Sienna awoke to the feeling of a warm body next to hers. He was breathing heavily and kissing her face as she opened her eyes. Sienna cracked her eye when it started to feel as if it were raining.
“Hooch,” Sienna groaned, and the bed began to shake as he thumped his tail.
The door to her bathroom opened and Ryan walked out with a towel slung low around his waist, his hair still dripping wet.
“Sorry about that. I got up early and took him outside. When I let him in, he ran straight for your bed, put his head on the pillow, and closed his eyes. Since I literally could not get back into bed, I thought I’d take a shower. How about I make you some breakfast while you take yours?” Ryan asked as he pulled the towel from his waist and ran it over his hair.
Sienna was going to answer, but she was too busy staring. She had started with his chest. The small dash of dark hair drew her attention downward where she worked on counting to eight and then, well then, she couldn’t count to save her life.
“Sienna?” Ryan asked when he dropped the towel to his side. “Breakfast?”
“In bed?”
“That could be arranged,” Ryan’s voice purred predatorily as he stalked toward her, leaving the towel to drop on the floor.
Sienna could smell the bacon frying as she ran a brush over her wet hair in her bathroom. That had been the best breakfast in bed she’d ever had. Afterward she’d taken her shower while Ryan had declared he and Hooch would make her a real meal.
Sienna blasted her hair with a dryer before stepping into a pair of peach silk shorts and a flowing, white silk top. She slipped her feet into a pair of wedges and followed the smell of food.
Ryan was setting a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast onto her small table when she entered the kitchen. He looked up and smiled at her as Hooch sat proudly beside him as if he had cooked the meal himself.
“Hope you’re hungry,” Ryan said with a smile that had her wondering about a second helping of breakfast in bed.
“Starving.”
Who was this sultry woman who answered him? “So, what are our plans for the day?” Ryan asked, taking the seat next to her.
“I want to go see Jaylen and see if Detective Braxton has found out anything yet.”
“I’m expecting a call—” Ryan was cut off by Hooch leaping up and thundering toward the front door.
Sienna had barely blinked, and Ryan was up between her and the door with a gun in his hand.
“It’s okay. That’s Hooch’s happy bark,” Sienna said and placed a gentle hand on Ryan’s arm.
There was a quick knock on the door and then the handle turned. Ryan wasn’t taking chances and turned the safety off.
“What the hell? Sienna, open the door!”
Ryan put down his gun as they both recognized Sydney’s voice.
“Seriously, hurry up and open the door. This is majorly time-sensitive!”
Ryan strode forward and unlocked the door. Sydney burst in in full supermodel mode. Her sandy blond hair was blown out in long soft waves over her shoulders, cascading down her breasts. Her hazel eyes, so much like all the children in the Davies family, were highlighted to perfection in earth tones. Her extremely tailored business suit was the cutting edge of fashion, and the silver Chanel pumps made her the picture of haute couture business.
“This is so much better than when you modeled underwear. Do you have any idea how many of my classmates I had to beat up defending your honor?” Ryan asked as he kissed his cousin on the cheek.
Sydney waved a perfectly manicured hand through the air and laughed. “You Southern gentlemen are all the same. Wyatt said the same thing, but he’s my brother. Well, I appreciate the brigade of male cousins defending me, too. It sure makes a girl feel loved.”
Sienna stood and walked over to Ryan. “I thought you were on your way to New York City for business meetings.”
“I am. I stopped at the café to get one last good meal before my trip, and I had to warn you. You have no more than five minutes before your mother gets here.”
“Which one?” Ryan and Sienna asked in a panic.
“Both of them! They know Ryan’s been shacking up here, and Aunt Paige is pissed that you haven’t been home to see her yet,” Syd told Ryan before turning to Sienna. “And Kenna’s pissed that something is going on, and you haven’t told her about it. She said Will’s been acting funny and talking up Ryan. It’s made her really suspicious, especially when she found out my dear cousin here hasn’t even seen his own mother yet.”
