Wicked and Dangerous

He grunted in response, wanting to tell Mike to take his “stuff” and shove it up his ass. But he knew Lily probably needed some more things to wear, especially since most of the clothing she’d had back at the motel was likely to be in bad shape after all that destruction. He just wished he’d thought of it himself.

When a half hour had gone by and she still hadn’t come out of her room, he went and knocked on her door, telling her that Mike was there. She came out dressed in jeans and a tight tank, her friendly smile for Mike setting his teeth on edge. Then Mike gave her the stuff he’d bought for her, and she actually hugged the jackass, making Ryder want to smash Mike’s perfect face in with his fist. After that, he’d figured he’d be in a tense, pissed-off mood for the rest of the day, but he eventually mellowed out when he realized she was treating Mike the same way she’d treated the guys in her dad’s unit—one of those friendly, big brother, asexual ways. He’d been the only one of Heller’s Hellions she hadn’t cut up with easily, and he’d never let himself think about why, knowing the answer could have been damn dangerous to his control. Either she’d been scared of him, or she’d wanted him, and he hadn’t wanted to know which it was at the time.

After they ate some sandwiches and chips, he made the quick trip over to his place for their things, the fact that she was alone with Mike motivating him to move even faster. He talked to Ben again on the phone while he was gone, giving him hell about the Mike situation, which had made Ben laugh, before they got down to the serious stuff. Ben told him that the thugs he’d left in the parking lot had been gone when the deputies arrived. The sheriff had all the available deputies in the county searching the town for any sign of Rado and his crew, and they hoped it wouldn’t be long before they had his location.

When Ryder made it back to the safe house, it felt good to see Lily’s obvious relief, though he tried not to let it show. But from the wry look on Mike’s face, he knew he’d done a shit job of it. The next few hours were spent going over all the security systems in the house, and he explained to Lily that Ben had deputies canvassing the town, searching for any signs of Radovich and his men.

Around six, the two of them helped Mike make dinner, filling the house with the spicy scents of cumin and cilantro. The more she and Mike cut up with each other, the quieter Ryder got, beginning to feel like the proverbial third wheel. Especially when they discovered that they loved the same movies and started jawing about actors and screenwriters. But he suffered in silence, determined not to complain, knowing it would just make him look like a jealous loser. Unfortunately, his patience didn’t last past the beginning of the meal. Lily carried their cold Coronas over to the table in the breakfast nook, taking the seat by the window, while Ryder brought over their plates. When he set her rice and tacos down in front of her, she looked up at him with a deadpan expression and asked, “Do you have anything here besides Mexican food?”

He sent her a quizzical look, remembering it was her favorite, while Mike snorted on the other side of the table and said, “Lips would be fine.”

Lily giggled. Mike smiled. And Ryder lost the tenuous hold on his temper. “What the hell is so funny?”

Before Lily could explain, Mike shouted, “Line!” and she ended up laughing so hard that tears filled her eyes.

“I swear to God,” Ryder bit out. “What the fuck is going on?”

“They’re just movie quotes,” she gasped, trying to stop laughing. “From The Three Amigos.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, exhaling a rough breath, then shoved his hand back through his hair and scowled. “Never heard of it,” he muttered, feeling like an idiot as he dropped into his chair.

Lily blinked. “Ohmygod! Steve Martin. Martin Short. Chevy Chase. El Guapo and the ‘Look up here’ scene. Have you really never seen it? Are you serious?”

His response was dry. “As a heart attack.”

With a sympathetic shake of her head, she reached over and laid her hand on top of his. “We’ll have to fix this. As soon as we’re done with this Rado nightmare, I’m buying a copy so we can watch it.”

He looked at her hand, making her aware of what she’d said and done, then lifted his gaze back to hers and slowly arched a brow. She looked away as she pulled her hand back, reaching for her beer and quickly changing the subject. Ryder remained silent as he ate his food, irritated with himself as he listened to her and Mike talk about their families and where they’d grown up.

“And your mom?” Mike asked, after wiping his face with his napkin. “Where is she?”

Pushing the rice on her plate around with her fork, she said, “She died when I was five.”

Mike winced. “Damn, I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right.” She gave him a little smile. “It was a long time ago.”

“So were you one of those teens who gave her old man gray hair?”

“In some respects, probably. But he was a great dad. I’m going to miss the hell out of him.”

Ryder fisted his hand on the tabletop, fighting the impulse to reach over and pull her onto his lap, where he could hold her close and comfort her.

“Jesus. I’m sorry. Again,” Mike murmured, looking more than a little pissed at himself as he leaned back in his chair. “I wasn’t thinking. You just lost him, and here I am bringing him up. I’m an ass.”

Shaking her head, she said, “No, it’s okay. He wouldn’t have wanted everyone acting all maudlin.” She was putting on a brave face. But the pain in her voice was unmistakable. “It actually feels good to talk about him.”

“You were close?”

She took another drink of her beer, then gave a soft laugh. “Yeah. I probably drove him crazy at times with all the nutty stuff I would do”—she flashed a look at Ryder that he didn’t quite know what to make of, then turned her gaze back to Mike—“but I settled down once I moved out. I don’t feel the need to push the limits anymore.”

Ryder had a feeling she was trying to explain something to him, but Mike’s next question snagged his attention before he could figure out what it was. “And what about men?”

Her head went back as she gave another laugh, this one richer and deeper. “What about them?”

Mike shot Ryder a knowing look as he leaned forward and braced his crossed arms on the table. Then he grinned at Lily as he asked, “Any significant others?”

Ryder tensed in anticipation of her response, but Lily just smirked and turned the tables on Mike. “Any in your life?”

The idiot flashed his dimples. “That would be ladies in my case, not men. And the answer is not yet. But I wouldn’t turn my back on her if I found her,” he admitted, grabbing his Corona again and tilting the bottle up to his lips. He gave Ryder another quick look that set his teeth on edge, and he suddenly wondered if Ben had sent his brother there with the express instructions to irritate the crap out of him.

“So what about you?” Mike asked her.

Ryder held his breath and kept his gaze on the table. But he was watching her from the corner of his eye as he waited for her to answer the question.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she said, “No one . . . significant. I’ve kept pretty busy with work and school, so it feels as if my time hasn’t really been my own until now.”

“What do you do?”

“I studied art history at school, which my dad didn’t think was at all practical, so I also majored in graphic design. I’ve been doing some freelance work the past few years and have been making good money. I’d taken off until January so that I could go on this boat trip with my dad, visiting a bunch of different places, but when we got back I was planning to open my own business.” With a little shrug, she added, “I guess that’s still the plan, once this whole . . . situation is over.”

While they continued to chat, Ryder lost himself in his own thoughts, only half listening to the conversation as it steered toward Mike’s work. He couldn’t let go of the way Lily had brushed off Mike’s question about boyfriends, wondering whom she’d dated after he’d left. If it turned out to be any of the guys from his old unit, he figured he’d probably end up killing them. Or at least tracking them down and making it clear why they’d be smart to never go near her again. There’d been so many times, over the years, when he’d been tempted to put his hacking skills to good use and keep electronic tabs on her from afar. But he’d been fully aware of his own weakness. He never would have been able to handle reading about her with another man.

But it didn’t mean he wasn’t curious as hell about what she’d been up to.

After they cleaned up the kitchen, Lily thanked Mike for an awesome dinner then told them both goodnight, saying that she wanted to read for a while before crashing. Ryder bit the inside of his cheek as he watched her walk away, knowing it would only have led to trouble if she’d stayed. Mike was heading off to better familiarize