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He didn’t like that thought either.
This was what mates did to good wolves. It turned their heads and worlds upside down until nothing made sense. The least he could do now was focus on the case and get Caroline out of his life as soon as possible.
“What happened to the vases that belonged to the two murder victims?” he asked.
“They vanished.”
“Then how do we know they even had them to begin with?”
“Because they were stolen.”
“Ah. So. Maybe someone is out there stealing these things, and the victims were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Walked in on the theft, and boom. Murder.”
“Doubtful. Both were tied to chairs and strangled with a silk rope.”
Ryland shook his head. “A silk rope?”
She nodded. “Fibers were found in the wound in both cases. If it weren’t for the missing vases, no one would’ve connected these murders. One happened in Rome, the other in Paris.”
“And who is the owner of the third vase?”
“The third isn’t owned by anyone. It’s in a museum.”
He stilled. “Which museum?”
“Right here,” she answered. “In New York City.”
And there it was. The reason Wilder had sent him this case. “My brother wants me to stop the theft of the third vase.”
“You think so?”
Ryland laughed. “It’s Wilder. It’s hard to say.”
“Well, how do we stop this theft, then?”
“We?” he shook his head. “Sorry, love. There’s nowein this.”
Her eyes darkened, and he wanted to drown in them. God, she was so beautiful when she was angry with him. “Don’t call melove. My name is Caroline.”
A shiver of need crossed his body. He always loved it when she said her name at the start of a podcast, and now, here she was, saying it right before his eyes.
Ryland would never recover from such a sight. Yet he had to. He couldn’t show her just how irresistible she was to him.
“Well,Caroline…” He stopped short.Fuuuck!Speaking her name made his whole body tense with desire. He’d never wanted anyone more than he wanted her at that moment. He cleared his throat. “There is nowe,” he growled.
“I won’t be sidelined.”
“Did you miss the part where you were threatened? Twice?”
“Of course I didn’t miss that part. That’s what brought me to your grumpy ass.”
He snickered. “Well, this grumpy ass won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
“I don’t know whether to thank you or to take my chances with the man in black and his dead pet rat.”
Ryland didn’t mean to chuckle, but the laugh ripped out of him before he could stop himself. Caroline was funny. Even when she was furious with him, she wasfunny.
“I’m going to get to the bottom of this. Just write down all the information you have.” He pointed to the laptop on the bedside table. “I’ve got a call to make.”
