Sleight Mistake (Stone Investigations Book 2) Read online

  ‘What happened with the exhibit?’ she asked.

  ‘Jimmy stayed to close up,’ Ryder said, still in his crouch, he spoiled her hand and arm with more kisses. ‘The ambulance was there in a minute.’

  She wouldn’t be surprised if Ryder had one on standby for the event, or if he knew people who he could lean on for a favour in that moment of distress.

  Raising himself, she met his lips and the potency of his kiss gave her strength. Bolstered by his presence and his attention, Lacie spread her hand on his body that was suspended over hers and curled her nails into him through his shirt.

  ‘Oh good God!’

  Ryder stopped kissing her to look up at the gang who were assembled at the end of her bed. Gabe was as stoic as ever, Sorcha appeared repulsed, Monty and Rocco were just amused.

  ‘You’re my hero, Boss,’ Rocco laughed.

  ‘It’s disgusting,’ Sorcha proclaimed, screwing up her face. ‘This is a hospital. You two are like animals. Can’t you contain yourselves?’

  ‘They don’t have to,’ Rocco said and his easy grin relaxed the mood. ‘You got it made, Boss.’

  ‘Much fun as this is, are we going to talk about the issue?’ Gabe asked, straight to business as was his way. ‘What do we have?’

  ‘Do you have a record of any communications?’ Rocco asked.

  Everyone looked at Lacie who stretched her fingers on Ryder, before he straightened up at the side of her bed to switch himself into work mode. ‘No, I doubt there would be a record of any of the calls. I have a couple of letters that were written to me, but they’re perfectly nice benign letters wishing me well. There was some correspondence from media outlets asking for interviews, but I trashed most of that when I moved. I didn’t come across anything that looked in any way suspicious.’

  ‘Nothing from fans?’ Rocco said.

  Lacie shrugged. ‘The ones I still have are in the kitchen drawer. Look through them if you want. But I didn’t see anything worrying in them, they were just normal supporters.’

  ‘Yet you kept them?’ Gabe asked and she realised this was a subtle interrogation.

  Happy to answer their questions, she knew there was nothing for her to hide. ‘Only a few I wanted to respond to.’

  ‘Respond to?’ Ryder asked, reaching down to link their fingers again.

  She shrugged. ‘They were nice letters.’

  ‘We’ll take a look at the letters,’ Gabe said. ‘What do you remember about the guy?’

  ‘If I—‘ Lacie was cut off when Sorcha gasped and clutched her bump. ‘Sorch?’

  ‘Just a twinge,’ Sorcha said, blowing out a breath. ‘Nothing to worry about. This little guy likes to dance around this time of night.

  ‘Where’s Bruce? Wasn’t he supposed to be at the event with you tonight?’ Monty asked.

  No one answered. ‘Where is he?’ Gabe asked. ‘We can get in touch—‘

  ‘I haven’t seen him for a few days,’ Sorcha snapped and that point probably accounted for her foul mood tonight.

  Her friend had wanted to talk to her in the gallery when Lacie had been whisked off by Monty to meet with the donor. She guessed that griping about Bruce was high on Sorcha’s agenda.

  Her memory of the night was blurred, but everything before her encounter with the maniac was clear as a bell. Something from the background of their phone call the previous night flared in her mind. ‘But last night when I phoned…’ Lacie trailed off. ‘Who was the guy?’

  Sorcha didn’t answer. She was suddenly transfixed by the plain hospital bed sheets. Ryder found the answer for her. ‘Shep,’ Ryder said, knowing how Shep and Sorcha were. They argued like cat and dog, and delighted in insulting each other. But as soon as they were alone, they somehow always ended up falling into bed together.

  Lacie’s jaw fell and she gasped in a breath. ‘You’re sleeping with Shep again?’ she whispered.

  ‘No wonder Shep didn’t show at the exhibition tonight,’ Monty muttered. ‘If you two are sleeping together, you’d have screamed at each other most of the night and ruined the event. Argument is foreplay for you pair.’

  ‘I went over to his place a couple of nights ago,’ Sorcha said in explanation though she came across as quite defensive. ‘He’s a friend. He was making me feel better that’s all… It’s no big deal.’

  Rocco widened his stance and folded his arms with glee all over his face. ‘This is entertainment,’ he said.

