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But who the hell was at his door? As if in answer, the knock turned to a pounding and he heard a familiar, feminine voice.
“Ryland?”
Fuck.It was Harper.
“I know you’re in there. I saw you walk in.”
Talk about shitty timing.
“Uh, hang on,” Ryland answered, reaching down and planning to drag the man out of Harper’s sight.
“Are you avoiding me?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Ryland grumbled. Was she joking? He swiped a hand across his sweating brow and wondered if his day could get any worse.
The answer to that question was a resounding yes. The sneaky asshole at his feet was only pretending to be more hurt than he actually was. Spinning and doing some kind of martial arts move, the guy knocked Ryland right off his feet with a sweep of his leg.
More knocking. Damn, she was persistent.
With a grunt, Ryland rolled to the side, barely missing a swift kick to the gut. He still had the gun and he turned, fired off two more shots, and the intruder flew backwards and landed behind his couch.
Breathing hard, Ryland pulled himself to his feet, walked over and bent down to check the man’s pulse. There wasn’t one any longer. This time the fucker was dead. He yanked the mask up but didn’t recognize the man. Who the hell was he? A nameless mercenary sent by whoever wanted his team dead?
Was The Agency behind all this? He raked a hand through his messy hair and knew they needed answers fast. But first he had to get rid of Harper.
Stalking across the living room, he yanked the door open, still panting, adrenaline from the attack pumping through him, and her aqua eyes widened.
“Uh, hi. I thought we had a date tonight,” Harper said. He watched as the anger drained from her eyes and was replaced with something more closely resembling uncertainty. Or maybe concern.
Keeping the gun hidden behind the door, his gaze dipped. She was standing on his doorstep in a baby t-shirt, matching shorts and pink fuzzy slippers. Despite the dangerous situation, he couldn’t help but notice how damn adorable she looked. Mouthwateringly adorable.
“Sorry, something came up.” He knew it sounded lame, but he needed her to leave.Now.
A frown appeared between her brows. “Well, why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Harper, can we talk about this later?”
“I don’t think—” Her words abruptly cut off and she leaned closer, taking in his trashed apartment. “Is everything okay?”
Stepping sideways to block her view, he pulled the door closed further. “Yeah. Someone broke into my apartment, but it’s fine now.”
“Someone broke in? Oh, my God, I thought this was supposed to be a safe complex.”
Christ.Ryland pinched the bridge of his nose. “Harper, sweetheart, I need to make some very important calls. Right now. Can we please talk tomorrow?”
“Sure,” she said slowly. Then her attention dipped and her jaw dropped.
And Ryland knew she just saw something she shouldn’t have.
Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed the intruder’s boots sticking out from behind the couch.Fucking great.
Harper’s eyes grew big as saucers and she started backing away from him. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come over,” she murmured, then tripped over her own feet as she turned to flee. As she went down, Ryland lurched forward and caught her in his arms.
At the same time, a shot pierced the air beside them.
“What was that?” Harper asked, looking around, more confused than startled. But Ryland knew exactly what it was, and he scooped her up, tossed her over his shoulder and ran like hell.
“Ryland!” she cried, small fists gripping onto the back of his shirt. “Put me down!”
