Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
R yder walked down the street, keeping an eye out for a tail.
He slid an arm across her shoulders and pulled her close. When she leaned into him, he felt a pleasant kick in his gut.
They were headed to the coffee shop, acting as Ryan and Stella, for anyone who was watching.
God, he really liked this. She was tall, and a perfect fit against him.
A perfect fit in bed, too.
They hadn’t slept much. They’d gotten creative to avoid his injuries. Shit, he was getting hard at just the memory of sliding into her tight warmth.
A pinch on his side jolted him back to reality. Siv was looking up at him.
“Are you listening to me?”
“Yes.”
“You are not. You’re thinking about sex.”
He raised his brows. “How did you know?”
Her lips twitched. “You get this look on your face, and you’re half hard.
” She moved her hip, brushing against him.
He stifled a groan and pinned her to his side.
“You’re right.” He nipped the shell of her ear and lowered his voice.
“I was thinking about how good it feels to slide inside you, and the sound you make when—”
“ Ryder .” Color hit her cheeks.
He loved that he could make this tough, ex-special forces soldier blush.
He kissed her. He could kiss her all day long. He bit her lip. “We should keep kissing a bit longer, you know, in case someone’s watching.”
“Just for the job?” She slid her hands into his hair.
She clearly liked his hair. She’d spent a lot of the night with her hands buried in it. She kissed him this time, doing it thoroughly.
“Do you think Ryan and Stella still kiss like this?” she murmured. “After years together?”
“My sexy goddess, I’ll kiss you like this forever.”
He saw the flash of shock in her eyes.
Hell, Ryder had never truly considered the concept of forever with a woman. Maybe he’d given it a few thoughts after watching his friends at Norcross, and Hunt, fall in love and claim their women. But he’d been sure it wasn’t for him.
Until he’d laid eyes on Siv, and his world had tilted off its axis.
He cupped her cheeks. Realization washed through him.
She was his . He was going to stake his claim and make her his. And not just for a few weeks or months. He just needed to bring her around to the idea first.
“Come on. Ryan needs coffee.”
They set off, holding hands. The local coffee shop was busy. All the tables were full, and there was a short line at the counter.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Latte with an extra shot.”
“I’m on it.”
He joined the line while Siv stood near the window. She grabbed a discarded newspaper, looking at it idly, but he knew she was studying the street through the window.
Ryder ordered and checked his phone. He had a bunch of text messages from Ace. The man was wading through data he’d pulled off the Foster’s lab system, but his search was taking time.
Maybe Ryder and Siv could help Ace to speed things up. They needed a lead, and Ryder wanted it now, not in days. They needed to find out where the hell the siblings were manufacturing their drug.
“We’ll get them, Robbie,” Ryder whispered. “I promise you.”
Ryder got the coffees and dumped some extra sugar in his.
“Hi, there.”
He lifted his head. A small blonde with a reed-slim body and a wide smile stood beside him in yoga gear.
“Hi,” he said.
She held out a napkin. “I’ve been watching you since you came in. I wanted to give you my number, in case you’re interested in going out some time.”
“Well, that’s mighty friendly, but I’m taken.”
The woman stepped close enough for him to smell her perfume. She stuck the napkin in his pocket. “Just in case you decide you aren’t taken.”
Over the blonde’s shoulder, he saw Siv spot the woman. Her gaze narrowed.
“Well, I should warn you that my woman is kind of possessive. And mean.”
The blonde’s smile widened. “Well, I’m sweet.” She touched her tongue to her lips. “And I’m not possessive. In fact, I have a friend and she’s a gorgeous brunette. We like to have fun together.”
Ryder raised a brow. “As much fun as that sounds…” He saw Siv making her way toward them. “I have to decline. My woman is more than enough for me.”
His Norwegian goddess arrived.
“I can’t take you anywhere.” Siv shoved her hands on his hips.
“I was just standing here, getting a coffee.” He held her coffee cup out to her.
She took it, looking exasperated. She snatched the napkin out of his pocket and turned to the blonde.
“He’s mine.” She stared at the woman until the blonde started to look nervous.
“I was—”
Siv stuffed the napkin in the woman’s coffee cup. “Run along.”
The blonde hesitated.
“Now,” Siv said.
The woman turned and hurried away.
Grinning, Ryder sipped his coffee.
“You’re a menace.” She shook her head. “You’re too hot, and too charming.”
“It’s my cross to bear, and now it’s yours.” He slid an arm across her shoulders as they headed outside. “Did you spot any surveillance?” He kept his voice low.
She shook her head.