  Although he should know better, Monty probed further. ‘I thought you were marrying Bruce,’ Monty said.

  ‘Bruce is sleeping around,’ Sorcha bit back.

  ‘And that makes it right?’ Lacie asked, unable to hide her own judgement. Sorcha was her best friend and she loved her, but getting involved with Shep when they already thought Bruce was cheating just caused more layers of drama. ‘Do you have proof of that yet?’

  ‘Don’t get high and mighty about this,’ Sorcha said, pointing at her. ‘You know how difficult it’s been for me.’

  Unimpressed, Monty shook his head and took a step back. ‘Yeah, Lacie’s stalker is nothing to complain about.’

  This revelation was more than she could handle. Her anxiety from earlier combined with the chemical cocktail she’d been assaulted with and the amalgamation took Lacie to the end of her rope. ‘Everyone should go,’ Lacie said, unable to look at any of them for fear she might break down.

  ‘You’re kicking us out?’ Rocco said, losing his amusement.

  Gabe stomped to the bed. ‘We need to know—‘

  ‘Please,’ Lacie said, unable to handle any more of the interrogation. ‘I’ll answer your questions tomorrow. No one will hurt me in here.’

  ‘You’ve never kicked me out,’ Sorcha said, confident on the outside, but nervous on the inside as her folded arms attested to.

  Standing in her corner as always, Ryder stepped in. ‘Everybody clear out,’ Ryder said, loosening his hand out of hers. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’

  ‘You can go home,’ Lacie said to him.

  Ryder turned back to lean over her again. ‘You’re definitely not kicking me out,’ he said, kissing the corner of her mouth and her smile twitched up. ‘See… everyone else out.’

  With wide arms, Ryder crowded everyone out despite their protests before he glanced back at her and closed the door leaving her peacefully alone. Settling back in the bed, she closed her eyes and counted her breaths. Rest would help her make sense of what had happened tonight, but she was struggling because it made no sense.

  Nothing would be found in a couple of letters from people who said nice things and asked her for nothing in return. It hadn’t been as though anyone had followed her around or stalked her. She had been living on the top floor of Ryder’s complex and strangers didn’t get in there.

  Keeping her faith in Ryder would be easy, she just hoped he didn’t drive himself crazy trying to get answers from a scenario that was senseless.

  In the relatives’ room opposite Lacie’s private room, Ryder was talking with his men. Sorcha was fizzing mad and Monty was on the phone. Ryder kept his eyes on all of them.

  Footsteps in the hallway between the rooms, caught his ear, but he thought nothing of them until he saw Lacie’s door open. Bounding toward the intrusion, Gabe and Rocco stayed on his heels to offer back up. What he didn’t expect to see were two guards flanking her door.

  ‘What the hell is going on?’ Ryder demanded of the men dressed in black and standing at ease, but neither of them spoke.

  Gabe and Rocco were at his shoulders and he could feel from their tension that they were as perturbed by this development as he was. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Gabe asked the two security agents before them.

  ‘You’re out numbered,’ Rocco said, offering his own intimidation.

  The first stooge broke stance to smirk at them, ‘not for long,’ he said and took his attention to the corridor to his left.

  Ryder and his men followed his line of vision to see more security guys in
the same garb coming down the hallway.

  ‘Call in reinforcements,’ Ryder said to Gabe.

  If a fight was what these guys wanted then a fight was what they would get. Ryder had to get to Lacie and after that, he’d figure out who set this up. Though he was already drawing up a short list and one name was prominent at the top: Elijah Graden.

  Chapter Ten

  ‘What’s going on?’ Lacie asked.

  When fingers had brushed the apple of her cheek, she had known immediately that they didn’t belong to Ryder. She’d heard the door and assumed Ryder was returning to her side, so she hadn’t bothered to open her eyes and disturb the slumber that was tempting her. This man felt different, smelled different, was different.

  ‘Everything’s under control,’ Elijah purred from beside her.

  ‘Elijah,’ she said, trying to sit up. He clasped her shoulders and pressured her down to keep her on her back.

  When she gave up her fight against his insistence, he began to stroke her hair. ‘I have everything under control. The chopper’s on the way and we’ll get you to a facility—‘

  Panic grew and merged with annoyance until she didn’t know what to feel about this interference. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me,’ Lacie said. ‘I’m not going to any facility.’

