saw Mike Hudson standing out on the doorstep.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he growled, after jerking the door open.
“I’m your second set of hands,” Mike replied, a crooked grin kicking up the edge of his mouth.
Ryder’s eyes widened. “You are fucking shitting me.”
The jackass laughed as he stepped past him into the house, carrying several shopping bags in each hand, the strap of a duffel bag thrown over his shoulder. “’Fraid not, super soldier.”
“I’m killing your brother.” He shut the door and locked it before turning to face the grinning pretty boy.
Setting the bags down in the tiled entryway, Mike’s tone was wry as he said, “This isn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my days off, so suck it up and be thankful that I said yes. You could have ended up with Alex.”
Ryder winced. Ben’s older brother was a good guy, but even more quiet and brooding than he was. The two of them together would have probably driven Lily crazy within an hour.
Then again, he was pretty sure that Alex wouldn’t hit on her, since that wasn’t his style.
As if he could read his mind, Mike laughed. “Before you suggest a trade, Alex is out of town on one of his P.I. cases. So I’m afraid you’re stuck with me. But there are groceries in a few of these,” he said, nodding toward the bags on the floor, “and I’ll even make dinner tonight. Nothing fancy, but I can do a mean Mexican spread. There’s lunch and breakfast stuff, too.”
Ryder crossed his arms over his chest, holding back another wince when he realized he and Lily still hadn’t eaten that day. Shit. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten to feed her. Pissed that he obviously hadn’t been thinking as clearly as he’d thought he was, he asked, “And what’s with all the other crap you’ve brought with you?”
Mike flashed his dimples. “I picked up a few things for Lily.”
“What kind of things?” He darted a suspicious look at the bags.
“I just stopped by a few stores in town and grabbed her some stuff. Jeans and tops. Things like that. Figured she wouldn’t have much, what with being on the run and all. And Reese sent over some books and movies that she thought she might enjoy.”
