Honeymoon To Die For (43 page)

Bianca nodded. “But none of this includes you. If we can tie this up, then Sam being in Colorado at the same time as the diplomat throws a whole new light on that killing.”

“But not Kearn’s.”

“True, but the FBI is convinced that whoever shot the diplomat is the same one who killed Kearn. Ballistics matched.”

Ryder should be glad to find a tiny hope at clearing his name, but he’d never wish prison on anyone. He tried to imagine Janeen there and it sickened him that she might’ve thrown her life away.

“Let me load this into the vault and ...”  Bianca leaned closer to her laptop, eyes scanning quickly.

“What’s up?”

“Nanci has gone through all those emails that I just got back to and she found a bank account referenced. She also said she found a time zone for the attack referenced. She has to run everything past Murdock first, but for me to keep checking.”

Bianca turned to him, a smile lighting her eyes. “I hope this is the break we’ve been looking for. Once Murdock looks at all this new evidence, I believe the focus of our investigation is going to shift to Sam Long. His position at VDE allowed him the means and power to make these deals. He authorized Janeen to covertly handle shipments from Terrence’s computer. His visit to Colorado is suspicious and he might have been retaliating against Kearn for stealing the weapon design.”

“Why set me up?”

“Because as much as you refuse to accept it, Ryder, I think Hubrecht really wants you back in VDE and that would have threatened Sam. You would have noticed his dirty deals eventually.”  Her optimism was infectious when she said, “There’s enough here to make Murdock look again at your case. He’s a good man who’s committed to what he does.”

Ryder reached for her hand, the one with his ring on it. He’d told Sabrina and Murdock to not share that the ring had been his mother’s, because he hadn’t trusted Bianca not to use that somehow as leverage against him. When this was over, he would tell her how the ring and his Mustang had been his two most cherished possessions.

That was until he’d found Bianca.

Now he wanted her love more than anything. But he was afraid to tempt fate and say anything until they had hard evidence.

She leaned toward him and that was all the encouragement he needed. He cupped her head and brought her lips to his, kissing her with everything he felt inside. Could he really believe that this nightmare might be over?

Her hands were on his chest, sliding up to circle his neck.

Had she forgiven him? He had no way to fix this beyond saying again, “I never wanted to hurt you.”

She paused and looked at him with her heart in her eyes. “I know. I’m sorry for thinking you did.”

That was all the forgiveness he needed. He kissed her with the depth of everything in his soul.

He held her head and kissed her forehead, her cheek, her eyes, then smothered her lips again with his, sliding his tongue in to meld with hers.

Kissing her again was like coming home.

He moved the laptop to the coffee table and hooked his hands around her waist, lifting her over to straddle his lap.

She ran her hands through his hair and pulled him closer. When she leaned in and brushed her chest against his, he took the hint and slid his hands beneath her T-shirt, up to cover the soft mounds filling her lacy bra. She gave a lusty sigh. Shoving the T-shirt up higher, he popped the front clasp on her bra and dipped his head to taste paradise with his tongue.

Her pretty pink nipples budded and she arched into him.

She moved her hips, rubbing his erection. He grabbed her hips. “This is not going to take long if you keep that up, Sweetheart.”

“This would be a good time for that lunch quickie you promised me because we have until the computer dings. I set it to let me know when Nanci downloads into the vault.”

“In that case ...”  He peeled her warm-up pants down and slipped his hand inside, going straight for the center of her. He touched the damp folds, sliding his finger through her heat until he went for the spot that would take her over the top.

She made that sound that drove him crazy. “Please, Ryder, now!”

He sucked on her breast and licked the tight little bud. She quivered on the edge until he pushed a finger inside her, slow at first then faster in sync with her breathing.

Her orgasm was beauty in motion.

He’d never wanted her more.

She fell to his chest, clutching his shoulders. He held her to him, thankful to have her back in his arms. Now if he could just keep her there.

She mumbled, “You. Now.”

