Aftermath Read online

  “Why is that dangerous?”

  She likely suspected the truth. Given the nature of the man Tyler Lynch had captured, Ryker couldn’t justify hiding the pieces of information that directly affected her. “We don’t yet know if all of the men involved in the cover-up of Kerberos’s activities have been identified and taken into custody. I hoped that assigning you a discrete bodyguard would be enough protection until the matter blows over.”

  Siobahn gave a very unladylike snort. “A bit high-handed of you, don’t you think?”

  Ryker shrugged. “If you’ve done your research, you’ll know that I pride myself on protecting my people.” Not that he’d been able to protect Rafe from falling prey to Dr. Kaufmann. Although Ryker knew there’d been nothing he could have done to stop it, the guilt continued to weigh on him. After all, it had been his order that sent Rafe and his team back to the compound that day.

  “Am I one of your people, Mr. Ryker?” The smile Siobahn gave him shot straight to his groin.

  Ignoring his body’s reaction, Ryker nodded. “Yes.” What he wouldn’t mention was that Siobahn Murphy was rapidly coming to be one of the more important people in his life. He suspected it was a losing battle, but for as long as possible, he intended to fight this sense of fate bringing them together.

  “And it’s just Ryker,” he added. “Not Mr. Ryker.”

  “Ah-ha! Progress.”

  He shook his head, amused by the triumph in her eyes.

  “Why am I safer here, in the house that some stranger broke into, than in a hospital?” she asked.

  “Your house and yard are small and private compared to the sprawling public hospital. That gives us better control over security. My team has already secured the perimeter. We’ve also fixed your alarm system. The man who broke in has been taken into custody.” Let her think that he’d been turned over to the police. It was safer that way. “You’re as secure here as we can make it.”

  In reality, the intruder had worn one of the Kerberos uniforms, which made him potentially too dangerous to enter into the criminal justice system. So the SSU would hold him. For now.

  What the SSU’s analysts had only recently discovered, and very people knew yet, was that Kaufmann had also been playing with the intelligence side of the equation, continuing the second branch of Dr. Nevsky’s research. The SSU had found records indicating that after surviving the first stages of Kaufmann’s program, during which time the men were tortured until they became susceptible to mind control, a special group of subjects had then been given drugs meant to increase their mental abilities instead of their physical strength. The intent had been to create improved spies and assassins.

  Ryker suspected, based on the color of the stripes on the intruder’s collar, that the man had come from the enhanced intelligence side of Kaufmann’s program. After the intruder was interrogated regarding who’d sent him to follow and attack Siobahn, he’d be taken to the SSU’s facility in Georgia. Gabby and her team would then check him for any unusual changes to his system.

  If it did turn out that the man was part of the newly discovered branch of Kaufmann’s program, then the SSU would have to broaden its search for his victims.

  “Do you know what the intruder hoped to accomplish by tasing me?” Siobahn peered up at him through half closed lids. If she knew how sexy she looked, how much he wanted to crawl into bed next to her and just hold her, would she be frightened? Or welcoming?

  “No. The man is a professional. He carries no ID and hasn’t spoken a word.” Even when the SSU’s men had threatened him.

  Ryker wasn’t going to tell Siobahn that there’d been a noose hanging from one of the beams in her kitchen, with a chair placed underneath. Apparently her intruder had intended to knock her out with the Taser, then hang her so the cause of death would appear to be suicide. Thank God Ryker had assigned a man to watch her. He only wished he’d told Ethan to be more proactive. “Ethan and I want to apologize for not protecting you better.”

  “Ethan? Oh, the man at the bottom of the stairs. He was the one assigned to follow me?”

  Ryker nodded. “The SSU is stretched thin on resources at the moment. I thought it was more important to have a man tailing you rather than watching your home. We were lucky that Tyler arrived in time to catch the intruder.” He met her eyes. “I should have explained that you had a bodyguard, then Ethan could have entered the house first to check for threats.”

  Siobahn gestured weakly with her hand. “Being harassed and even occasionally assaulted is an unfortunate risk in journalism. ‘Specially overseas. It’s not your fault. In fact, another woman might be angry with you for presuming to take on the job of guardian angel.”

  Her lips flattened. That, plus the pinched look around her eyes suggested she was still in considerable pain from her head. “Colin left some pain pills for you,” Ryker said. “Would you like one?”

  After a moment of tense silence, she whispered, “I think I’d better say yes.”

  He wondered how much it had cost her to admit that. She struggled to raise her head off the pillow, so he moved in and supported her with his arm until she was half sitting, half resting against him. The warm, soft weight of her body against him felt natural, as if they’d sat this way a thousand times. Ignoring the warning bells that thought caused, he shook one of the pills into a tissue and handed it to her along with the glass of water Colin had put on the bedside table.

  She grimaced as she swallowed the pill and gulped the water.

  As he helped her settle with her back against the pillows, Ryker asked, “Are you saying you’re not angry that I assigned a bodyguard to you?”

  “I have four brothers in the military or law enforcement and my dad is also retired military,” Siobahn said. “He’s a big fan of yours, by the way. Anyway, I gave up long ago trying to fight against the protective instincts of alpha males. There are easier battles I can fight in order to prove my independence.”

