Wolf’s Heart (14 page)

“You're having way too much fun with this, but I do like that purple thing. I will take that one.”  Tossing it in the cart, she turned away from him. “Just because I buy it doesn’t mean you get to see it.”

With her shopping out of the way, they crossed the store to grab a few things for Ryden. New underwear, a pair of jeans, a couple of new t-shirts and he was good to go.

A few times, he managed to get behind her and check out her ass as she leaned over to pick out something from a lower rack. On the run or not, before this day was over, Ryden was determined to have her. Her idea of playing hard to get was only making him enjoy the thrill of the chase. Every chance that presented itself Ryden was touching her, her hand, hip, down her arm, brushing her hair back from her face. He knew it was getting to her with the way her cheeks would blush, but then she’d turn away.

He was behind her again as they went to the checkout, his mouth inches from her neck. “Sooner or later, Carlee,” he whispered. “Let’s make it sooner. God, I can’t wait to get inside you, again.”

With a grin, he pulled out some cash and paid for their purchases, watching as her face flushed red.

As soon as the purchases were made, she hurried to the ladies room and changed into her new clothes and came out with a smile on her face. She wore a pair of tight fitting jeans that hugged her curves in all the right places and a blue t-shirt that had a picture of Wile E. Coyote. It said “Super Genius” and Ryden laughed. It fit her personality so well. Her shoes were simple, white canvas slip-ons.

“Okay, this is much better, Peach. At least I don’t have to worry about my pants falling down at the wrong moment. Let’s get moving.”

“Lead the way, Buttercup.” They were back to the car and on the road in record time.

“You know, there is a lot to be said for living on the run,” Carlee said. “Just think, you never get bored with being in one place, or stuck in a dead-end job. If I could get my hands on my cash, we could make a good trip out of this.” 

Ryden chuckled and shook his head. “At least you have a sense of humor about it.” Ryden was showing the patience of a saint. He knew her too well. She might have thought that he had forgotten the past three years, but he remembered everything in perfect detail. Memories of the two of them together had gotten him through many long and lonely nights during that time. Once she got over the shock of what he was, he would put a stop to her hiding her thoughts and feelings from him. “Stop worrying, Carlee. You’re going to get through this just fine.”

Carlee dozed off and on as the radio played softly, and he stole glances at her from time to time. There was a lot he knew about her, but just as many things he didn’t. Being
stationed overseas during some of the time they were together didn’t give him much chance to get all the details. Their time together was always too short and was spent tangled in each other. Things would be different now. He wanted all of her.
Getting into that brilliant mind and uncovering the pieces of the puzzle while watching her put it together would be arousing as hell. He shifted in his seat, adjusting himself behind the zipper of the new jeans and was glad she was asleep for the moment and unable to witness his discomfort.

Several hours later, after dealing with a few traffic accidents, stopping for food and bathroom breaks, they arrived in DC. “Alright, sweets, where to? Your office or home? Where did you keep your work?”

“My laptop is in the trunk of my car. Where did you have your friend take Ernie?”

“To my storage unit. We can be there in a half hour.”

Ryden pulled up to the unit, keeping an eye out while he punched in the code. The door slid up, and Ryden gave a wave toward the green monstrosity. “Here is, um, Ernie, just as promised. Thomas is a good friend and took care of him for you.”

Ryden watched as she dug her keys from her purse, and walked into the storage unit. Her hands smoothed across the lime green paint as she walked down the side if the car. ”Not a scratch on him, nice job. I owe your friend big time. Ernie is my prized possession. The first thing I ever bought on my own.”

Carlee pressed the button on the key fob and the trunk popped open. They both walked to the back, Ryden behind her, pressing close. The evidence of this morning’s excitement was still obvious as it nestled against her back. He leaned down over her shoulder, looking into the trunk at the bins and boxes as his hand rested on her hip.

“I think you could live out of there. You have everything alphabetized?”