“The condoms are upstairs. We’ll get to me soon.”

The computer dinged.

She sat up, staring at him. “Everything from my waist down is shot, but fingers can type.”

“I doubt that you’re shot from the waist down.”  He fondled her breast and she moaned.

“I’m so freakin’ addicted to you.”

He chuckled, determined to keep her hooked.

“Help me climb off of you or Nanci will wonder what happened if I don’t get right back to her.”  

She tugged her top back into place and he helped her pull her pants up, then lifted her over to sit beside him again.

She told him, “I’m showering as soon as this is done.”

He’d be right there with her. He hadn’t wanted to lead her on with thinking they could have more if he was either locked away the rest of his life or on the run, but once she finished processing everything with Nanci, Ryder could tell Bianca how much she meant to him.

That he’d fallen in love with a woman who turned him inside out with a smile.

Bianca shook her hair out of her eyes and grabbed the laptop, hitting keys the minute it landed in her lap. “Nanci says she found a reference to the time zone in another email as CET.”  She frowned. “What’s in that time zone?”

“From France to Germany and Sweden to Italy.”

“How are we going to find the attack target in all that?”  She scrolled and kept reading. “Nanci said the account given in the emails signed by K for the transfer of payment on the Sunday attack is the same offshore account the Dubai arms dealer transferred the additional funds to each month.”  

Ryder felt hope build in his chest.

Someone in his family had betrayed him in the worst way, possibly with the help of Sam Long. Ryder compartmentalized those emotions right now, his focus on giving Bianca and Nanci any aid they needed.

“And,” Bianca went on. “Nanci found out what K stood for.
It’s ... oh, my God, no.”

“What’s wrong?”

Her face lost color.

“Bianca, what is it?”

“Nanci found an email that is older than the others. It listed the K as Komodo.”

If he had any doubts about being set up by a family member, that crushed them. The FBI would still be after someone at VDE, but this could be construed as connecting Ryder to the illegal weapon sales.

He just realized that Bianca’s reaction didn’t make sense. “Did you know that was my nickname when I was a kid?”

“Yes.”  She said that as if the word had been squeezed from her lungs. “Terrence mentioned it when we had lunch.”

That still didn’t explain why she was so upset, unless ... “Does Murdock know it was my nickname?”

She swallowed. “Not ... yet. But there’s more.”

His blood ran cold at the way she said that. “What else?”

“The email with the Komodo signature was sent a week before Kearn was killed and stated specifics plus assurances that Sunday would be accomplished no matter what because the Komodo had people in place across the world. That email was sent from the server for what we have as your personal email address.”

Reality hit Ryder square in the chest.

Not only could he not prove his innocence, he was going to be charged with treason against the United States.

Bianca’s eyes shone with tears she fought to hold back and everything she felt for him was written across her face. “This isn’t the end, Ryder. I love—”

He stood up and stepped away. “That’s it then. This mission is over.”  He couldn’t let her say she loved him no matter how much he wanted to hear those words roll off her lips. What he had to do was bad enough. He was willing to live with the pain of losing her and knowing she’d hate him for the rest of her life as long as she was safe.

And free to love again.

The idea of another man touching her turned Ryder’s heart black, but he owed it to Bianca to cut any tie and give her a chance at happiness. She deserved better than being in love with a man whose life expectancy was dwindling by the minute.

But he would find who robbed him of a chance with Bianca and, when he did, Ryder would exact payment tenfold.

She stood and reached for him. “Ryder?”

He backed away, hands up. “Whoa, we both knew my chances of ending up free were slim. You’re amazing and the sex was incredible, but this thing between us has nowhere to go. I’d kill for one more time in the sack with you, but I don’t want your people walking in here and catching me with my hands on you. Murdock would have them toss me in the Hole. Getting laid isn’t worth that.”

Agony ripped through his chest at the devastation in her face. He’d just reduced what they’d had to cheap thrills.

He couldn’t do this to her.

He
had
to do this for her.

