Black Ice (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (13 page)

“I know it’s a long shot. I personally don’t want you anywhere near the man, but maybe you can find a reason to confiscate his computer.” He kissed her cheek. “We do have a case to solve, and right now, the GHB isn’t enough to convict anyone of murder. Amanda is hardly the only one involved. If Levi knows something then the only person he’d tell is you.”

“It’s not fair for you to ask me to do that.”

Ryder knew that. “War isn’t always fair.”

“Neither is love.” She pulled away from him. “I get my badge back if I do this. And you owe me big time. I’m talking years to pay off your debt.”

He nodded. “Agreed.”

She walked to the nightstand and grabbed the gun in the drawer, shoving it into the small of her back. “You’re not my boyfriend. You’re my partner until this case is closed.”

“You drive me crazy sometimes, you know that?” He stood and kissed her lips.

“I can take care of myself.”

He leaned down to feather kisses across her cheek. “You think I don’t know that? I’ve witnessed it firsthand.” He met and held her eyes for a long moment. “You’re so beautiful. You take my breath away.”

“Yeah, right.” She pushed against his chest, and he moved. “Lou called and said I didn’t have a choice. I have to speak with a psych. Do you think I should before or after I talk with Levi? If it’s before then I could possibly get off with an insanity plea if he opens his big fat mouth and I shoot him.”

He brushed his hand down her arm. “You’re not going to shoot anyone.”

“Then again, the psych might try to keep me if I did, ruining your case.” She turned toward him, more serious. “Will you go with me?”

He brushed her hair back. “To bail you out? Sure.”

She laughed. “You know, I didn’t tell you this but Betsy thinks you’re hot.” She laid her head against his chest.

“Really?” He wrapped an arm around her. “What about you? Do you think I’m hot?”

“I’m still pissed at you.”

He laughed. “Yeah, well, join the club.”

* * * *

Blake decided to make Ryder a sandwich for lunch before he left. Lisa sat in the kitchen with the newspaper, minding her own business until she saw them enter the room.

“I wondered if you two were still alive.” She sat the newspaper aside. “Is everything okay?”

“Just work, Mom.” Blake opened the refrigerator.

“That Sophie Stevens murder?”

Blake nodded. “What kind of lunch meat do you want?”

“Whatever you’ve got.” Ryder took a seat at the table with Lisa.

He gave her a small smile. “Blake says you’ve already planned our wedding.”

Lisa laughed. “She exaggerates. Wedding planning takes at least six months. A year preferably. We have the chapel to book, a date to set, a million and one other things to do before then. I need you to get me your guest list so I know approximately how big this event will be.”

Blake groaned and tossed Ryder’s plate before him. “Nobody is getting married, Mom. Drop it.”

“Oh, honey. I know you hate weddings and would be the type to elope in Vegas, but this is your day. Why would you want to spend it in some tacky chapel with an Elvis impersonator singing ‘Hound Dog’?”

Ryder laughed and bit into his sandwich.. Blake all but begged her mother to leave and finally she took the hint. Ryder shook his head when Blake did a happy dance after shutting the front door.

“Is your mother that bad?” Blake asked once her mother left.

He shook his head and laughed. “No. I’m pretty sure my mom would be offended if I played ‘Hound Dog’ at my wedding.”

She plopped down with a groan. “Don’t mention that damn wedding. What are you going to do next? Has anyone been back to talk to Robert Stevens?”

“Going there next.” Ryder pushed away from the table. “Stay out of trouble.”

“You know I will.”

****

He needed a course of action to interrogate Robert Stevens. From what he figured, Robert had already called in his lawyers and he couldn’t do anything. He stopped by Stevens Enterprises to speak with Robert and his staff and informed him the boss was in a meeting.

“That’s okay. I’ll wait.”

His cell rang and Ryder excused himself to answer it. “James.”

“Amanda Cummings skipped town,” Detective McKenna said. “We put an APB out for her arrest.”

“Something’s not right,” Ryder said, moving farther away from the secretary. “Guess who is in a meeting.”

“I’m surprised he hasn’t left town, too.”

Ryder glanced around the room. “Get the waiter down at the station, and you might as well bring in the valet, too. All we’ve got is the one testimony. I’m going to work my charm on the stepfather.”

“You can’t arrest him. So far we have nothing to hold against him.”

“I know that. Do your job and find the girl. Leave Stevens to me.”

Ryder hung up his phone and put it in place. He moved back to the secretary and held up his badge. “I need to speak with Mr. Stevens now.”

“One moment, sir.” She dialed a number and hung up a few seconds later. “I’m sorry. Mr. Stevens has stepped out.”

“He was in a meeting a minute ago in that boardroom.” Ryder pointed to the room she’d indicated moments prior.

The secretary glanced at the clock. “I’m sorry, sir. He’s not here.”

“Obstruction of justice is a serious offence. I’m pretty sure you don’t want that on your record. Tell me where he is.”

“He has a condo in north of Minneapolis. He and his wife have been staying there since the death of their daughter.”

“Address,” he barked. He grabbed his cell and punched in the department’s number while she scribbled the address down. “I have word from his secretary that Stevens is in his condo.”

“Go find him.” Lou hung up the phone without another word.

Ryder ran out of the building and climbed behind the wheel of his car. His cell phone rang, and he answered it with a clipped, “James.”

“I found something,” Blake said.

“Honey, I can’t talk right now, and you shouldn’t be looking over the files.”

“It’s on the stepfather.”

Ryder switched the phone to his other ear. “Are you at my house?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Ryder hung up and pressed the gas harder. He could only imagine what Blake found out. Telling her to stay out of trouble was like telling the sun not to shine. Traffic wasn’t too horrendous, and he made it home within a short time.

