Passing His Guard (Against the Cage #2) (18 page)

His tone brooked no room for argument. Not that she had it in her, anyway. She nodded against his chest and felt his breath stirring her hair as he inhaled deeply. He kissed the top of her head before letting her go, then leaned back and gave her a smile so breathtaking, she momentarily forgot to breathe. This was the man behind the fame, the man she was desperate to know and yearned to spend time with.

Taking her hand, he gave it a reassuring squeeze and said, “Let’s just get this over with, huh?”

CHAPTER

 18 

T
he following three hours were torture. Aiden could hardly concentrate on answering the officer’s questions over the riot of his own slamming around in his head. He’d figured something was up with Ryann after the call she’d gotten this morning, but not once did he imagine it was as bad as the words that spilled from her mouth when she thought he was going to rat her out. It would have been the perfect opportunity to get rid of her, though he was loath to admit a part of him didn’t want to. Even if she wouldn’t have confessed to being in danger, he never would have said anything. He didn’t want to get her in trouble. In truth, he was having far too much fun with her between the sheets to give her up just yet. Although he hadn’t intended on this going as far as actually seeing his parents, Aiden suspected that was all about to change.

What kind of trouble could Ryann possibly be in? Whatever the problem, it was serious enough to put her life in danger. And if Vincent Moralli was involved, there was a high likelihood that was true. Of course the thought had briefly crossed Aiden’s mind that this could all be a ruse, and she was playing him. They both knew the only way she was getting him to New York would be willingly. And if she hadn’t gotten that call this morning, if he hadn’t seen the bone-deep fear in her eyes, he’d probably give more credence to the thought that he might be getting played. But something told him Ryann was on the level. If she’d wanted to manipulate him, she’d had plenty of times before now to tell him her story. In fact, he recalled several occasions where she’d purposefully shut down the conversation.

No, this was legit. Ryann was in serious trouble. And what kind of a selfish prick would he be to bail on her? The thought of leaving her alone and vulnerable sent his protective instincts rioting. He wasn’t sure at what point he’d come to care so much about her. Admittedly, there were a few hot moments that came to mind, but he’d had a lot of hot moments with a lot of women and he’d never felt any sort of responsibility toward them afterward. But something about Ryann was different. He couldn’t explain it, it just . . . was.

“I think that’s all we need from you, Mr. Kruze. Thank you for coming down. We appreciate your cooperation.”

Aiden recognized the officer interviewing him as the one who’d taken over the lead at the robbery last night. He found the man to be thorough, competent, and direct. He was a straight shooter, and Aiden respected that.

“Not a problem. Are we free to go, then? My girlfriend is anxious to get back to New York.”

“That’s understandable. I’m sorry to be delaying you, but I’d really appreciate it if you could spend one more night in town. I’ll get everything in to the DA today and he’ll review the case. If he has any questions or needs clarification, we can have you come back down right away in the morning. If you haven’t heard from us by . . . let’s say ten a.m. tomorrow, you’re free to go.”

“That’s fair enough.” Aiden shoved back his chair and rose, anxious to find Ryann.

“Thank you, again.” The officer stood and extended his hand. “For being so understanding about everything.”

He shook the guy’s hand and made a hasty retreat. When Aiden stepped into the hall, he found the chairs he and Ryann had been waiting in empty. A quick survey of the department revealed no sign of her, and his pulse spiked. Another officer walked by and Aiden stopped him. “Hey, have you seen a redhead walking around here? She’s about yea tall.” He held his hand up to his collarbone. “Thin, real pretty.”

The cop gave him a knowing grin that sent Aiden’s hackles up. He wasn’t usually so touchy, but he was quickly discovering when it came to Ryann, he didn’t know himself nearly as well as he thought he did.

“Oh, her? Yeah, she’s kinda hard to miss. Last I saw, she was over by the vending machines down the hall and on the left.”

After a curt “Thanks,” Aiden spun around and headed in the direction the officer pointed, each step ratcheting the tension inside him. Common sense told him she was safe. She was in a police station, for crissake, and Moralli had no way of knowing she was even here. It didn’t matter that his concern for her was irrational, just knowing the threat existed courted the alpha in him to life, and that beast ran on pure testosterone. By the time Aiden reached the break room, there was a healthy dose of it flooding his veins. He entered the doorway and came to an abrupt stop.

The relief at finding Ryann was quickly drowned out by another emotion so foreign to him, he was reluctant to name it. Yet there is was, all the same, spiking his pulse higher, suffusing a rush of adrenaline through his system. His jaw clamped tight to bite back the growl rumbling in his throat. Across the room, Ryann stood in front of the vending machine. Her back was to him, as was the officer’s standing beside her. The man was close—too close.

The boy in blue said something Aiden couldn’t hear, and she laughed as he shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out a fistful of change. After dropping several coins in the machine, Ryann pointed to a bag of trail mix through the glass, and the guy entered the code. When a bag dropped into the bottom compartment, the cop retrieved the trail mix and handed it to her. She gave him a smile that set Aiden’s teeth on edge. It was a sweet grin he wanted to be the sole recipient of. She thanked the officer, telling him he didn’t have to do that and the guy told her it wasn’t a problem. When he moved a step closer, Aiden suspected Dudley-Do-Right was about to make his move, and Aiden didn’t think twice about cock-blocking the bastard.