Her lips moved with silent words until she sputtered, “You can’t mean that.”  

“Look, Bianca, don’t make too much out of our time together. It was off-the-charts hot and you’re a sport for all that you did, but—”

“A sport?” she said in a shuddering breath. “That’s all I was to you? Bed sport?”

His chest was so tight he wasn’t sure he could draw enough breath to speak, but he shrugged. “Don’t get offended, babe. I don’t mean to make light of all this, but I’m not cut out for picket fences even if I was free. You’re hot as a firecracker and sexy as hell and ...”  He rubbed his chin in thought, pausing to give his next line just the right timing. “You know what? We might have time for one more quickie.”

“Screw you!”  Her eyes bulged with tears.

Please don’t cry, Sweetheart, or I’ll cut my own heart out and give it to
you to stomp on
. The damned thing belonged to her anyhow. He pulled the blank mask into place that had gotten him through five months in the pen. But he wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long if Bianca broke down.

Now he had to ask her for a favor on top of all that.  

He softened his voice to get this one boon from her. “I’m sorry if you misunderstood my intentions. I really didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

Her jaw trembled then hardened with the words trapped inside.

He hoped she was disgusted enough with him that she’d want a few minutes alone. “Think I could talk you into letting me take one last private shower before you call in the troops?”

Squaring her shoulders, she gritted out, “You have ten minutes.”

A life together had never been in the cards for them. He’d been crazy to even entertain the idea, but somehow she’d come to mean more to him than life. For that reason, he couldn’t leave her crying her heart out for a wanted man on the run.

He wouldn’t have much of a lead since he had to stay until Murdock’s people showed so Bianca would be protected. Now that Ryder realized he’d been set up for far more than a murder, he understood why someone had been targeting Bianca.

They knew Ryder would take her out of the threat zone.

If he went back to Atlanta with Bianca, she would be at risk again, but if he disappeared it played into the hands of whoever was pulling the strings to frame him.

That still didn’t ease his guilt over hurting her.

He was every bit the bastard he saw reflected in her eyes, meaning this charade was working.

Now a stronger and wiser woman who knew to expect more from a man as her partner, Bianca would survive this and have a real husband one day.

That pissed Ryder off when he had no right to be pissed.

Her eyes turned into angry slits.
That’s right, Sweetheart
. She had it straight in her mind now. He was the son-of-a-bitch she was itching to call him.

Heading for the stairs, he turned his back on the best thing to ever touch his life.

CHAPTER 47

Bianca waited until Ryder’s footsteps on the stairs faded before she folded in half and landed on the sofa. She dropped her face in her hands, fighting the sobs that were crawling up her throat.

A volcanic heartbreak waiting to erupt.

Not yet. Not here.

She would finish this mission and send her report, just as soon as she could stop the shaking that had started in her legs.

Don’t make too much out of our time together?

Just drive a stake through her heart. That’s what it would take to make her stop loving Ryder in spite of everything he’d said. How could she still care for a man who
admitted
he’d only pretended to care for her?

She’d made yet another mistake—a huge one.

Her original plan after Bernard had been to dive into work at the agency and swear off of men since her father was the only honorable
man
she knew.

Time to go back to her original plan.

But she wanted answers before she left here. Bianca sent a message to Nanci that she would be in contact soon about picking up her and Ryder, but to wait on her call to send anyone. She made it sound as though Ryder trusted her and that Bianca was close to gaining more intel, that she wanted to squeeze as much as she could from him while things were relaxed between them.

What a whopper.   

Almost as big a whopper as her marriage.

Trust your instincts, Baby Girl
.

Daddy’s words whispered through her, warming her insides and filling her with the confidence that came from knowing she was loved, no matter what. The kind of open and unconditional love Ryder had never known.

What were her instincts telling her?

He’s an honorable man.

Why would an honorable man treat her so callously? The Ryder she knew wouldn’t do that unless ... he was trying to protect her.

Ryder wouldn’t want her waiting for him if he had to go back to prison forever.