Ryan didn’t want to think about the threat his father left him with. You better pray your mother hasn’t heard of this. His mother loved Sienna as if she were one of her own and was best friends with Sienna’s mother. He know it was possible for someone his size and age to still be afraid of his mother still, but he was terrified, and rightly so. His mother could still shoot a tick off a deer at three hundred yards.
He needed to come up with a plan quickly. Maybe begging from his knees would work? Chocolate, flowers, and him swearing he would never be so stupid again? Something—anything—to get Sienna to talk to him again. But right now he focused all his worry about the future and all the anger he had with himself on one person: Seth Hayes.
Ryan pulled his SUV into the parking space on one side of a flashy Bentley Continental convertible in the Thoroughbreds’ parking lot while Detective Braxton pulled into the spot on the other side. Ryan got out and shook his head at the sporty car.
“How much do you think that’s worth?” Braxton asked as she stopped to stare at the bright yellow car.
“Probably a little over two hundred thousand dollars,” Ryan told her. He was about to walk off when Detective Braxton shook her head.
“Two hundred grand and his driver’s side door is banged in.”
“Banged in?” Ryan asked as he walked around to the other side of the car. Sure enough, there was a large indentation in the door. “Looks like a basketball thrown with great force, doesn’t it?”
“Sure wasn’t a post or another car. I guess it’s hard to get a Bentley fixed in Lexington,” Braxton smiled.
Ryan pulled out his phone and handed it to Braxton. “Take a picture.” He stepped forward and, without touching the car, spread his hand out so the picture would show how big an indentation it was.
“Thanks,” he said, taking his phone back. “Let’s go have a chat with Mr. Hayes.”
Ryan found Seth in the conference room with Zack Sanders. Zack was smiling and nodding his head. The large lineman stood up and shook Seth’s hand, then grabbed his paperwork and headed out the door.
He gave Ryan and Detective Braxton a quick glance but kept walking. Seth, on the other hand, didn’t take his eyes off them as they walked into the room.
“Sanders looked happy.”
“Of course he did. He took my advice and the advice of his financial planner and invested correctly. On top of a new endorsement, he also just got a nice fat check for one of those investments paying off.” Seth didn’t bother to stand or shake their hands. “Now, I have another appointment before I need to meet with Sienna. Would you care to tell me what you want?”
Braxton shot Ryan a look he didn’t like. “What are you seeing Dr. Ashton about?”
Seth smiled. “It’s personal.”
“I bet it is. You two have a romantic relationship, do you not?” Braxton asked while Ryan did his best to stay calm.
“I guess you could say that.”
“I did say that. I want to know what you have to say,” Braxton said calmly.
“I would say yes, we’ve been dating.”
“Were you alone with Dr. Ashton at any time this week?” Ryan asked.
Seth grunted. “You know I wasn’t. You were playing lapdog with her this whole week, keeping us apart.” He turned to Braxton. “Your boy here thinks he has a shot with her.”
Ryan ignored him. “Where were you the night Malik was killed?”
Seth’s face lost his smirking smile. “That was horrible. I was out with Sienna the night before, but then I had to go to Indianapolis to meet with my players there. You can call the front office to have that confirmed.”
“We will,” Detective Braxton told him as she took some notes. “We will need the names of all the players you represent or have represented—dead or alive, retired or playing.”
Seth’s eyebrow rose and he leaned back in his chair. “Why?”
“Just following a lead. You can have your office send the information to this email address.” Braxton handed him her card, and he shrugged.
“I’ll clear it with my attorney, and he’ll get back to you. Now, if you don’t mind, I have another meeting.” Seth motioned to another player, waiting at the door.
“Thank you for your cooperation,” Ryan said through gritted teeth. “Oh, sorry for that dent in your car. That will cost a fortune to repair.”
Seth shrugged. “It’s a rental, what do I care?”
“What happened to it?”