  His calm features became stern. ‘You’re in danger, I heard about what happened at the gallery. I’ve got a full security detail—‘

  ‘You what?’ Lacie asked. Again, when she pressed her hands into the mattress to try and sit, he urged her back.

  ‘I’ve got a team ready to watch you from—‘

  ‘I don’t want that,’ she said, allowing her anger to supersede her worry. ‘Why would you—‘

  ‘You need to be looked after,’ he said, increasing his insistence. ‘This is a serious situation.’

  ‘Elijah, I don’t need—‘

  ‘Of course you do,’ he said, not hearing a word she was saying. ‘I have the resources to look after you.’

  She couldn’t believe that he was being so heavy handed and so glib about her opinions. ‘I have the resources to look after myself,’ she said, wondering how Ryder would react when he found out Elijah was trying to take over.

  ‘You don’t have to do that,’ Elijah said, and took his hands off her for the first time so he could look at his watch. ‘When the helicopter—‘

  Certain in her conviction, she took her chance to sit up. ‘I’m not getting into any helicopter. I want to go home.’ Elijah glanced at the door in expectation of something while he righted his cuff over his watch.

  Grabbing the IV in her hand, she eased out the needle, and slipped out of the bed on the opposite side to where Elijah was positioned.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Elijah said when he noticed she’d gotten up. ‘Get into bed and you’ll be transported—‘

  Happy he could no longer touch her, she was not encouraged by his belittling attitude. ‘You’re being ridiculous. What is any of this going to achieve? You don’t need to be here. What are you—‘

  A shout from outside the room interrupted them. Scuffling followed and Lacie took two steps down the bed but Elijah mirrored her on the opposite side. Stuck on the side of the bed furthest from the door, she couldn’t move. A draft of air reminded her of her apparel and made her clasp her gown closed at the back.

  The door burst open and a pile of men fell into the room. She recognised three of them and didn’t need to recognise the others to know what was going on. Elijah made for the door and hospital security appeared on the periphery with at least one actual cop behind with hospital staff.

  ‘Stop it! Everybody stop!’ Lacie shouted and the whole room froze in place. ‘Why has everyone gone crazy?’ The men who’d been fighting separated and everyone took a breath. The doorway cleared when a nurse and a porter appeared with a bed.

  ‘Patient transport,’ the nurse said.

  ‘No,’ Lacie said, waving one hand then quickly taking it to the back of her gown again. ‘It’s not needed.’

  ‘Now Lacie—‘ Elijah started but stopped when Ryder began to march toward him. The only thing that stalled his journey was Lacie when she held up a halting hand.

  ‘I don’t need medical help,’ Lacie said to Elijah. ‘The transport is unnecessary.’

  Elijah still wasn’t listening. ‘Let the professionals check—‘

  ‘They have,’ she said to Elijah, asserting her right to be heard. ‘Keeping me here over night was probably just a precaution. I was drugged not injured.’

  ‘Drugged by a mad man,’ Elijah said. ‘You’re in danger. You need professional security—‘

  Maintaining her position, she appreciated that Ryder didn’t try to railroad her like Elijah did. ‘I have professional security,’ she said to Elijah, opening a palm toward Ryder while the other hand kept hold of her gown. ‘I’m sleeping with professional security.’

  This didn’t assuage Elijah who grew more insistent. ‘You’ve known him for all of ten minutes,’ Elijah said. ‘You don’t really trust—‘

  ‘I do,’ she said, stepping once before remembering her rear exposure. ‘And I’d come over there and be more vehement about it except I’m the only one in the room partially clothed.’

  Switching her focus onto Ryder, his anger dissolved when their eyes met. Darting her eyes to one side in a hurried motion, Ryder snapped to attention.

  ‘Would you get behind me, please,’ she griped at him. ‘There are twenty people in this room. I’m feeling a little vulnerable.’ Ryder did as he was told while Rocco and Gabe smiled.

