Page 21 of Outlaw Ridge: Ryker
But one thing was becoming terrifyingly clear, whoever they were, they weren’t finished.
The door creaked open and Hallie stepped inside, looking as if she’d been running on fumes for hours. Her hair was pulled back in a hasty twist, and the tired look in her eyes told Emma she wasn’t the only one feeling the weight of the day.
“We got something,” Hallie said. “CSIs recovered the ring from the oil field. The one you saw on the body.”
Emma sat up straighter. “They find anything else?”
“Bits of the body are at the lab now,” Hallie replied. “Not much left, but the ME’s working on it. Ring’s going through trace and print analysis. Might give us something useful.”
Emma didn’t say anything. She just nodded, even as frustration gnawed deeper. “Might” wasn’t good enough. Theyneeded answers. If that was Ethan’s body, then it changed the entire focus of the investigation.
Hallie glanced between the two of them. “I’m heading home before I fall asleep in my office chair. You two should do the same.”
She turned toward the door, then paused and looked back.
“Someone’s gunning for you, Emma. You both know it. So do me a favor, watch your back.”
Then she was gone, leaving the door half-closed behind her and the warning hanging in the air.
Ryker turned in his chair to face her, and Emma knew what was coming before he said a word. “I don’t want you going home alone tonight.”
She opened her mouth to argue. She was a cop. Trained. Armed. Not someone who needed hand-holding or babysitting. But the words died on her tongue.
Because Hallie was right.
Someone wanted her dead. And she wasn’t stupid enough to make it easy for them.
“Are you offering to stay with me?” Emma asked.
Ryker met her eyes, steady and unwavering. “No,” he said. “I’m insisting.”
Emma held his gaze, steady and calm on the surface, but underneath, the heat that always simmered around Ryker flared to life again, just like it had earlier in the cold case room. The line between comfort and something far more dangerous was razor-thin, and right now, she felt like she was teetering on the edge of it.
The way he was looking at her, solid, protective, all-in, it tugged something low and familiar in her gut. Something she’d shoved down for weeks. Maybe longer.
And yeah, it scared the hell out of her.
Not because she didn’t want it.
Because shedid.
And that heat… it had a mind of its own. It wasn’t backing down anytime soon.
Fine. She’d just have to be careful. She couldn’t afford to lose focus. Not now. Not when the shadows were getting closer.
She pushed up from the chair and crossed her arms, half a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. “You know the last two guys who got involved with me didn’t exactly walk away unscathed.”
Ryker didn’t miss a beat. “Yeah, well… if someone torches my truck, I’ll just consider it a down payment on catching the bastard.”
His voice was smooth, confident, but there was something deeper beneath it, something that saidhe wasn’t going anywhere.
Emma felt her stomach flip. Not fear this time. Something warmer.
She met his eyes. “Just don’t get yourself shot.”
He grinned. “Only if you promise not to take on this investigation solo.”
She didn’t promise. But she didn’t argue either.