Ryan and Sienna didn’t bother thanking Sydney. Ryan lunged to clear the table, tossing all the food into Hooch’s dish as Sienna grabbed her purse. In under fifteen seconds, the house was locked, and they were racing down the driveway on their way to Lexington with Sydney standing on the porch screaming, “You owe me!"
* * *
Ryan flashed his badge at the officer standing duty outside Jaylen’s hospital room and then signed the login form. He and Sienna had laughed all the way to the hospital about their mad getaway. Neither one of them wanted to ruin the magic of last night by talking about what their plans were now. They just wanted to savor the moment a bit longer.
“Right this way, Agent Parker,” the officer said and led them down the hall.
“Are you sure you didn’t see anything else?” Ryan heard Detective Braxton’s voice before he saw her.
“I’m sure, ma’am. I wish I knew what this was about. I haven’t done nothing to no one,” Jaylen responded as Ryan raised his hand to knock on the partially open door.
“Come in,” Braxton ordered.
“Yo, Doc! Man, it’s good to see you.” Jaylen smiled from the hospital bed. “I’m glad they let you in. No one else from the team is allowed to visit me until I’m released.”
“Nothing could keep me away.” Sienna smiled, taking a seat on the opposite side of the bed from the detective. Ryan watched her take Jaylen’s large hand into hers and give it a squeeze. The big running back grinned and was visibly relaxed. His girl sure had a way about her. His girl. Ryan smiled to himself. He was damn proud of Sienna.
Ryan’s phone began to vibrate and he almost didn’t look at it, thinking it was his mother calling for the tenth time, but when he glanced at the screen he saw that it was a call from Agent Shaw.
Detective Braxton sent him a questioning look over her shoulder, and he held up a finger to tell her to wait before stepping out into the hall.
“Parker,” he answered.
“Shaw,” was the responding answer. Gotta love FBI agents. They were straight to the point. “I talked to Arnie, and he cleared your local detective. He went to check on Abdul and found him hanging in his cell.”
“What? How?” Ryan asked as he began to pace the hallway.
“That’s the million-dollar question because he was hanging by a thick piece of rope that could have, in no way, been in his cell. Someone either entered the cell and killed him or had the rope slipped to Abdul, and he followed the unwritten order. Either way, your lead on The Suit in L.A. is dead.”
“He’s tying up loose ends,” Ryan said, shaking his head. “Cleaning house for this big terrorist attack he has planned. The trouble is we don’t know which stadium or when, only that a stadium was the target. But now that L.A. is too hot, how is he going to finance it?”
“That’s what Arnie is wondering. Strange that he sent a crew to Kentucky. Arnie thinks you are considered a loose end. That maybe you picked up something in L.A. that was important and don’t realize it yet,” Shaw told him.
“I’ll go over my notes again today to see if I can find anything I missed before.” Ryan stopped pacing. “But what do Malik and Jaylen, two players for the Lexington Thoroughbreds, have to do with The Suit?”
“That’s what Arnie wants you and Detective Braxton to work on. He’s worried you’re not the only target. If The Suit is tying up loose ends, then your doctor friend is a big one, ripe for the picking.”
“First my mother and then The Suit. Can my day get any worse?” Ryan asked the universe.
“I don’t know about mothers, but The Suit is out there, so be careful. Arnie also said to read your father in on it and see if the Lexington branch can assist in anyway.”
“Apparently the answer to today getting any worse is yes. I will now be taking orders from my dad.” Ryan let out a suffering sigh as Shaw chuckled.
“Call me if there’s anything you need. Talk to you soon, Parker.”
Sienna chatted with Jaylen as the detective split her time between listening to every word of their talk and trying to listen to Ryan talking in the hallway. Something was going on, something bigger than just a murder. Even she could tell this was an organized attack.
