Page 53 of Bad Boy in Her Bed

She slowed her pace, inhaling sharply when the man waiting for her turned around, his shaved head hidden by his hooded sweater.“Send me the flight itinerary and I’ll call you when I touch down.”As her phone went dark, she went wide around her car, staying in view of the few people walking their dogs near the tree line.“What are you doing here, Ryder?”

Ryder stayed where he was, his attention on the water tower in the distance.“I think you and me are due for a chat.”He finally looked her way, his gaze accusing.“Since you don’t come by the shop anymore, I had to get creative and hunt you down.”

“And lucky you, you found me.”Crossing her arms, she widened her stance.“What do you want?”

“What happened between you and Birch?”

“Cupid missed.”

His dark eyes narrowed, and he pushed himself away from her car, taking a step toward her.“Our phone has been ringing off the hook all week.We’re taking more bookings in a day now than we used to in a month.”

A swell of pride in Birch rose in her chest, tampered only by her heightened alertness at Ryder’s proximity.“Your bank account must be pleased.”

“My bank account is none of your business, sweetheart.”He took another step closer and stopped.“My uncle did a little research on you.Turns out you aren’t some little strip mall accountant like you try to play yourself off as, are you?”

Pursing her lips, she tracked the movements of the dog walkers in her peripheral, ensuring she still had someone in screaming distance.“Why would your uncle care?Unless he’s worried about having some local competition.”

Ryder chuckled and mimicked her pose.“You’ve been responsible for taking down some pretty major players on the coast.In fact, your name is attached to that oil embezzlement shit that hit the news a few years ago.You’re the one who connected the dots.”He licked his lips and studied her.“So how does a woman with your brains and talent and connections end up fucking an ex-con tattooist in her hicksville hometown?An ex-con tattooist whose company she’s been assigned to investigate?”

“Must have been that shooting star I wished on a few months ago.”

Her voice was steady, hiding the thumping of her heart in her chest.

Birch had been worried about how associating with him might affect her.And she’d been concerned with putting those fears to rest.

Neither of them had considered it from the angle Ryder was insinuating.

“When you first started sniffing around him, I figured hey, most good girls like to go slumming once in a while.And you, Jocelyn Carter, are a good girl.Very good.Almost too good.”She uncrossed her arms and put her hands on her hips as he continued.“But once my uncle figured out who you are?That’s when the pieces started to make sense.So yeah, we need to have a chat about why I got Epson’s finest patrolling my shop and house every night while your little fuck toy is drawing daisies on old ladies and acting like he hasn’t been singing like a fucking canary.”

Feigning indifference, she tilted her head.“You’re talking like I should’ve been looking for something more than a mislabeled invoice.”

He closed the distance between them in three steps and leaned close to her ear.“You got a thing for fucking the guys you investigate, don’t you, sweetheart?I hope you’ve been as thorough in your investigation of Birch as you have been in servicing him.”Giving her a smile, he walked away, leaving her and her pounding heart alone.

*

Birch sat onhis porch, watching the sun set behind the houses across the street while he waited for Grey to return from his Monday classes.

He had survived his first week without Jocelyn, the acute pain in his chest every time he thought about her had finally settled into a persistent dull ache.It was a good reminder why he needed to double down on his focus.

Serpent’s Tongue was hopping, and the appointment book’s summer slots were filling up fast with people from around the county eager to have the art he drew on them made permanent.

If he wasn’t anticipating a full takedown of his business by the cops, he’d be thrilled.

As it was, each name entered was another one he would have to call and cancel eventually.Provided he was in a position to even use a phone.

But of all the shoes hanging over his head waiting to drop, Ryder was the biggest and the one he worried about the most.

Something had changed in his business partner’s demeanor since the night of the fireworks.The general indifference to Jocelyn he’d had since she walked into the shop shifted to an intense interest in her whereabouts now that she was no longer hanging around.Ryder’s attempts to work her into their casual conversations were awkward and forced, his pointed questions about her work and the status of their relationship setting him on edge.

He turned his phone over in his hands and stared at the black screen.

He was so ready to call her, to warn her something wasn’t right with Ryder.

But when today started and ended without a single mention of her name, he decided against it.Because one call would be all it would take for him to break the resolve he was holding onto by a thin wire.

Grey’s car turned onto their street, his speed picking up until he slammed on his brakes and parked up snug to the curb.“Holy shit, Birch, what are you doing here?”

Getting to his feet, he brushed the dust from his jeans.“Why wouldn’t I be?”

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