  “I’ve done some research of my own, Ms. Murphy. I don’t expect you have to prove your independence to anyone who knows even a fraction of what I do. You’ve got quite the reputation for taking on difficult assignments and of talking your way into—and out of—some dangerous and tricky situations over the years.” She was smart enough to know he’d have done a thorough background check on her the moment Faith revealed her name.

  Yet her background photos failed to capture the sheer vitality of the woman. Siobahn Murphy was a pure Irish firebrand from her bright red hair to her green eyes to the faint scattering of freckles across her milky skin that gave her a younger appearance than her birth certificate stated. But it was the fierce spirit and questing intelligence shining from her eyes that attracted him even more than the beauty of her face and the sexy curves of her body. He hadn’t felt this level of interest in a woman since Elaine died.

  For the first time in the thirty-two years since their deaths, the pang he felt over the loss of his wife and children seemed like an unwelcome intrusion. It bothered him, the feeling that in this room, at this point of time, a special bond was forming between him and Siobahn. A bond that had hope stretching its wings inside him for the first time in decades. Hope that was still so new, so fragile, that he feared any outside interference would destroy it.

  Since Siobahn’s eyes had closed, he let himself rub his hand down his face. These romantic, poetic thoughts weren’t typical of him. He was first and foremost a practical man. He’d had to be. One didn’t survive as a soldier in the crucible of the Vietnam War by being soft.

  Yet he’d have to admit that part of his recent melancholy had a great deal to do with finally wondering if there could be more to his life than just work. After all, he’d just watched three of the SSU’s finest, toughest agents fall head over heels in love. Why couldn’t something similar be in store for him?

  Considering that after Elaine’s death he’d vowed to never again subject a woman to the dangers of his career, it was something of a shock to realize that he was rethink
ing that vow now that Siobahn had entered his life. Even if she was no stranger to the darker side of humanity, that didn’t mean Ryker wanted her in the sights of the type of men involved with Kaufmann’s lab.

  Yet, much as he wished differently, it was too late to hide Siobahn away from her enemies. And he suspected it might be too late for his heart, too. After all, he’d had no real reason to answer Ethan’s call in person. His team knew what to do.

  But the panic he’d felt at learning that Siobahn had been attacked had required him to come see for himself that she was safe.

  Dangerous, dangerous waters. And a deadly time to find his attention splintered.

  Still, he couldn’t stop himself from watching her and longing for the freedom to get closer. Her breathing wasn’t quite deep enough to indicate sleep, but her eyes were closed and he was grateful for the chance to observe her.

  When several minutes had passed, Ryker finally roused himself. It was time to go. An instinct he couldn’t control had him leaning forward and pressing a light kiss to her forehead. Siobahn’s lips curled up in a smile. Reluctantly, he pulled back, but she opened her eyes and grabbed hold of his shirt.

  “Stay,” she murmured.

  “Siob—Ms. Murphy, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Yes.” She tugged lightly on his shirt. “You fascinate me, Ryker with no first name. I want to get to know you better. I want our date, dammit. Then I want to make love to you.”

  He opened his mouth, whether in shock or to protest, he didn’t know. Before he could speak she released his shirt and placed her fingers across his lips. “Shh. I know. It’s too soon. But I need you to hold me. Just for tonight.”

  If it had just been longing he saw when he met her gaze he could have resisted, no matter how powerfully he wanted to agree. But the hint of fear lingering there struck a chord in him. He suspected that she rarely showed such vulnerability to others. Particularly not to a man who was practically a stranger.

  For an independent woman used to relying on no one, no longer feeling safe in her own home, her sanctuary, must be frightening. Worse still that she was injured and reliant on strangers for her care. Ryker knew that anger would eventually replace Siobahn’s fear. But for tonight, she was vulnerable.

  “Please,” she said. “Hold me tonight?”

  Unable to resist her or his own primitive need to feel her warm and alive beside him, he nodded. As he removed his shoes and belt, a tiny voice warned him that his overwhelming need to take a moment of personal time indicated that he’d been pushing himself too hard. That he was close to burn out.

  A truth he’d deal with later.

  Taking extreme care not to jostle her too much, Ryker started to lower himself onto the bed on top of the comforter.

  “No.” She reached back and flipped the comforter down. “Get under the covers behind me.”

  He shook his head in bemusement as he obeyed.

  Siobahn chuckled. “Not used to following orders, are you?”

  “No,” he admitted, moving into position so that her back rested against his chest. Her hand reached for his arm and draped it across her waist. But when she tried to move his hand onto her breast, he resisted.

  “Behave,” he said against her ear. “Or I’ll leave you alone.” He wouldn’t really go. With her heat and softness cradled against him, he didn’t think anything short of a nuclear disaster could get him to leave. She felt like heaven. Like coming home after a long journey.

  “Not good for you to always get your way,” Siobahn muttered groggily. Good. The pain pills were starting to work on her.

  “I think I could say the same of you…Siobahn.”

  “Mmm. Like that. Say it again.”

  “Sleep, Siobahn. I’ve got you.”