Carlee elbowed him in the stomach, and he grunted. “You never know when you have to go someplace in a hurry. Of course, my laptop I just put in here when I left. I keep a backup on it, and I have a thumb drive to keep everything with me so I can work on it at home when I can’t sleep.”

He could feel her heat as he reached in and picked up the laptop. Stopping at Carlee’s ear, his voice was low. “Finding something to do won’t be a problem with me and sleep is overrated.”

Carlee’s knees felt weak as she watched him turn around and start to walk away. The way his jeans hung low on his hips, tight shirt, his jacket short enough to watch him move, made her weak in the knees.

Shit, I am in trouble.

Blowing out a breath and closing the trunk, she skipped to catch up with him. “You know what
really
gets my engine goin’, Peach?”

A huge smile came across her face as she looked up at him and watched him raise his brow. His grin quickly changed as she smirked and brought up the key fob, pushing the button. She listened to the Hemi roar to life; at least for about two seconds. The ground shook as the car exploded behind them, knocking them both to the ground. Debris from the car and the building flew through the air like rockets. Carlee screamed as Ryden’s arm came around her back, blocking her from the debris with his body as they scrambled to get behind the Mustang. His hands were on her cheek, forcing Carlee to look into his eyes. “Carlee, look at me, Carlee! Are you hurt?”

Her ears were ringing from the explosion, and she tried to read his lips. She couldn’t say a word and was too busy trying to remember how to breathe. When she could finally move, she looked over and could only stare at what used to be her car, now nothing but twisted metal, and then back to his eyes.

“I’m fine, but they killed Ernie,” she said on a sob. “I…I’m fine, but are you hurt?”
Her hands moved across his shoulders, down his arms searching for any sign of injury. She didn’t breathe again until she knew he was okay.

When her hearing returned, the sound of screams reached her ears. Turning, she watched a man come out of another storage garage, his coat in flames. Ryden never hesitated, and after a gruff, “Wait here and do
not
move,” he was gone. He didn’t give her a chance to tell him that she couldn’t have moved if she’d wanted. She could only watch as he crossed the parking lot, ripping off his jacket on the way and brought the man to the ground, wrapping the man in his jacket to smother the flames before pulling out his phone.

Standing up on shaking legs, she watched as Ryden cared for the stranger, making him as comfortable as possible on the ground and safe from further harm. Ryden then rushed back over, picking up her computer as he went. He took her arm, putting her in his car, and then ran around to get in.

“Fire department is on their way. He will be fine, but I need to get you out of here. We can’t allow the police to question you and whoever is behind this could be watching.” His hand hit the steering wheel so hard she thought she heard it crack. “Dammit, Carlee, whoever is after you isn’t playing around.” He started the engine and hit the gas, his tires squealing as Carlee looked back to say her final goodbye to Ernie.

Her ears were still ringing as they got back out on the highway. Tears ran down her face, and she could feel Ryden’s eyes on her. She couldn’t look at him, opting instead to check over her injuries. She had a few minor cuts and scrapes, nothing serious, but they were bleeding. Her new jeans had a hole in the knee, but she thought to herself they would just be more fashionable. Dirt covered her hands and clothes, and fresh tears fell at the sight.

Ryden reached over and took her hand in his, rubbing patterns with his thumb across the back to help calm her, and then brought it up to his lips for a kiss. They drove a few more miles and Ryden continually checked his mirror to see if they were being followed. They eventually pulled off under an overpass.

The motor cut off, and he pulled her into his arms. Sobs wracked her body. Her tears ran unchecked down her face as she clung to Ryden with both hands. No words were spoken for several long minutes while she vented and grieved. It wasn’t the loss of her car she cried for; she cried for the loss of her life as she knew it. For days, she’d tried to keep her feelings controlled, only letting short bursts of her emotions leak through. The initial shock had passed, and now something akin to anger replaced it. Ryden held her in his arms, and just crooned softly to her, not actually using words as much as soothing tones as his hands caressed down her body.

