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I detect a hint of disgust as he spits out the city name, and his stern expression warns he’s done with that topic.
The band on the end of his short sleeves snugly wraps his bicep. His forearms flex as he maneuvers the controls. He’s wearing an enormous watch, the kind you could use for scuba diving. The thick plastic band accentuates that strong forearm, thick wrists, and large hands. Dark, curly arm hair underscores his strength.
Sabrina would go wild for a snapshot from this angle. “Forearm candy,” she calls it.
I stare out the window, forcing myself to take in the view outside the helicopter to avoid getting caught staring at the pilot.
“How do boyfriends feel about you choosing a career hunting killers?”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s what you want to do, right? I read up on you a bit. You’re positioning yourself as a criminal profiler.”
“Potentially. I don’t want to leave academia. I love campus life. Being around students. Research. I’m at the beginning of my career, but I don’t see myself as a criminal hunter. It’s more an interest in the criminal mind. Which, if you study it, isn’t quite as different from a law-abiding mind as we like to believe.”
“That’s an interesting perspective. So, your boyfriend, he’s okay with it?”
“There’s no boyfriend.” A smile threatens, and I turn my head further to the side. “And if there were, he would be okay with it.”
I dare a glance over my shoulder, and Wolf grins. A ridiculous, completely absurd warmth spreads through my whole being. Alas, we work together. I can imagine my father’s abhorrence if he got wind that I dated a colleague. He would never tolerate unprofessional conduct on a case he contributed to. And besides, as soon as Ryan meets Sabrina, he’ll be into her.
I flip over my phone and access the link Erik, Arrow’s tech guy, sent. Travel time should be used to catch up on work. I need to focus on finding Sophia. On my consulting case. Yet here I am behaving like Sabrina. Boy-crazed, flirty, and silly.
I don’t stop reading until we land and the rotor blades slow. When Ryan removes his headset, I follow suit.
“Do you need any help?” I ask.
“With?” There’s no innuendo in his question, but like a ridiculous girl, my face warms and most likely tinges red.
“The helicopter? Do you have to do stuff to it?”
“I got it.” He grins. In his office, he never smiled, but I’m seeing it more and more. It’s a good look on him. His smiles warm those icy eyes.
A man steps out of the building off in the distance, and Ryan waves. He holds his hand out for me as I get down from the helicopter. His warm hand is enormous, as are his fingers. When Sabrina meets him, without a doubt, she’ll bring up the meaning of big hands.
“Well…” I stand awkwardly in front of the helicopter. Because my brain has gone berserk. I need to focus on finding Sophia. We don’t have any good next steps.
“I’ll let you know if we find any leads,” Ryan says dismissively. The trip back has concluded.
“Sounds good.” With a tug on my suitcase and gratitude for the lift, I return to the parking lot.
I am not sure what I can do, other than read up on other missing persons cases. Runaway cases. Maybe something will resonate. Maybe I’ll see something we haven’t looked into that helped solve another case.
As I approach my car, I do a double take. My rinky-dink tire is no more. A brand-new Michelin tire holds up my bug.
I find Ryan strapping a cover over his helicopter with help from the man he waved to earlier.
“Did you have my tire replaced?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“You needed a new tire.”
“But…” I don’t know what to say. It’s not like I’m going to insist on getting my old tire back. “How much do I owe you?”
“Nada. You’re on our team. We take care of our own.” He ducks below the back rotor and steps close. “What are you doing tonight?”
