“No. I drew a picture. My turn.” She grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and poured a glass, leaving the thick bottle on the counter and within reaching distance. Thank God she hadn’t bought the wine in a box. The answer to the next question would tell her whether or not he was lying. “Was your sister-in-lawpsychic?”
His mouth had parted before he snapped it closed. Her question startled him. “Why would you ask that?”
“Answer the question.” Her heart raced, and her shoulders tightened. It was now or never.
“Yes,” he said. His words eased her shoulders.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shook his head. “You skipped my turn.” He grabbed the counter and met her gaze. “Who told you that?”
Harper slipped the card out of her pocket and slid it across the counter. “The same man you’re convinced wants me dead. I don’t know what sick game he and you are playing, but I really wish you’d leave me out of it.”
Ryker picked up the card, and she grabbed the wine glass and the bottle before walking into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She leaned on the wood and tried to calm her erratic heartbeat. She needed the space. Time to re-gather her resolve. She let out a shaky breath. One of these men wanted her dead.
A knock sounded at her back, making her jump.
“Harper.” Ryker’s voice had softened. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” She stepped away from the door. “And I think you need to leave.”
The doorknob twisted and slowly opened until he was staring at her. “Not a chance in hell. Harper, he knows who you are.”
Her legs bumped the bed as she slowly backed away. “He said you’re delusional. He said I shouldn’t trust you, or I’ll end up dead.”
Ryker’s hand stayed on the knob, and he didn’t make a move to come any closer. “You believe him?”
Her breath raced as shame, anger, and frustration heated her cheeks. “I don’t want to believe him.”
Anguish crossed his face before he quickly masked the regret in his eyes. “Do you still have the pepper spray and my knife?”
She nodded. “Yeah, do I need it?”
“Get them and meet me in the SUV.” With those words, he turned and walked away. For the second time today, she was left confused. Harper quickly pushed the haze away, not waiting to make sense of it.
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Ryker.”
Ryker paused in the hallway and turned back to face her. “Your sisters told me today that I should believe in you. That I should trust you, and I do. This ismetrustingyou. This is one of those pivotal moments in life, when your decision willdefine where we go from here. Once I walk out that door, if you’re not with me, I’m not coming back. You either trust me, or you don’t.”
She stood motionless. She wanted to scream that she did, and yet the words wouldn’t come out. Goosebumps rose on her arms as she mentally debated. Did she trust him?
He gave a hard nod and turned, walking away.
Her heart clenched tight, making it unbearable to breathe. “Ryker, wait.”
He didn’t.
She barely had time to jump into the passenger seat as he put the SUV in reverse.
Chapter Nine
“Where are we?”she asked, staring up at the huge brick warehouse downtown.
“You’ll see.” He turned off the ignition and got out, and she was quick to follow. She’d passed this building a million times before, but she had absolutely no idea what was inside. There were no signs on the building, nothing to indicate what she was walking into. Would they even find her dead body inside?
Ryker slid his key into the lock and punched some numbers on a security pad before he shut and locked the door again. “This is me.”
She glanced around the bottom floor of the empty industrial building. “Did you decorate yourself?”