When the tears abated, he lifted her chin and met her tear filled eyes. She couldn’t help what happened next any more than she could stop her next breath. Her lips were so close to his as he held her and Carlee closed the gap, feeling as if she was drawn to him like iron filings to a magnet. As their lips met, a soft sigh escaped, and she melted in his arms. The kiss wasn’t intense in the normal sense. There was no urgency about it; it was soft and gentle, a way of connecting, of feeling alive, unharmed and safe.

When they broke the kiss, she gazed into his brilliant blue eyes, seeing something intense in his stare. It lifted her spirit. He gave her a few more gentle kisses, trailing them down her neck until she laid her head on his shoulder. They sat there for a few more minutes and then pulled slightly away from each other.

“Come on, Buttercup. Let’s find us somewhere to hole up for a while and get into that computer of yours.” She nodded, sniffled a little, and he handed her a handkerchief from his back pocket. “I’ll see to those cuts when we get settled.”

Ryden pulled back out onto the road and drove to a hotel on the outskirts of Baltimore. It was cheap and easy to get in and out of, with only one floor of rooms. They carried their few bags inside and tossed them by the bed. She didn’t waste any time, wanting to sit right down with her laptop and get to work, but Ryden insisted on taking care of her cuts first.

“Ryden, I’m okay. Nothing serious.”

Ignoring her protests, he had her strip off her jeans and washed the dirt from the cuts on her knees. Other than a few scrapes, that had already stopped bleeding, she was fine. Her hands were in better shape, and he washed them in the sink, caressing along each scratch to make sure the dirt was all washed away. He brought each palm to his lips and gently licked her palms before kneeling down, his hands resting on her thighs and did the same to the scratches on her knees. His hands tightened on her thighs, and she heard the low groan that escaped as he seemed to force himself to stand. He gently kissed her lips.

“Now, you’re fine. Come on. Let’s see what that incredible brain of yours can figure out.”

She made it back to the main room on shaking legs and sat down. Looking at the computer, Carlee felt numb. Just a week ago, her biggest worry was whether or not she was going to make it home in time to watch
Vampire Diaries
. Now, it seemed that she had to worry about just making it through the day without getting killed or even worse, getting someone else killed. Then there was Ryden, her attraction to him growing by the minute. She didn’t have the time to sit and think of him, of what his tongue had felt like on her skin. How the scratches just disappeared.

Shit, one mystery at a time Carlee. Figure out what you’re not supposed to know on this case. You can figure out Ryden later.

Carlee looked up at Ryden as he went over and flipped on the television, turning the volume to low. She knew he was looking for information on the bombing of her car to see if anyone had seen them there. The last thing they needed was the cops after them too.

Carlee switched her focus to the computer. She needed to find out what this was all about.

What is it about this case that I’m not supposed to figure out?

She sat for hours going over image after image, file after file all while drinking the coffee Ryden made with the hotel coffee maker. The night she had been working, and G came by, she’d been so excited. She had called him earlier in the day to tell him there was a link between the case of the dead drug dealers and the obviously unwilling organ donors. The last victim that had been brought in had a residue on the bottom of his pants. At the time she left the office, the toxicology on the substance had still not come back. She needed to know what that substance was.

The log-on to the network at the office failed. Carlee’s username and password had been revoked.

“What the
fuck
? They locked me out of the system. I am not dead, and I sure as hell didn’t quit.”

Ryden came over, his strong hands massaging the muscles of her neck. “Just breathe, Buttercup, I know you can figure this out.”

He was right, she could figure this out.

“They can all just kiss my ass. That was
my
lab,
my
systems. I put that shit together. Guess it is a good thing I backup to the Cloud.”

Ryden leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Now,
that’s
the Buttercup I remember, such a pain in the ass when it came to messing with her toys.”

Smirking, she threw an empty coffee cup at him before he went back over and laid on the bed to watch the television. Carlee knew what he was doing. He was giving her just enough push to keep her going, but was careful not to push her too far.

It only took her a few minutes to access the data. Starting the download of files, she got up, paced the floor and looked back at the computer from time to time. She had only attempted to access her lab for a second but still couldn’t shake the idea of a strike team breaking down the door.