Forever Entangled (6 page)

The sound of someone knocking at his window had him releasing her. He had thought their kiss eight years ago was life-changing. It had nothing on this one. He had planned a sharp retort, but instead he was thinking of several other things he could do with his tongue and none of them involved words.

Ryan rolled down his window for the smiling security guard. “Yes?”

“You can go through now.” He laughed as she pointed to the raised gate.

“Oh, yeah. Thanks.” Ryan put the car into gear and headed for Keeneston.

Ohmygosh, ohmygosh
, was all Sienna could think as they drove toward her home in silence. She kept her eyes on the rolling hills outside her window because she knew if she looked at Ryan, her eyes would travel down his hard abdomen to something else that had been very hard, and then she would leap on him and have car sex. And car sex was definitely not a sexy kind of sex. And then she would have had sex with a man she’d grown up with and . . . Damn it! She looked. She licked her lips as images of hot sex roared to life in her mind.

“Sienna,” Ryan warned, “want to see what happens if you lick your lips one more time while staring at me like that? Now, where’s your new house? Dad said it was off the main road.”

Sienna snapped her eyes forward, blushed, and saw they had almost missed her turn. “Turn right here. Then it’s about a quarter mile down on your left.”

A minute later Ryan pulled into her driveway. Sienna reached down to unbuckle, but something had sent a shiver down her back. She looked up and automatically grabbed Ryan’s arm.

“What is it?” he asked as he parked the SUV in front of her house.

Sienna just pointed to the porch as fear gripped her.

“Geez. What is that thing? It’s not a horse. It’s like a genetically messed up donkey.”

“Hooch,” Sienna stammered. “He’s outside.”

“I’d sure hope so. I don’t think he’d fit inside your house,” Ryan joked as he looked at the massive dog.

“No,” Sienna said, tightening her grasp on his arm. Her fingernails started to bite into his skin. “He was locked inside when I left. Someone was here. Someone has been in my house.”

CHAPTER SIX

“Stay here,” Ryan ordered, his body instantly alert. He pried Sienna’s hand off his arm and reached under his seat to pull out his service weapon.

“Is that thing you insist is a dog going to eat me?” Ryan asked as he looked over the house for signs of movement.

“No. Hooch wouldn’t hurt anyone. He’s just a big goober. Oh, please tell me he isn’t hurt!” Sienna moved to open the door, but Ryan stopped her.

He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I’ll get the dog. You stay here.”

Ryan opened the door and Hooch stared off into space. Goober was right. Damn, as he got closer, the dog got uglier. He had thought Chuck, his childhood dog, was ugly, but Hooch put him to shame. All drooling jowls and shoved-in nose. His paws were the size of dinner plates, and it looked as if the dog weighed more than he did.

“Hooch, come here, boy,” Ryan whispered as he kept his eyes on the front door and windows for any signs of someone inside.

Hooch thumped his tail, and the sound echoed in the stillness of the evening. The window behind Hooch shook and Ryan gave up on any element of surprise if the intruder was still inside.

“Come, Hooch. Mommy’s in the car.” Hooch’s head perked up and he came to a wobbly stance. Ryan lowered his gun and rushed up the stairs. The damn dog was so dazed he could hardly stand. With a resounding crash, Hooch sat back down onto the porch. “You took a shot to the head, didn’t you?”

Ryan dropped to his knees and grabbed the dog’s face in his hands. Sticky drool ran down each arm as Ryan looked into the beast’s eyes. Glassy. Anger ripped through him. Someone had broken into Sienna’s house and clobbered her dog over the head. The giant knot he found a second later confirmed it.

“Okay, you stay here. I’ll check things out and then maybe Grandma and Grandpa Ashton can look after you and your mommy.” Hooch’s tail thumped again and a potted plant fell from a small table nearby.

Ryan shook his head and smiled at the dog. How had he gone from terrorists to protecting a dog and his sexy owner? Ryan stood up and Hooch fought to get to his feet. He groaned and leaned against Ryan. Ryan had to brace himself for the weight as the dog leaned against him. As Ryan took a step, the dog followed using Ryan as a crutch.

“I guess you’re coming with me,” Ryan said, looking at the determined dog. They each took slow steps toward the house. When Ryan reached the slightly opened front door, Hooch let out a low rumble.

Ryan lifted his gun and pulled out his flashlight. Clicking it on, he used his shoulder to open the door the rest of the way. He used the beam of his flashlight to scan the house before stepping farther in. He glanced down at the door and saw scratch marks around the lock. This had been where the intruder entered. The house wasn’t destroyed. The television was still there along with a laptop.

“You stopped him before he could take anything, didn’t you?” Ryan cooed. Hooch pushed away from Ryan, staggered to the laptop, and growled.

