Ryder bit his bottom lip, looking angry at himself for having said that much.
“He’s…involved in some business. I don’t know the details. Nothing I can prove. But I’ve heard enough to know he isn’t what he seems to be, Delaney. He has the attention of some people who do not appreciate his way of doing things. Stay away from him. I don’t want you—anyone getting hurt.”
Okay. So both the vampire and the architect thought the other was dangerous. Which one was right?
“You’re doing business with Old Rossi?” I asked.
His jaw locked. “No.”
“I am a police officer. You can tell me what you think is going on, and I might be able to help.”
“No. It’s… No.” He swore under his breath and looked over his shoulder out the window, away from me.
“What are you afraid of, Ryder Bailey?”
He dragged his palm over his face, then back over his hair. When he met my gaze, he seemed in control, gave me an easy smile that did not reach his eyes.
“You were shot, Delaney.” His gaze searched mine, seeking understanding there.
I waited. He didn’t say anything else.
“I know,” I finally said. “I was there when it happened. Lots of crappy things happened that day.”
That, apparently, wasn’t the response he wanted. He shook his head and glanced back out the window, frowning, then returned to me with a sigh.
“I could have handled that better,” he admitted. He wasn’t apologizing, nor was he asking for forgiveness. This was just a statement of facts.
It was always our first step in trying to rebuild our friendship. Facts.
“I’m angry,” I said.
That was a fact too. But what I didn’t tell him, what I would never tell him, was how much he had hurt me and how hard it would be for me to trust him again.
“Is that why you followed me here today?” I asked.
“I just…I need you to know Old Rossi might not have your best interests in mind,” he said.
“And you do?”
I clamped my mouth shut. I hadn’t meant to ask that. Hadn’t meant to let the hurt out where he could see it.
My heart was pounding.
Don’t answer that, don’t answer that.
His voice was low, intimate. “I always have.”
Then don’t leave me.
“I need to go,” I said in a rush, all the air in my lungs used up, all the space in my chest pounding, pounding.
All I had wanted was ice cream. How had this gotten so complicated?
I stood and pulled my wallet out of my purse.
Ryder stood too, reaching for my hand. “Wait, let me—”
“No, that’s fine, I got—”
