“He blames me for her death. The fact I encouraged her to use her abilities. He’ll do anything to get back at me, including killing you so that I will feel his pain.”
Talk about overkill, but she was sure grief made normal people do strange and deranged things.
“He had his chance.” She gestured to the screen. “Why didn’t he take it?”
Ryker shrugged. “I’m not sure what his plan is, unless he’s waiting to do it in front of me, or maybe he hasn’t put all the pieces together.”
“And I thought my family was nuts. I’m pretty sure yours takes first prize.”
“Yours is still nuts, in a dipped-in-sugar kind of way. Mine’s just dipped in arsenic instead. Let me just say that my family is the reason I’m good at my job.You come from a long line of psychics; I come from a long line of not-so-nice people, only I took the legal path.”
“I’ll bet you didn’t bring many girls home.”
He dropped his gaze. She could tell when he was keeping something from her. He was quiet without any quips. He looked like a boy who had lost his childhood dog.
“Eve was my best friend. I brought her home and introduced her to my brother. It was love at first sight and they married within 6 months. I was happy for them, you know. The women in our lives don’t tend to stick around long when they see the real us. Eve was different. She was a sweet soul, trying to make us whole.”
“She sounds like someone I would have instantly liked.” Harper gave him a sad smile. He rose from his spot and cupped her cheek. The electricity between them sizzled from his touch.
“She already liked you.” He smiled. “You’ve talked to her too.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My company was courting her, like Grant was using you. She had premonitions they were doing unethical things, and she couldn’t bring herself to commit.”
“Doyouthink they were doing anything unethical?”
He pinched his lips together. “Yeah, I do. I worked in security for them. I was trained to detect any outside threats, but I would have never guessed that the people I worked for were the dangerous ones. When she brought it up, I started paying closer attention and piecing things together, but we didn’t have enough to prove it.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, you told her you got a bad vibe from the offer and the location, so she declined, but couldn’t let things rest.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. She was stubborn, just like you. She wanted my help proving what she’d seen, but knew no one would believe her, so I offered to help her find the evidence. She was getting information from other sources too, but she wouldn’t tell me who. I encouraged her. That was the first of a lot of bad ideas I’d given her, including coming clean with her family. They practically disowned her. I guess you could say I started her on this path. I promised to help her bring down the company I worked for, and when the dust settled, I told her I’d help her try and buy into yours. She just wanted to be happy, Harper, and I wanted to be the one to give it to her since her own family turned out to be douche bags.”
“How did Grant figure out she had a memory drive, and why does he want it?”
Ryker shrugged. “I’m not sure unless he was the other source she mentioned that was giving her information. All I know is the guy claimed to be psychic when he was actually a fraud. He used Eve and you to help get through his assignments. Why he was there to begin with, is as much a mystery as to how he knew about the memory drive. The day she called and claimed to have what we needed is the day she died and he went missing. His fingerprints were found at Eve’s place.”
Harper’s eyes searched his when he rested his hand on her hip. “And what about your brother?”
“My brother.” Ryker sighed. “I thought I was doing Eve a favor. I promised to protect her. He blames me for her death, and he should. I blame myself. I ruined her life in more ways than one. She lost her family and her life because of me.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. “Families can suck. But you didn’t kill her any more than I did. We aren’t the monsters responsible, but I’m going to help you shine light into the darkness of the person who did.”
“If my brother doesn’t kill you first.” He kissed the top of her head.
“If your brother doesn’t kill me first.” She glanced up at him with a lopsided grin. “I know how to help.” Her smile grewas excitement coiled through her veins. “You want to know exactly what happened to your sister-in-law and who killed her? I can tell you. It’s just going to be a bit tricky.”
“I can do tricky, and I can keep you alive, if you just trust me.”
“I do,” she said, meaning it with every fiber of her being.
Ryker kissed her long and hard, lifting her into his arms. His tongue dove between her lips, tasting and teasing. Her legs straddled his waist as his hands cupped the globes of her ass.
“I have a few other tricks I’d like to show you first.”
“Tricks can be good.” She grinned. “I can tie a knot in a cherry stem with just my tongue.”
“What else can you do with that tongue?” he asked, and turning from the computers, he carried her down the hall.