  Elijah wasn’t giving up. ‘This is a serious situation—‘

  Lacie returned to handling her unrelenting friend’s objections. ‘The only person who takes this situation more seriously than I do is the man now standing behind me. I appreciate that you think you’re helping, Elijah.’ Rocco and Gabe came closer and Ryder wrapped his arms around her shoulders. By keeping his body against her back, Ryder blocked any view of skin there might have been. ‘My family is protecting me,’ Lacie said. ‘Nothing will happen to me.’

  ‘I won’t accept—‘

  ‘It’s not your place,’ Rocco said. He was the last of Ryder’s men who would ever get riled and yet there was a tinge of anger in his tone.

  Lacie put a soothing hand onto Rocco’s arm then looked back to Elijah. ‘He’s right’ she said. ‘It’s not your place… I’m sorry.’

  Elijah examined them all. ‘I’m reluctant to depart,’ Elijah said, failing to be deterred. ‘But I will do as you ask for now. I will contact you in the morning.’

  The testosterone in the room bubbled high, but everyone managed to stay quiet until the door closed behind Elijah and his men. Monty and Sorcha weren’t present, so Lacie assumed they were in the waiting room. Lacie found herself alone with Ryder, Rocco, and Gabe.

  ‘The guys are all on their way,’ Gabe said. ‘This place will be secure—‘

  ‘Get out,’ she said to Gabe then she looked at Rocco. ‘You too.’

  ‘You’re kicking us out?’ Rocco asked and she was encouraged to see his smile. ‘Again?’

  ‘Scram,’ Ryder said and despite their hesitation his men complied, closing the door behind them.

  Ryder released her shoulders to grab her hand. ‘You’re bleeding,’ he barked.

  Lacie tugged her hand free and walked away from him. Pulling the curtain around her bed, she left Ryder on the other side of it.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he asked and his anger had become pure concern.

  ‘Getting changed,’ she said. Her intention when pulling the curtain was to get dressed. Instead, she found herself sitting on the edge of the bed, tucking her hands over the edge of the mattress.

  ‘I’ve seen you naked,’ he said in that infinitely understanding tone that told her he knew she was lying.

  Lacie nodded to no one. Her eyes got wet and she knew if she opened her mouth that her pent up emotion would escape. ‘I know,’ she squeaked.

  F
ive seconds passed, then the curtain began to slide back. When he came into view, she looked up and he had to notice the moisture gathering in her gaze.

  ‘Hi,’ he murmured and stayed where he was, not pressuring her or rushing her.

  Breathing in, she tried her best to explain the thoughts swirling inside her. ‘I came to live in a foreign country as a teenager,’ she said. ‘I’ve been mugged. I’ve been groped… I lived my life in captivity under threat of rape or murder, often starving or in pain. I’ve heard the man I love be threatened, seen him be imprisoned. My best friend has been in peril before my very eyes.’

  ‘Yes,’ he agreed with the slightest of nods.

  Still lost, Lacie wasn’t sure how to feel when the truth came to her. ‘I’ve been in life or death situations.’

  Ready to soothe her, he moved toward her. ‘I know, Baby—‘

  Removing her hands from the mattress, she stalled him. ‘I love you, I tell you that every day.’

  ‘I love you too,’ he said and his understanding hid behind an emerging frown.

  Aware of how her words could affect him, Lacie inhaled to give herself time to try and get it right. ‘I didn’t realise how… we were apart. When the door opened I thought it was you… but he touched my face and… It was terrifying,’ she murmured and touched her cheek where Elijah had. ‘When I realised another man’s hands were…’

  ‘Hey,’ he said, crossing to her, Ryder took both of her hands into one of his and used the other to stroke away Elijah’s touch with his own. ‘I’m here. You don’t have to be scared.’

  Tilting her head into his palm, Lacie caressed her cheek back and forth memorising his texture. On closing her eyes, her tears skittered down. Wiping them away with the pad of one thumb, Ryder said nothing.

  ‘Wallace kept us apart,’ she said, opening her eyes to seek his. ‘When we met I knew our connection was there…’

  ‘I know,’ Ryder said. ‘Being with you was electric from that first second.’

  ‘Being with you was liberating, I felt invincible. When we were torn apart, on that street…’ For all the support he’d given her, she hadn’t let herself be honest about how much turmoil her experiences had put her through and how grateful she was for this man. ‘You’ve been so patient with my nightmares, and insomnia—‘