Stepping around the small coffee table, Ryan leaned down and pressed the spacebar. The computer screen lit up and pictures of Sienna filled the screen. He minimized them and froze. Her contact list was open alongside her calendar. Whoever had broken in knew exactly where Sienna was going to be and with whom. It would do no good to hide Sienna at a friend’s house or a family member’s house now. The only way she would be safe was if he was with her.

Ryan pushed his feelings aside and cleared the rest of the house. There was a guest room, master bedroom, living room, dining room, and kitchen with an eat-in nook. Ryan slid his gun into his waistband at the small of his back and took a deep breath.

Hooch leaned against him, and Ryan ran his hand absently down the dog’s back. “It’s up to you and me, Hooch. Think we can keep your mom safe?” Hooch wagged his tail and a plate from the kitchen table fell off and broke on the hardwood floor.

Ryan walked slowly with Hooch leaning against him to the front door. Sienna had her face plastered to the car window. “Stay here, boy. I’ll go get her.”

Hooch collapsed into a groaning heap on the porch and Ryan headed to the car with grim determination, forbidding himself to let his heart become involved. Sienna Ashton was just another witness to protect. That was all.

Sienna had always thought she was a badass. She didn’t want to brag but when she was thirteen, Annie Davies had picked her up from school every day for a month and taught her self-defense. Annie had been an undercover DEA agent before falling in love with Cade Davies, who retired from Special Forces to teach biology and coach the football team at Keeneston High School. When Annie and Cade got married, she took a job as a deputy sheriff in Keeneston.

Some people had complained she only got the job because of family connections, but from what Sienna had heard, that changed after just one night. There had been a fight at a football game that Annie and her best friend, Bridget, had been patrolling. After people saw them subduing a bunch of hired thugs, no one questioned her ever again.

But when Sienna had seen the door to her house open, all the confidence from that training fell to the wayside. She had been frozen and disappointed in herself. To make matters worse, when she saw Ryan go down on his knees to check on her dog, her nervous heart made a different kind of beat. Sienna had tried to ignore it as an adrenaline surge, but she was smarter than that. And even when she tried to ignore it, her heart wouldn’t allow it. The second Ryan disappeared into her house with his gun drawn, Sienna’s heart demanded to admit the one thing she had pushed away for almost a decade. She was in love with Ryan Parker.

“
Be okay, be okay, be okay,
” Sienna repeated over and over in her head, her eyes glued to the front door. It was bad enough her dog had clearly been knocked for a loop. She didn’t want anything to happen to Ryan. If she focused on how mad she was that someone would hurt her dog, maybe she could keep her mind from delving further into her feelings for the boy who had grown up with her.

But that was the problem, wasn’t it? He had never been like a little brother. He had been her first kiss at six, her first date at thirteen, and it had been Ryan who rescued her when her date to the junior prom dumped her at the last minute. It had always been Ryan. Even when she thought it would be uncool to date someone a grade younger, he had been watching out for her. He had walked her home after a party when her date got drunk. He had told her before she left for college he would always be only a phone call away if she ever needed him. And when she had the epiphany that he was all grown up, she told herself it had been because of his body. And what a body it was. But since then, she couldn’t stay in a relationship with anyone else. And now she knew why with a certainty that left her just as dazed as his kisses. She loved him.

Sienna let out a breath when she saw him amble out the front door. She pushed open the door and ran toward him. She flung her arms around his waist and buried her head against his chest. It was so strong and warm, and the sound of his beating heart soothed her. “You’re safe.”

Ryan tentatively wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t mean to sound like a guy, but did I miss something?”

“You came,” Sienna said as tears started to fill her eyes, “and you took care of my dog.”

“I’m still not certain that’s a dog. But what are you talking about?”

“The day I left for college you promised me that if I ever needed you . . .” Sienna sniffed.

“That I would always only be a call away,” Ryan finished softly for her as he ran his hand over her hair and held her against him.

Sienna nodded against his chest. She was going to say more, but the sound of a car pulling into her driveway stopped her. Ryan stiffened, and before she could blink she was pushed behind him. He had his hand on his gun tucked against the small of his back.

Sienna had to stand on her toes to see over Ryan’s shoulder, but when she did she relaxed. “It’s just Seth,” she whispered.

If possible, Ryan became even more tense. “Seth who?”

“Seth Hayes, Malik’s agent.”

“Sienna? Are you okay?” Seth called out, taking the porch stairs two at a time.

Ryan reluctantly let Sienna step around him. He hated the look Seth had given him and the way Sienna smiled up at this character. He was all flash, no substance. It had only taken a split second for Ryan to see it, yet Sienna seemed oblivious.

“You heard about Malik?” Sienna asked as she went into Seth’s open arms.