“Came out of dinner the other night and it was like that. Someone must have dinged me.”
Ryan and Braxton shared a quick look. He was lying, just like he was lying about having a personal dinner with Sienna tonight. There’s no way Sienna couldn’t see past this scumbag. His buddy-buddy attitude was just a little too fake.
* * *
Sienna sat in the leather chair of Rooney and Rooney’s law office flanked by half the town. Dani, her mother’s paralegal, and Tammy Davies, Henry and Neely Grace’s paralegal, claimed they had enough legal training to be included with her mother, Neely Grace, Henry, and Judge Cooper. Sienna didn’t know exactly how the Rose sisters talked their way into the front office. Something about someone needed to answer phones.
Sienna took a deep breath when she saw the two cars stop outside. She closed her eyes and waited for the tinkle of the bell over the front door.
“May I help you?” Miss Lily’s elderly voice wafted in through the open conference room door.
“Detective Braxton and Agent Parker to see Dr. Ashton.”
“What are you doing here, Miss Lily?” Sienna heard Ryan ask. A second later she heard what sounded like wood splintering and a gun being drawn.
“Put it away, Braxton,” Ryan said firmly.
“But she just assaulted a federal officer,” Braxton gasped.
“No, I knocked some sense into a boy I’ve know his whole life . . . a boy who I thought had turned into a man.” Miss Lily harrumphed. “A boy who made me break my fifth broom.”
“I take it she’s in the conference room?” Ryan asked with a little pain to his voice.
“You know she is,” Miss Lily hissed. “I had such hopes for you two, and you go and step in it.”
Sienna took a deep breath preparing herself to see Ryan after their blowup that morning. Ryan walked in looking devastatingly handsome in his worn jeans over his cowboy boots and a buttoned-up white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. But it was the miserable look on his face that gave Sienna a glimmer of hope. Maybe he was here to apologize? He sure didn’t seem surprised to see a roomful of people. On the other hand, Detective Braxton’s surprise made up for it.
Ryan saw the red rims of Sienna’s eyes from across the room and felt even worse than he had earlier. Miss Lily breaking a broom over his head hadn’t helped either. He felt like a scoundrel. As soon as he saw Miss Lily sitting where Aunt Tammy usually sat, he had known he was in trouble. Which was why it was no surprise when he saw Aunt Tammy, Dani, Henry, Neely Grace, and Kenna sitting on one side of the table. Judge Cooper being there was odd, but at this point he wouldn’t be surprised if there were a live feed being broadcast at the Blossom Café.
He had tried to warn Braxton about this, but she never saw it coming. She stopped short when she entered the room and took a quick glance at the angry faces on one side of the table. She recovered quickly enough, but by the way Kenna smiled predatorily, he knew first blood had been spilled already. Poor Braxton just didn’t know it was her own.
“Mrs. Ashton,” Ryan said as he leaned over the table and placed a kiss on her cheek. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“I take it you are Dr. Ashton’s attorney?” Detective Braxton asked, as she shook Kenna’s hand. “I’m Detective Andrea Braxton.”
Kenna smiled evilly. “No, I’m not her attorney. They are. I’m just here in the capacity of her mother. I’ll just start on this side. These are our paralegals, Tammy Davies and Her Royal Highness Danielle Ali Rahman.”
Ryan almost laughed at Braxton’s face. “Highness?”
“Yes,” Dani said, displaying a rare moment of royal superiority. Ryan had seen Dani’s husband, Mo, turn it on before, but had never seen Dani do it. Poor Mo probably had no idea his wife did it better. “But Your Highness is the proper way to address a princess such as myself.”
Tammy was next to shake hands. “And I’m Ryan’s aunt. If you don’t think every bit of this conversation won’t be reported to your mother, then you are as stupid as Sienna said.”
Ryan groaned. His mother was going to shoot him . . . practically. Well, maybe literally.