“Let’s get back, I want—” His cell phone rang. “It’s Ace.” Ryder pressed the phone to his ear. “Hey, man.”
“Ryder.” The tech man sounded serious.
“You’ve got something?”
“I do. First, it looks like the Fosters’ security team has stopped digging on you two. I suggest you keep up your married-couple persona a bit longer, but I think you’re in the clear.”
“Okay, we’ll stay at the apartment for now. We need a lead, Ace. I was thinking we could help you with combing through the data.”
“I might have a lead for you.”
Siv was watching Ryder’s face and he held her gaze.
“Go on,” he said.
“I ran a search on the medical examiner’s office, since you said they blew off Robbie’s autopsy.”
There was no one around on the sidewalk, so Ryder moved close to Siv. “I’m putting you on speaker, Ace. Siv’s here.”
“Hi, Siv,” Ace said. “The chief medical examiner is new. He’s rebuilding the office after some scandals.”
“What scandals?” Siv asked.
“A backlog of autopsies, the office being too slow to issue death certificates, missing narcotics.”
Ryder frowned. “I heard the office lost their certification last year.”
“Yes. The new guy, Dr. Michael Atherton, is shaking things up. He sacked a few of the assistant medical examiners, hired a few new ones, and told the others to clean up their game. He’s solid.”
“But a few of the old guard might not be, and might be open to bribes,” Ryder said.
“Ding, ding, ding,” Ace said. “Including Dr. Stephen Hyland. He’s a few years away from retirement, a chronic gambler with a love of fishing, and has three ex-wives. He was reprimanded by Atherton, but kept on in the department.”
“And?” Siv prompted.
“And he did Robbie’s autopsy, and he’s doing the new people who died of organ failure. Added to that, he just purchased a very expensive new boat.”
Ryder sucked in a breath, heat trickling into his veins.
“One he can’t afford,” Ace added.
“The Fosters paid him off,” Ryder said.
“I’m running the money trail, but there’s a tangle of companies involved. It’ll take some time to track it.”
Ryder met Siv’s gaze. “I think we should pay Dr. Hyland a visit.”
“I concur.”
* * *
Siv drove the X6 toward the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Bayview, south of the city.
“Hunt lives out this way.” Ryder was sprawled in the passenger seat, but she didn’t think for a second that he was as relaxed as he looked.
“What’s the plan?” she asked.
“We go in as relatives, clearly distraught over our loved one’s death. Ace is messaging me a list of autopsies that Hyland has on his books.” He lifted his phone. “We’re checking in about our dear brother Aaron.”
“One of the new homeless who died?”
He nodded.
“Did you know him?”
“No.” Ryder looked out the window.
She stared at his face. But he’d known Robbie and Scratch. He’d stand for them all, give them a voice.
Soon, she pulled up at the modern, glass building that housed the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. There was a fancy, abstract metal sculpture out front.
They headed inside. A young woman sat at the reception desk.
“I’ll get us in,” Ryder said. “You’ll be in charge of sweet-talking Hyland.”
Ryder sauntered toward the desk. The woman was young, maybe late-twenties, with her black hair cut in a cute pixie style. As she watched him get closer, her eyes widened.
Siv saw him unleash the smile. The receptionist was toast.
Siv hung back. She watched the woman blush as Ryder charmed her.
Funny how Siv saw through it now. Oh, Ryder Morgan had charm, no doubt, but he used it like a weapon or a shield. He kept things easy and fun, and didn’t let many people beneath.
To the real Ryder.
But he’d let her.
Her pulse skipped. She saw the woman pick up the phone, smiling. Ryder glanced back at Siv and winked.
Okay, she wasn’t totally immune to that charm. Especially now she knew exactly how good he was in bed. How talented he was with his hands, mouth, cock.
Heat stirred in her belly. Dritt , not now, Siv.
Ryder strode back. “We’re in. Hyland’s down in the lab.”
The receptionist led them to a door. “Just follow the signs to Autopsy One.”
“Thanks, Aimee.” Ryder smiled.
Siv watched Aimee stare at him, blushing.
“Come on, darling brother.” Siv shoved him ahead of her.
“Sure thing, my lovely sister.”
Siv snorted. Their footsteps echoed on the tile floor. “I think you’ll feature in Aimee’s dreams tonight, Morgan.”
He tugged on her hair. “As long as I’m in yours is all I care about.”
They reached double doors marked Autopsy One. The doors opened and a technician pushing a gurney with a sheet-covered body on it, passed through.
Ryder and Siv stepped against the wall and let the man pass.