Hatred, jealousy, and a thousand different emotions swept through Ryan, and Seth shot him a sly smile, silently laying claim to the woman in his arms.

“I did. I flew here instantly to help with the arrangements for his funeral. His sister is distraught.”

“That’s nice of you,” Sienna said, pulling away. “Seth Hayes, my friend Ryan Parker. Ryan, Seth was Malik’s agent. Seth, Ryan and I grew up together. Where are my manners? Come inside. I’ll put on some tea.”

Ryan and Seth watched as Sienna absently went inside to start some tea. She flicked on the lights as she went, and Ryan was afforded his first real good look at Seth Hayes.

“Stuck in Friendsville,” Seth chuckled with a smirk. “Just a little too late. Sienna and I started dating this week.” Seth smacked Ryan’s shoulder and started to step inside.

Ryan took a deep breath and followed. It would do no good to get into a pissing contest with her new guy. Besides, he was right. There was nothing between them besides some heated kisses and what might have been.

“Damn dog!” Seth shouted from inside. Ryan hurried into the kitchen and found Hooch standing between Sienna and Seth with his fangs barred. Ryan tried not to laugh that the dog was so dinged up he was actually staring at the table three feet to the left of Seth, but the point was made nonetheless.

Ryan grinned and shot Seth a smirk as he walked past Hooch and gave him a quick ear scratch before walking over to a surprised Sienna and putting his arm around her.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into him. He did this the first time he met you, too. He’s normally a big teddy bear,” Sienna said in embarrassment. Pride filled Ryan when she didn’t pull away from him and at the fact her mutant dog liked him better than this flashy sports agent.

Seth narrowed his eyes at Ryan. “It’s okay. It’ll take time for him to get used to someone new in your life. Now that I’m back in town, how about dinner tonight? You can stay at my hotel. I’m sure you don’t want to be alone after such a hard day. Let me take care of you.”

Sienna felt the growling before she heard it. She just couldn’t tell if it was coming from the dog leaning against her or the man with his arm around her. She was torn, looking between Ryan and Seth, who seemed to be looking more at each other than at her. Oh, so that was how it was. Sienna almost rolled her eyes at the men and the dog in a staring match in her kitchen. She wasn’t the reason Seth asked her out. He just saw another alpha male and wanted to show his dominance. But if Ryan were only here to protect her, then why would he care if she were with Seth? In the past, he would have been relieved to be rid of her.

Ryan tightened his grip on her waist and suddenly the day was too much. “That’s very sweet of you, Seth, and I appreciate it. But I have hardly slept. I just want to curl up in bed . . . alone, and sleep. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

“You can’t,” Ryan started to whisper, but Sienna held up her hand.

“I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I’m in no mood to argue. Goodnight, you two.” Sienna shooed them out of her kitchen and through the front door. With a sweet smile, she shut the door in their surprised faces and threw the deadbolt.

“It’s been months with no interest, and suddenly I have two men sniffing around me. Don’t they know that you’re the only man in my life?” Sienna scratched Hooch and headed for her bathroom. A long soak in the tub, something from her freezer, and then curling up in bed was her plan.

“I’m not leaving until you leave,” Seth folded his arms over his chest and stared at Ryan.

“One date and you suddenly think you have claim to a woman I’ve known for her whole life? I don’t think so. I’m not going anywhere.” Ryan had never wanted to hit someone as much as he wanted to hit this man standing in front of him. He’d never been the jealous sort, but when it came to Sienna, all bets were off. He just had to make sure not to tell his dad. He didn’t want to hear that nonsense about love again. He was just here to protect her, and he couldn’t do that with this sleazeball around.

“It just took one date with me for her to want to see me again. You’ve been trying your whole life and have gotten nowhere. That’s pretty pathetic.”

Ryan clenched his jaw. Seth had hit a nerve big time. Then, with a deadly smile, he said, “You have it the other way around. The last eight years she’s been chasing me. Now, it’s time for you to go.”

Seth’s face turned a darker shade, and Ryan saw the anger in his eyes. He moved down the stairs of the porch and stopped at his car. “If you think I’m leaving before you, then you’re crazy. Sienna is mine.”

Ryan gave a little snort of amusement. “If you think Sienna Ashton belongs to any man, then you don’t know her at all. How about we leave at the same time?”

If Ryan could just get him and his over-the-top Bentley convertible out of here, he could circle back and watch the house for the night. With a nod of his head, Seth opened his car door and Ryan went to his SUV. He pulled out of the driveway and headed for Keeneston, but not before stopping and making sure Seth drove off toward Lexington. As he waited in the dark with his lights off, he called the only person in Keeneston he knew he could trust to keep his mouth shut and not give him any crap about being in love. If his younger brother, Jackson, had been in town, he would have called him. But his cousin Dylan Davies was the next best thing.