“It’s nice to meet you. You should be proud of Agent Parker. He’s very good at what he does,” Braxton defended.
Kenna cocked her head. “You seem to think highly of Agent Parker.” She let the insinuation hang in the air.
Braxton cleared her throat and turned to Judge Cooper, who sat in his full robe and even brought his gavel with him. “Judge?”
“That’s right. Judge Cooper to you, young lady.” Judge Cooper rapped his gavel and Braxton jumped.
“And I’m Neely Grace Rooney, Dr. Ashton’s attorney. This is my husband, Henry Rooney, my co-counsel.”
Henry blatantly let his eyes run slowly over Detective Braxton’s body before holding out his hand. Ryan wanted to scream for her not to take it, but it was too late. Henry had a sleazebag grin on his face and now had both hands wrapped around Braxton’s.
“If I told you I was packing a deadly weapon, would you strip-search me?”
Braxton’s eyes went wide, and she started to sputter. She tried to pull her hand back, but Henry leaned over and placed a kiss on her knuckles before leaping back.
“Ouch, your beauty tased me!”
Ryan had to swallow his laughter. When he caught Sienna’s eye, he saw she too was struggling not to laugh.
“Why did you call this meeting?” Kenna asked immediately, and Braxton still sputtered.
Ryan set his face to show no emotion. “Can I have a word with Sienna alone?”
“No,” Neely Grace responded at once.
“Fine. Sienna, I know you didn’t do anything wrong. I was just so upset that Seth keeps popping up, attached to your name. Not to mention the very clear fact he wants to be more to you than he is. You could do so much better than that douche bag.”
“Better as in you? The person who doesn’t know me well enough to know I would never commit a crime?”
Kenna placed a hand on her daughter’s arm, and Sienna instantly fell silent.
“Ryan, dear, if you want to grovel for my daughter’s forgiveness, then you can do that at a later time. It was my understanding that Detective Braxton, however highly she thinks of you, does not think the same of my daughter. Now, Detective, I’ll ask only one more time. What did you need to talk to my daughter about?”
Henry winked at the detective. “Do you have any cuffs on you?”
Braxton went red and fish-mouthed for a second before pulling it together. “I need to know the exact relationship between her and Seth Hayes.”
“No,” Neely Grace said again.
“No?” Braxton repeated.
“I can think of at least ten things that involve you, that stun gun, and those handcuffs,” Henry smiled up at Detective Braxton.
“Stun gun? What would you do with that?” Judge Cooper asked.
“Well, if you set it real low . . .”
“Enough! What is wrong with you all?” Braxton shouted.
Judge Cooper slammed his gavel. “I don’t like your tone. State what you want. Hurry up now.”
“Where were you the night Jaylen was shot?”
Sienna looked to Neely Grace who gave a quick nod of her head. “I was at the Blossom Café with Sydney Davies and Kentucky State Trooper Matt Walz.”
“Here are their phone numbers, addresses, and sworn affidavits backing up Dr. Ashton’s alibi. Further, Miss Lily out front was there along with half the town. Feel free to question them,” Neely Grace said and slid two copies of the affidavits across the table.
Ryan gave Sienna a pleading look, but she looked away.
“Dr. Ashton, are you currently dating Seth Hayes?” the detective asked.
“No,” Sienna whispered before Neely Grace could answer.
“What is Seth’s involvement like with his players?”
Sienna shook her head. “I don’t know. I know he’s always busy, so business must be good.”
“Was Malik Coleman a client of yours?” Braxton questioned.
“Sustained!” Judge Cooper called out, banging his gavel before the entire room objected to the question.
Neely Grace quieted them. “Detective, you know you need a court order for my client to disclose anything about patients or non-patients. Move on to a different topic.”
“What does The Suit mean to you?” Braxton asked.
Ryan could have told her it would mean nothing, but the look of confusion was clear as day. She had no part of this. Even Braxton should be able to tell that.
“I don’t . . .”