They entered the lab. There were three workbenches, all made of stainless steel. One was empty. Two were covered in shrouded bodies.
A man in a lab coat stood at the back of the room, tapping on a computer.
Siv unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt and let her ponytail down. Ryder watched, raising an eyebrow.
She winked and shook her hair out. Then she stepped forward. “Dr. Hyland?”
The assistant medical examiner turned, a frown on his face. He was in his sixties, with a large nose, and thinning, salt-and-pepper hair. He had the florid look of someone who drank too much.
“I’m Steve Hyland.” His gaze dismissed Ryder and settled on Siv. He smiled.
She smiled back, keeping it a little solemn. “Thank you for seeing us. I’m Sarah. I wanted to ask about my poor brother.” She let out a sad sigh. “He’d been on the streets for several years. We tried to help him.” She fluttered her hands. “We tried everything.”
“I’m sorry.” Hyland’s face settled into sympathetic lines, although his gaze did a quick dip to her cleavage. “What was your brother’s name?”
“Aaron,” Ryder said. “Aaron Mullen.”
Hyland nodded and moved back to the computer. “I’m sorry, Sarah. Drug use took its toll on your brother’s body and caused his death.”
Siv cocked her head. “But he didn’t use drugs.”
“I’m sure you had no idea what he got involved with on the streets. It’s a dangerous place, with drugs everywhere.”
“Then perhaps we should talk about your new fishing boat, Dr. Hyland.” Her voice took on a silky purr.
The man stiffened. “What? Who are you?”
Ryder stepped up behind Siv. “People looking for answers. Answers for the people being used and killed by the Fosters and their company, Chiron.”
There was a flare of panic in Hyland’s eyes. “Fosters? Chiron? Never heard of them.”
Siv leaned against the empty bench. “I think you have. I think we’ll eventually trace the juicy big payment you’ve received back to Christian and Caroline Foster.”
Ryder stepped closer and Hyland stumbled into a workbench, sending a few things rattling.
“Now talk,” Ryder said.
Hyland shook his head, spluttering. “I’ve nothing to say. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“We’re talking about wealthy, unscrupulous entrepreneurs taking advantage of disadvantaged, vulnerable people on the streets. Testing drugs on them illegally.”
“No.” Hyland shook his head. “These people died of their addictions to illegal substances.”
“They did not,” Ryder roared.
“I suggest you quit lying, Hyland,” Siv said. “We want confirmation that the Fosters asked you to cover up these deaths.”
Hyland swallowed convulsively. “I don’t—”
“Stop lying!” Ryder thumped his fist on the bench.
Hyland jumped.
Siv touched a hand to Ryder’s chest, felt the tension thrumming through him.
Hyland looked away blew out a breath. “If I talk, I’m dead.”
“This is a chance for you to step up and do the right thing,” Siv said.
The man’s face twisted. “What do you care? They were just homeless trash. The dregs of—”
Ryder surged forward, gripped Hyland’s throat and slammed him against the wall.
The assistant medical examiner spluttered and clawed at Ryder’s hand.
“They were people,” Ryder spat. “They were living, breathing people. They had demons, like we all do, but they laughed and cried and had friends, and they mattered.”
Hyland made a gurgling sound.
Siv grabbed Ryder’s arm. “Hey, let him go.”
Ryder’s face twisted.
“It’s okay, Ryder. We’re going to get justice for them. We won’t stop until we do.”
Finally, he released Hyland. The man staggered and dropped into an office chair, rubbing his throat.
Siv swung around to face Ryder. “You all right?”
His mouth flattened. “They were all more people I couldn’t save.” His gaze dropped to the shrouded bodies on the benches beside them.
Her heart clenched. She saw the pain reflected in his eyes. His own demons.
“You can’t save everyone,” she said. “That’s not your job.”
He closed his eyes.
She wrapped her arms around him. “I’m here. Just hold on.”
His arms clamped onto her, hard. She held on tight, offering what comfort she could. She heard the air shudder out of him. Then a chair squeaked, and she turned to face Hyland.
The man froze. “Get out, or I’ll call security.”
“You made some bad choices, Hyland,” she said.
The man cleared his throat. “I didn’t kill them.”
“Maybe not, but you helped the people who did.”
Ryder made an angry sound and Siv grabbed his hand.
“If you talk about our visit, we’ll come back,” she said.
Hyland stayed silent.
“You don’t want me to come back,” Siv warned.
She might walk out of here today, but soon, she’d happily hand over information on the man to the police and let them deal with him.
She dragged Ryder out.