Cuffed by His Charm (Dirty Little Secrets 4)

She frowns, looking at the blackwood security sign above the door before glancing at me. “Fine, let’s get this over with so I can go home,” she says to me, hastily exiting the car.

Her agreement only confuses me more. Sh

e’s not acting guilty. Fuck, Ryder better not have been wrong.

With a heavy sigh, I follow her out, ignoring the way my chest tightens at the hurt in her eyes, replaying all the things she’d said in my mind. On one hand, I desperately want to believe what she’s telling me. On the other hand, she may be playing my emotions, and my weakness toward her may be the very thing making me not see straight.

Me, she can fool. Ryder, she can’t.

This time, she willingly strides beside me up to the metal door. My head hurts, my body feels like it’s run a marathon when I walk up the back stairs of the old factory, and they groan under my weight.

Before I can press the buzzer next to the fingerprint scanner, the heavy door swings open, and the screech of metal fills the air. Ryder’s on the other side, smirking. He’s got a few centimeters of height on me, and a bit more bulk from his time in the Army Rangers, I’m sure. His wise, stern green eyes scan my face before focusing on McKenna next to me.

“I admit,” he finally says, running a hand across his dirty-blond buzz cut. “When I told you McKenna was behind putting the bugs in your pub, I wasn’t exactly expecting you to bring her here.”

“She’s denying it,” is all I say.

Ryder’s brows shoot up as he slides his gaze to McKenna. “Well, that’s a turn I certainly wasn’t expecting.”

“Great, just what I want, more people looking at me suspiciously,” she says with a snort, crossing her arms. “I think I’ve had about enough. So, I will say what I said to Gabe and then I’m leaving. If anyone tries to stop me, I’m going to call the police.” She draws in a big deep breath and slowly lets it out, placing her hands on her hips. “I am not behind this thing with the tabloids. I have no idea why you think that I am, but your information is dead wrong. It’s not me. I haven’t sold any story. And if I have to say this again, I’m going to hurt someone in ways that make Hannibal Lecter look friendly.”

Ryder’s eyes crease with amusement. “While that threat is highly entertaining, and I admit I’m intrigued by what exactly that would look like, I suggest not hurting anyone here. You’d probably end up being in a position that would make your day much more miserable.” He leans against the doorframe, his arms crossed, studying her. “That said, I’m not sure how much Gabe told you.” His gaze meets mine, and he grins at me before saying to McKenna, “I take it, from the look of both of you, the manner of disclosure might not have been the best way to go about this. So, let me be frank, Ms. Archer. I’ve recently discovered that there were recording devices in the pub. From my sources, I know that someone paid an employee at the bar to place the bugs. My team set up an operation to discover which employee. It turned out the person who placed the bugs used your security code to enter the bar after hours. So, either you’ve given your code to someone else or you’re the one behind this.”

Silence descends, and it’s in those seconds that feel like a lifetime that something profound happens. The tightness in McKenna’s expression slowly begins to lessen, awareness fills her eyes, and her skin pales.

I give Ryder a quick glance, wondering if he’s seeing what I am. His brows are furrowed, head is cocked, confusion heavy in his gaze.

“McKenna,” I say gently.

She wobbles a bit, places a hand on the railing next her. “My brother. It could be my brother . . . he might have seen me enter the security code before, when he’s come to visit me before we opened.”

There’s a lot to think about in what she’s said, but my mind takes me to only one place now. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“I don’t talk about him,” she says, avoiding my gaze, her knuckles white around the railing.

Ryder glances at her knuckles, then frowns at me. I give him the nod he’s searching for before he turns his attention back onto McKenna. “I don’t think this is going to be a quick conversation.” He steps away from the door, opening it wider. “Come in. You look like you need some water.”

McKenna’s head snaps up. “I want to go h—”

Ryder raises his hand, gives her a level look. “I’m not going to force you to come inside, but I have a video, and now I’m beginning to wonder if there’s a connection and this guy in the video is really your brother.”

My frown is immediate, and Ryder’s responding sigh is just as fast. I wasn’t aware he had a video. And if I had known I might not have reacted the way I did earlier with McKenna.

“We found it this morning,” Ryder says to me, and the look he gives me is apologetic. “I didn’t want to bother you with it unless I knew it mattered.”

I clench my jaw and shove my hands into my pockets, staring down at the scuff on my boots, while Ryder addresses McKenna again. “You can watch the video and leave. That’s one sure way to know if your brother is involved in this. I assure you after that, no one will stop you from leaving.”

McKenna gives me a quick look, seemingly as exhausted as I feel, and then sighs. “Okay, one video, then I’m gone.” She enters the factory.

When I step inside and Ryder shuts the door, he pats my back, insinuating, Bad move, buddy, bad move. But I can’t play nice anymore, and earlier, all the tension and the stress made me break. I’m done playing by the rules and using a gentle touch, hoping we can get this tabloid shit behind us. My life is now public conversation.

Ryder leads the way, and McKenna follows him past the old chocolate machinery. I stare at her back, confusion messing with my mind. I’d been so sure she was behind this. I’d taken her roughly, without the tenderness she deserved, thinking she betrayed me. What had I done if she hadn’t?

It’s a thought I don’t even want to consider.

I draw in a deep breath, refocusing my thoughts not to get ahead of myself. When we enter Blackwood Security headquarters, the space looks more like a CIA setup than anything else. Monitors line the walls, while Ryder’s team work intel for whatever case they currently have on their plate. Where the government has the CIA and the FBI for intelligence, the private sector has Blackwood Security, and that’s where Ryder’s wealth comes from.

I stay focused on McKenna as we move into a meeting room encased with the one-way black glass. Ryder likes his privacy, and that only makes me trust him more. He’s careful, even with his team.