“You about ready?”

They both spun around. Ryann looked genuinely pleased to see him, but the other guy . . . not so much.

“Aiden, there you are. I was starting to get worried.”

Was it possible this woman completely missed the fact that this guy was hitting on her? There was zero guilt or embarrassment in her eyes, and that beautiful smile she’d given the officer beamed impossibly brighter for him. Holy hell, looking at her was like a sucker punch to the solar plexus.

Pure male instinct sent his feet moving forward. He approached Ryann and her admirer, barely resisting the urge to tell Dudley-Do-Right to back the fuck off. Instead, he opted for the communication that wouldn’t get him arrested. Reaching for Ryann, he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her tight into his side before planting a quick, firm kiss on her lips. She stiffened against him, seeming surprised by his PDA, which was nothing compared to what he wanted to do to her right now. Ignoring her startled response, he shot her a Disco grin that earned him a scowl.

“It looks like we’ll be spending one more night here, sweetheart.” Then to the officer, Aiden said, “Hey, man, you know of any nice places in town I can take my girl to eat?”

The cop took a measured step back—message delivered loud and clear, but if he was attempting to disguise his disappointment, he was doing a piss-poor job of it. After getting the name of a place to eat, Aiden ushered a contemplatively silent Ryann out the door. Just before they reached the SUV, she pulled away from the hand he’d possessively planted against her lower back and spun around to face him.

“What the hell was that?”

“What do you mean?” he asked innocently.

“You kiss me in front of that cop and call me ‘your girl.’ And by the way, I’m holding you to that fancy dinner tonight.”

Aiden bit the inside of his cheek to hold back his amused grin. She was so damn cute when she was all in a tiff. “I thought you were supposed to be my girlfriend,” he said, taking care to keep his expression guileless. “At least that’s what you told everyone last night. I’m just playing the part, sweetheart. Wouldn’t want them to think you were lying.”

“And I suppose none of that had anything to do with the officer talking to me at the vending machine.”

“Why would it?”

“Don’t give me that lawyer talk, Aiden Kruze. You were jealous. Admit it!”

“I’m not jealous.” He was jealous. “I’m just sayin’ it doesn’t look good when we’re supposed to be together and some other guy is panting all over you.”

She let out an unladylike snort that somehow managed to sound cute as hell and rolled her eyes. “Please . . . he gave me trail mix.”

“That wasn’t all he wanted to give you.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” she chided.

“And you’re being naïve if you think that guy didn’t want to fuck your brains out.”

She laughed. She actually laughed at him. “You’re right, Aiden. Nothing says ‘I want to fuck your brains out’ like a bag of trail mix.”

Oh, for crissake, when she said it like that, he did sound like a jealous jackass.

“Just admit it, Aiden. You were jealous.”

He had no intention of admitting any such thing. But he didn’t have to. She gave him a triumphant grin and said, “Well, at least now you know how it feels.”

She turned to walk away, but Aiden caught her arm before she could take two steps. “How it feels? What in the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the night of the after party. Do you think I enjoyed sitting at the bar watching you Disco it up?”

“ ‘Disco it up’? What does that even mean?” He wasn’t sure whether he was more amused or more annoyed at this point.

She sighed. “It means have you ever even had a real relationship?”

Whoa, wait, where the hell did that come from? He didn’t know, but he sure as hell was going to find out. “Ryann, what do my past relationships have to do with anything?” Again, answering a question with a question. Hopefully, she wouldn’t notice. If she did, she let it slide.

“It means that
our
relationship is complicated enough as it is, and I don’t think it’d be a good idea to make it worse by getting emotions involved.”

“Emotions like lust? Because I think that ship’s already sailed for you, sweetheart.”

Too far . . . ? His mocking comment earned him a scalding glare. She looked like she wanted nothing more right now than to introduce her knee to his balls. If he wasn’t careful, they were going to get into a full-blown domestic right here in the parking lot of the Portage Police Department. But goddammit, her rejection stung more than he wanted to admit.

What the hell happened to that frightened, vulnerable woman who clung to him so desperately back in there, begging for his help? She shot him one last look before jerking her arm from his grasp and turning away. Oh, she was still in there, he realized, catching a glimpse of hurt reflecting in those emerald eyes as she stomped away. But she was fighting like hell to keep that woman buried. Why? Then the answer came to him like an epiphany. Perhaps it was easier to pick a fight than tell him the truth. The truth she knew full well he was going to demand as soon as they got back to their motel. It was a defense mechanism he’d effectively played many times himself. Oh, this girl was good . . .

“I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work.”

Oh, she very much doubted that he did. Aiden fired up the Escape and when a hurricane of cold air blasted Ryann in the face, she reached forward and turned off the fan. As he let the SUV idle, giving the engine time to warm, she felt the heat of his stare burning into her. She avoided his gaze, pulling out her phone to check her messages. Great, one from his mother . . .