Her eyes narrowed as her gaze shifted around her house. He knew what she was looking for, not that she’d ever find his hiding spots. She picked up her phone, punishingly pressing the keyboard to send him a message.
You have video in my house!?!?!?!?!?!?
Ryker changed the video for her to one of cats and chuckled before he called her.
“What kind of protector would I be if I didn’t?”
“You aren’t a protector; you’re a voyeur.” She rose from her couch, walked to the window and peeked outside.
“Calling me a voyeur makes it sound like I’m watching you have sex. I haven’t been that lucky.”
“And you won’t be,” she said, returning to her computer. She logged off, put the laptop away and picked up her wine, sloshing it around while gesturing with her hands. “I’m never having sex in these walls again. I’m going to have to move or rent a hotel. Now, look what you’ve made me do.”
He remembered saying those words the day before to the woman who’d tried to filet him. Just one more reminder why he needed to keep his head in the game. His enemies would eat her for lunch and leave her broken, if not dead. “Get some rest, Harper. You look tired.”
“Bite me,” she said and took a sip of her wine, resettling into her favorite spot on the couch. “How do you even know this Richard guy is coming for me? We haven’t seen him yet. He can’t be very efficient if he’s missed all those thirty times I’ve been vulnerable. How do I even know you’re telling the truth?”
“Because you aren’t the only one he used.” Ryker’s answer tasted like razor blades going down his throat. All he heard was the quick intake of her breath. Her picture on the screen told him so much more. The color had drained from her face. Her glass held frozen in mid-air. She was scared, and she damn well better be.
“Who else?” Her words were whispered.
“My sister-in-law. Get some sleep, Harper. You’re safe tonight. You have my word.”
With that, he hung up. Saying the words made his heart clench. He watched Harper on the screen. She sat with the phone clutched in her hand and her head down. He couldn’t read her expression, but he didn’t have to. He could imagine her thoughts. What if it had been one of her sisters who had been killed? That alone would have her being more vigilant.
He remembered the hurt in Eve’s eyes when she’d finally told her family about her abilities. The way her entire familyshunned her and made her feel like a freak for her gifts, suggesting she join the military like her step-brother. They’d destroyed her spirit. She’d been broken, and he’d been the one to pick up the pieces. It was his fault that she’d ever entertained the idea of working for his company six months prior to her big family reveal. It was she who confided in the Thatcher sisters and asked for directions about her career. Unbeknownst to them, they’d helped him pull her out of the depression even his brother couldn’t see.
Ryker’s urging her to use her abilities had cost her; she paid with her life. It was his fault she was dead. He’d be damned if he let anyone hurt Harper. He wouldn’t let Richard Grant anywhere near her. Not while he was watching.
After a sleepless night,Ryker had just stepped out of the shower and now ran a towel over his head as he flipped through the screens in his hunt for Harper. He found her in her room, packing a bag. He tossed the towel over a chair and grabbed his phone, dialing her number. She paused when it rang and then ignored the damn phone. She was going to run. He could feel it in every fiber of his bones.Ryker hurried to dress, never letting his eyes stray from the computer for more than a few seconds. If he was going to stop her, he needed to get to her and fast. When she picked up the phone, he couldn’t see who she was calling, so he clicked on the audio.
“Hey, it’s me,” she said in a hushed tone, so he turned up the volume. “You remember our little talk? You were right, and I need your help.”
He couldn’t hear who she was talking to or what was being said. The one-way conversation had him clenching his teeth as he slipped a foot into his boot.
“You’re on sister duty. Keep them safe.”
What the hell did the woman think she was doing? And where the hell was she headed? She couldn’t possibly have a clue on where to find Richard. If she had, she would have said something, wouldn’t she?”
Harper slid her suitcase closed, and Ryker had to switch screens to follow as she locked up her house and stepped outside. Her gaze scanned the streets before she got into a fucking cab. Had she known about the GPS on her car?
A flash of the cab company name on the side of the car and a few minutes later, he had hacked into their system and pulled up the cab’s GPS. He watched as ittook her to the last place he ever thought she’d go. Her office.
He didn’t know if he should be relieved or pissed off. Ryker grabbed his keys, and within minutes, he was dodging traffic toward her destination. If he didn’t catch her there, he might not be able to track her any further. It was his only hope of stopping whatever game she was playing.
Chapter Six
Harper unlockedthe building and was sure to lock the door after her before she set her suitcase behind the security desk and punched the call button on the elevator. The building was dark except for the morning light streaming through the windows. She wasn’t used to being the only one in the building, but she wasn’t scared. The building held its own energy from everyone who crossed the threshold. She stepped out onto her floor and flicked on a few lights, lighting the way toward her office. She had work to do all right,and it had nothing to do with the new security system that was being installed tomorrow.
She’d boot her computer and do what she did best. There was only one way she was going to find Richard Grant, and that was to retrace every conversation and every call to figure out who the bastard was and what exactly she’d told him. Ian’s words came back to her, take the fight to him, and that was exactly what she planned to do. She might not actually be able to take him out, if and when she found him, but she had faith that Ryker wasn’t far behind, and he could do all the manual labor.
Harper didn’t take many calls anymore. She had only about a dozen or so normal clients that would call her. Finding her mystery man should be a piece of cake.
She pulled up the call logs and the associated recordings, quickly dismissed all of Ryker’s, and moved on to remove all of the female callers. That left her with four clients, and out of those four clients, it could have been any one of them. She was about to hit play on the first recording when a shadow caught her eye. Ryker was standing at her door.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” His usually sexy voice was demanding and gruff. His hair was stillwet, his face cleanly shaved. He looked scrumptious. An early morning tryst crossed her mind. No one would be the wiser.
“Working.” She smiled up at him. “But you can actually help. When Richard called, and turned over my information to whomever the hell it is you work for, what was the information? That will help me narrow down our conversations.”