He pulled in the driveway and jumped out of the car. Blake met him at the door with her laptop. “I know this sounds crazy, but there is a piece of video that is clipped. Two scenes are pieced together but the video editor left a second of the original behind. And, of all people, my mom is the one that noticed it.”

He stopped and stared at the screen. She pushed play and to the naked eye it looked like a normal piece of tape. Except for a small clip at the end that showed, for one second max, Robert Stevens paying another man with a wad of money. Ryder’s jaw dropped. If he blinked, he would have missed it.

“Shit. Who is that guy?”

“I can’t say for sure, but it looks like he’s wearing a valet uniform.”

Ryder moved past her to the bedroom. “We’re bringing in the valet and the waiter. Amanda Cumming’s skipped town, and Robert Stevens is missing at the moment. I’m going to his condo to try to find him.”

“By yourself?”

“Yeah, Bratford is working the area up here for Lou, getting warrants to search his company and house. And McKenna is looking for Amanda. With you gone, your partner gone, and the others in the department trying to hold the fort down, there is nobody else.”

“Give me back my badge. I’ll go with you. You need backup, Ryder, and I’m your partner.”

“No, Blake. Lou’s sending people to back me up. You will stay here where you’re supposed to.” He clicked on the computer screen and sent the video images to McKenna’s email.

“What? I’m supposed to step back and hope for the best?”

“Yeah.” He pulled his cell out and dialed his new partner’s number. After telling him the latest information, he hung up.

“You can’t leave me out of this. All I need is a gun. I’ve got my backup on me but it’s a little hand pistol that will leave flesh wound injures. I need a real gun.”

He sighed. She wasn’t going to give it up. He knew they could both lose their jobs if they got caught.

“If you go, it’s as a civilian. You have no power and do as I say.”

“Fine with me.” She propped her hands on her hip. “My gun’s at home.”

He moved to the nightstand and tossed his .32 on the bed. “Spare bullets are on the other side.”

She walked around the bed and opened the nightstand drawer. “Damn. How can anyone find the bullets for all the condoms?”

“I’ve never used my spare.” He shrugged. “Condoms are another story.”

She arched an eyebrow.

He pocketed another magazine for his gun. “You know I’m not a virgin.”

“You have five different boxes in here! All opened I might add.”

He sighed and walked to where she stood. After digging through the condoms, he pulled out a magazine that fit the .32. He handed it to her and shut the drawer.

“Why are you making a big deal about condoms?”

She grabbed the gun and followed him out. “I guess it just surprised me.”

Ryder stopped by the refrigerator to grab two bottles of iced tea and stuffed them in the side of her computer bag. “Surprised you how? That I had sex or that I have protection for sex?”

He flipped off the lights while she gathered up the laptop and files. “I guess I don’t understand why you never initiate it.”

“You said you weren’t ready.”

She zipped the bag. “Yeah, but you’re a guy.”

Ryder huffed a breath as he pulled his keys from his pocket. “And that automatically makes me what? Some kind of sex fiend?”

“No. But guys are different than girls. You can’t seriously say you don’t want to. If…” she licked her lips, “if things were different, we would have already…”

Ryder’s heart broke at the look on her face. “You don’t know that. Hell, with this case, when would we have time even if we wanted to?”

Blake waited beside him as he locked the door. “So I’m not…”

Ryder stopped her by pressing his lips to hers. He pulled away and stared into her eyes. “Listen to me. When you want to, we will. Until then, stop worrying that I’m not satisfied. Of course I want you. From day one, you’re all I think about, and I can't help fantasizing. But I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you again, you mean more to me that a short romp in bed.” He cupped her face in his hands with a smile. “Now stop thinking about sex and help me catch this guy.”

He walked her to his SUV. He couldn’t stop thinking about what she said. She’d been through so much. Blake remained quiet on the passenger’s side of the car, fiddling with her computer.

“What do you fantasize about?” she asked once they headed out on the road. “You know, with me?”

Ryder glanced over at her. “Different things. You being my partner makes my job difficult. I catch myself staring at you more than I should. Daydreaming mostly about what I’d rather be doing with you.”

She squirmed in her seat. “And what would that be?”

“Kissing you for one thing.” He stared ahead as he drove. “Touching you. I wish I could show you how I see you. I want to erase your memories of pain and replace them with pleasure.”

She didn’t say anything for the longest time, typing away on her computer. Ryder wondered if he offended her by answering her question so bluntly.

“I told my mom about Levi.” She closed the laptop and returned it to the bag. “Not about the rape and beatings, but about him coming to the station and following me. She really didn’t have that much to say about it. His mother is her best friend and I guess with my statement, she didn’t want to believe someone close to her would do that.”

He changed lanes. “Are you close with your mom?”

She shrugged. “My dad and I were inseparable. He took me to baseball games and taught me how to shoot a gun. He gave me my first pocketknife, and to this day, it still remains in my nightstand drawer next to my spare. He and my mom wanted me to be a boy so I guess that’s why I’m sort of a tomboy—name and all.” She shrugged. “But I was a daddy’s girl all the same.”

Ryder reached for her hand and brought it to his thigh. “Your father sounds pretty amazing.”

She smiled. “Lilly hated it that he let me get away with more stuff than he did her. I can’t even tell you some of the trouble we’ve gotten into and dad always sided with me.” She turned her attention to him. “So what about your family?”

Ryder linked his fingers with hers. “What about my family?”

“Tell me about them.”

He groaned. “I have a sister and a brother, both older than me. My sister is a nuclear physicist. And my brother is a research physician. My mom stayed at home with us while my dad worked as an engineer.”