Jaylen was singing the praises of his date, and Sienna paid attention the best she could. The way Detective Braxton was trying so hard not to jump from her chair and charge into the hallway had Sienna on edge.
“I mean, she leapt on me to protect me. If that isn’t true love, I don’t know what is. It’s just too bad I don’t have the money to buy her a nice engagement ring.” Jaylen continued talking, but that brought Sienna up short.
“Engagement ring?”
“Yeah, haven’t you been listening? That’s a special girl right there, and I am locking it down.”
“Jaylen, how many dates have you been on with this girl?” Sienna asked.
“Two, why?”
“Don’t you think it’s a little early to be talking about engagements? After a shock like getting shot, it’s not really the best time to be making life decisions,” Sienna said in her best doctor voice.
“True love is true love. Why wait?” Jaylen smiled, but as soon as he stopped talking Detective Braxton jumped in, even ignoring that Ryan walked in right then, looking worried.
“Why can’t you afford a nice engagement ring? You make millions a year.”
“I met with my agent, who had talked with my financial advisor. I overspent like crazy. I have enough for a ring, but not a ring like she deserves for saving my life and certainly not enough for the multimillion-dollar house I wanted to buy. I mean, I can buy it with a mortgage, but my mom taught me never to go into debt. I wanted to walk into the closing and plunk down all this cash. It would have been sweet.”
“Did Malik have money problems, too?” Ryan asked, stepping up to the bed.
Jaylen shook his head. “Not that I know of. He saved every penny he made. He lived in a tiny townhouse for the past couple of years and never partied. When he bought a new car it was a Ford Explorer, not a Lambo like some of the guys.”
Sienna nodded in agreement. “Before he was killed, he told Seth he was planning on purchasing a big beach house. He was going to be meeting with him to go over all the financial paperwork his advisor had provided. He had his retirement all lined up.”
Ryan looked at Detective Braxton and pursed his lips. “I don’t know about you, Detective, but I sure wouldn’t mind talking to Seth Hayes.”
“Me too,” Detective Braxton agreed. “Jaylen, who else does Seth represent?”
Jaylen let out a long breath. “Damn, I don’t know. About fifty of us in the NFL. A handful of NHL players and about twenty NBA players.”
“I’ll look to see if any other of his other clients have been roughed up recently while you bring him in for a chat,” Braxton said to Ryan.
Sienna didn’t like this. Ryan already didn’t like Seth and vice versa. Having Ryan bringing Seth in would only hurt matters. “Maybe Detective Braxton should talk to Seth.”
Ryan straightened and his cop face fell into place. “And why is that?”
“You’re not exactly objective when it comes to Seth,” Sienna pointed out. She didn’t like the hardness in Ryan’s voice when he had asked his question. And right now his eyes were shooting daggers at her.
“Why aren’t you objective?” Detective Braxton asked Ryan, even though she was looking at Sienna.
Ryan didn’t respond, so Sienna did. “Because I’ve gone out on a couple of dates with Seth. He wants us to date more and doesn’t like Ryan hanging around. Similarly, Ryan doesn’t like Seth hanging around either.”
“And who do you want hanging around?” Detective Braxton asked, making a very small motion with her hand to stop Ryan from saying anything.
“Excuse me? What does that have to do with anything?” Sienna bristled. The tone of this conversation had gone from conversational to questioning real fast.
“Is that such a hard question to answer? How close are you to Seth Hayes, Dr. Ashton?”
Jaylen looked back and forth between the two women as Sienna ground her teeth together. “Are you trying to imply I had something to do with this? I would never hurt anyone, much less players I care about as if they were my own brothers.”
Jaylen nodded his head. “Doc is real good people. She would never—”
Ryan cut him off. “Why can’t you just answer the question, Sienna? Who is Seth to you?”
Sienna jumped up from the chair and placed her hands on her hips. “You know exactly who is to me, Ryan Parker.”
“So you’ve dated?” Detective Braxton asked, trying to bring the questioning down a level. “When?”