  Chapter Six

  Siobahn was alone in bed when she finally woke. She told herself she wasn’t disappointed that Ryker was gone, but she lied. Despite knowing he had a job that required his attention twenty-four-seven, she still felt abandoned.

  “Get a grip, girl,” she muttered, even as she turned her face into the pillow he’d used and inhaled the lingering traces of his scent. “You’re old enough to handle reality.”

  Problem was, she didn’t feel rational when it came to Ryker. She felt greedy to learn everything about him, starved to spend time with him, and possessive as hell.

  Recognizing all the signs of one of her romantic crushes—times a thousand—Siobahn distracted herself by making some tentative movements to check her pain level. The pounding in her head had dulled to a faint throb. Her muscles felt stiff, but nothing hurt badly enough to stop her from getting out of bed. Ryker had woken her at regular intervals during the night, checking her pupil response and giving her more pain pills as necessary.

  Gingerly, she scooted to the side of the bed and sat up. The world swam for an instant, then settled down. Okay, that was acceptable. She knew from past experience that if the world stayed oriented correctly and her stomach didn’t threaten to expel its contents, then she was good to go.

  She pushed to her feet and shuffled into the bathroom, her body protesting every inch of the way. Oh, yeah, the aftermath of physical violence was not something she missed about fieldwork. She’d often ignored threats in order to pursue the truth, so she’d been attacked more than once before. Luck and the self-defense moves her brothers had drilled into her had helped her survive without receiving any life threatening injuries and without being raped.

  Staring into the mirror while she waited for the water in the shower to heat up, she carefully removed the gauze on the side of her head. Ugh. A two- maybe three-inch bruise with a cut running down the center marred her left temple. The hair around the wound had been shaved away, but the rest of her hair was long enough that she should be able to hide the bald area until the missing hair grew back.

  Overall, it looked nasty, but a gentle probing showed it to be less extensive than it appeared.

  This is ridiculous. I cover domestic news now, for pity’s sake. Not wars overseas. I’m not supposed to come under this kind of attack again. Still, despite the momentary fear and the lingering pain, she had to admit to feeling alive in a way she hadn’t for quite some time.

  The hot water from the shower went a long way toward easing the stiffness in her muscles, even as it stung her wound. Still, that didn’t stop her from imagining Ryker’s strong hands exploring her body.

  Having him hold her last night had given her a sense of peace she hadn’t realized she was lacking. She usually got home from work late, grabbed a bite to eat and fell exhausted into bed. She’d thought herself content with her life. But sharing body heat with another human being, knowing that there was someone to help her if trouble returned, had soothed her on a very fundamental level.

  I must really be getting old if the main reason I want a man in my life is to stop me from feeling so lost and alone.

  Lost? Where the hell had that thought come from? Alone, she’d concede. It had been a long time since she’d taken a lover and while she was on good terms with her family and had a close circle of friends, with all the changes at the paper lately she’d rarely had time for visits.

  But to call herself lost? Scowling at the uncharacteristic thought, she dried off with a vigor that threatened to revive the monster of all headaches if she didn’t ease off.

  She wouldn’t admit to being lost. Yes, running an investigative team here in D.C. didn’t present the same challenge as traveling around the world to crisis points, risking her life in order to be the first, or the only, person to report the truth of a situation. Did her life really lack meaning because she wasn’t constantly in danger? Had she become that addicted to adrenaline?

  Or was she simply burned out? Fed up with the constant corruption and violence in the world and cynical about the chances of her paper or any other voice making a difference?

  No. She had to believe that journalism had a positive role in the world. Otherwise…

  She gave a r
ueful smile. Otherwise her life had been a waste, hadn’t it?

  Probably it was just the post-adrenaline slump that made her moody and introspective.

  But when her left shoulder seized up as she attempted to put her arm into the sleeve of a brushed cotton, button-up shirt, she had to admit that she wasn’t the physically resilient woman of twenty years ago. Her shoulder had been badly dislocated during a clash with riot police in Somalia eight years ago and every so often something happened to remind her that her shoulder had never returned to full strength. The damn fall yesterday must have thrown the joint out of whack.

  Face it, Siobahn. You’re growing old. Fifty is only a few years away.

  That’s not exactly a death knell. But the butterflies in her belly told a different story. Her high level of natural energy had always seen her through even the roughest patch. The idea that she might be slowing down terrified her.

  While her mind still hungered for the challenge of ferreting out the truth, in all honesty, her body didn’t take abuse as well as it once did. Cross-training that included aerobics, yoga, running, biking and weight lifting helped keep her in shape. Continued martial arts classes kept her able to react quickly to threat. But last night she hadn’t been able to move quickly enough to avoid being tased. That didn’t bother her so much as the fact that she hadn’t run the instant she opened the door to silence instead of the beep of the alarm.

  Trouble was, she’d been too tired and too distracted. The delay in her reaction time had cost her precious seconds she might have used to get away.

  On the positive side, she thought as she applied a bit of makeup, last night’s attack had brought her closer to Ryker. Not that being a victim was the way she wanted him to think of her, but from the way his body had reacted to holding hers during the night, she was satisfied that the powerful attraction between them was mutual.