Her mother placed her hand on hers again and quieted her. “Would you care to read us in? This has a lot more to do with the detective being jealous or maybe Ryan being jealous. Either one is an abuse of power when coming to question someone for personal gain. Who is The Suit?”
Ryan put a hand on Braxton’s arm to stop her from answering, but she shook him off. “It’s confidential. I just need to know if that name means anything.”
Kenna gave him a yeah, right look. “Look, I’ll find out in under a minute, so why don’t you just tell us.”
Braxton sniffed. “This is an FBI matter, not something civilians can know about.”
Kenna sent a text. “Go ahead and answer if it will satisfy Detective Braxton’s errant curiosity.”
“No, I’ve never heard the name,” Sienna said and glanced at her mom’s phone when it pinged. “You think I’m working with a terrorist?” she screamed as she jumped up from her seat.
“What? How . . .” Braxton sputtered as Kenna rose to her feet.
“You have my daughter wrapped up in your undercover work?” Kenna shouted as she pointed at Ryan.
Ryan shook his head. “No, that’s the thing. Malik was murdered before I came here.”
“How do you know this?” Braxton shouted, and the room erupted in conversation.
Sienna ignored Braxton, as she demanded how they had received confidential information. Her mother had sent a text to Ahmed, Nabi, and Nash. The trio of Rahmi security specialists had more information at the touch of a button than the entire FBI. All three had sent text messages, adding information each time.
“First you accuse me of sleeping with a potential suspect and feeding him inside information, and now you’re accusing me of being part of a terrorist organization with a plot on American soil? Are you insane?” Sienna screamed. She had never been so upset.
“Sweetheart, it’s not like that,” Ryan started as his hands went to his waist in a defensive move.
“Don’t sweetheart me, Ryan Parker. You’re the one who slept with me while thinking I was a terrorist!”
“I knew it!” Miss Lily tittered from the doorway.
“You slept with my daughter and then did this? Someone give me a gun,” Kenna threatened, jumping from her seat. Judge Cooper banged his gavel gleefully.
“Enough!” Ryan yelled. He slammed his hands on the table. “You will listen to me now. Sit!” Sienna had never seen Ryan lose his temper. She immediately sat, as did everyone else, including Detective Braxton.
His hazel eyes flashed gold and green and bore into hers. His square jaw was emphasized as he clenched his teeth together, and his biceps bulged as his hands turned to fists. He had never been sexier, and right now Sienna forgot all about him being an ass.
“One. I never thought you were a terrorist.” He held up his fingers and spoke with a barely contained fury. “Two. I came here to protect you from the person who murdered Malik and likely wants to do the same to you.”
Sienna heard her mother gasp, but she kept quiet.
“Three. It is natural to hate any man trying to make a move on what is mine, which is you. Four. I was wrong for being jealous, and I’m sorry. Five. I’ve learned that somehow, the two cases are related. I just don’t know how.”
Sienna gulped. This was way worse than it had been five minutes ago.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I am going to try to stop a terrorist plot, find a murderer, and keep the woman I love safe.”
Sienna’s eyes grew wide as Ryan stormed from the room with Detective Braxton hurrying speechless after him. He’d given an impassioned speech and then left before they could work things out. Sienna groaned. “That man is infuriating!”
“Eight pack, you say?” her mother asked, sending her a wink. “That can make for a lot of frustration . . . or cause a completely different kind.”
“Eww, Mom,” Sienna groaned as she sat back in her chair. She didn’t hear the conversation about the new terrorist organization striking close to home. She didn’t pay attention to Miss Lily rushing as fast as she could to the café to spread the gossip. And she didn’t pay attention to the fact that Nash had suddenly appeared by the conference center door, waiting to escort her home. What she did notice was that Ryan was gone. He had told her he loved her, he was going to protect her, and then he left her. The question was, did she wait for him to come back to her or did she track him down to tell him she forgave him?