“The other week. Right before the opening season game,” Sienna shot to the detective, who calmly wrote something in a small notepad.
“Are you sleeping with him?” Ryan asked quietly.
Sienna sucked in a breath and Jaylen cursed. “Damn, bro. Don’t you know you aren’t suppose to ask a woman something like that?”
“Sorry, Sienna, but we need to know,” Ryan said in the same quietly forceful voice.
“You do, huh? Give me one reason why you need to know?” Sienna shot back. She felt as if steam were about to come out of her ears.
“Because,” Detective Braxton said in the same quiet hard voice, “you had a relationship with someone who keeps popping up in this investigation. And at the same time, your name keeps popping up as a common link between crimes. Further, you sure went from Mr. Hayes to Agent Parker pretty quickly. I can’t help but wonder if that was to feed inside information to Mr. Hayes.”
Sienna pushed back the tears threatening to explode from her eyes and took a breath to hold her broken heart together. “This discussion is over.”
Sienna bent to pick up her purse, and Jaylen grabbed her hand. “I know you didn’t do it, Doc.”
“Thank you, Jaylen,” Sienna said as she swiped at her eyes. “I’ll check on you again soon. Call me if you need anything.”
Sienna lifted her purse over her shoulder and stood up straight. She looked Ryan in the eyes and walked past him out the door.
“Sienna,” Ryan called out after her, “why won’t you just answer the question so we can move on?”
Sienna spun around as anger and hurt boiled over. “You make love to me, and I tell you how it’s always been you I’ve loved. I tell you that no one matched up to you for years. For someone who claims to have wanted me all that time, who knows everything about me, who is one of the smartest people I know, you sure are stupid to even think we’re going to have this discussion. You shouldn’t even have to ask if I had something to do with this. You should just know.”
“Dr. Ashton,” Braxton stepped up to the door and stopped next to Ryan, “we have a job to do, and we need answers. Even if it’s to cross your name off the list of suspects. We have to do our jobs.”
Sienna made a sound of disbelief. “Please. All you did was make Ryan single again, as if we even had a relationship to begin with! Well, he’s all yours, Andrea. Did you plan to blame me for a crime I didn’t commit the first time you saw him leaning against your cruiser? I remember how you drooled like Hooch over him.”
Detective Braxton turned red. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Now you know how it feels.” Sienna spun on her heel and started to walk down the hall.
“I still need your answer,” Braxton called out after her.
“Then call my attorney. Agent Parker has her number.”
Ryan stared after Sienna as she stomped down the hall. What the hell had he just done?
“Bro, what the hell did you just do?” Jaylen asked from his bed.
“Shit,” Ryan cursed, slamming his hand against the door.
“We have to know,” Detective Braxton said softly to him. “If we don’t ask the hard questions, they will be asked during trial when we do find the person who did it—that is, if it’s not her.”
“You know damn well it’s not her. I got jealous and let it interfere with my work.” Ryan clenched his hands into fists over and over again. “Jaylen, I hope you feel better. Call me if you need anything.”
Detective Braxton followed him out into the hallway. “Should I call her lawyer and set up a meeting?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t advise that,” Ryan said, shaking his head.
“Why not?”
“Because her attorney is her mother.”
Detective Braxton shrugged. “So? Usually relatives are easier to manipulate. They give too much away since they’re so invested in the case.”
“You don’t know her mother,” Ryan shuttered. “Besides, first I need to read you into the case. Let’s go to the Lexington FBI office. I need to bring my dad into it as well.”
Ryan walked down the hall, assuming Detective Braxton would follow. How had he messed up the best thing in his life in a matter of seconds? Rage and jealousy at the idea of Seth and Sienna having sex made him ill. He’d already seen Seth’s hands on her, and the idea of them together had overtaken his mind and his mouth. Now he had ruined something far more important than his job. He pulled out his phone and sent a group text.