Read Online Honeymoon To Die For by Dianna Love - Free Book Online Page B

tightened on her shoulder and frustration clouded his face. “The FBI is tracking me with the chip. It’s not like they can’t find me. What I’m telling you is that we’ll both get out if we can. If not, you can’t escape if you’re dragging dead weight.”  
    He thought his father would kill him?
    Was Ryder really trying to convince her that he would step into the line of fire if she were in danger, when her research had him practically convicted? To believe that would force her to see Ryder Van Dyke as an honorable man.
    And then she’d have to question whether Ryder had really killed J. K. Kearn.
    How was she supposed to even consider the possibility that someone else had shot Kearn? To do so would be admitting that her research team—her investigation—had produced faulty results.
    The pilot’s voice intruded. “On approach to land.”
    Before she could compose a reply, Ryder turned away from her, distant again.
    Every time she thought she was gaining ground in understanding him, he sucked back into himself.
    She looked straight ahead, gripping the edge of her seat for an anchor.
    Was this what field agents had to do when playing a role? How did they manage to keep their feelings out of the mix and still come across as natural? Especially with a man as dark and confusing—not to mention sensual—as Ryder.
    Bianca had better lock down her emotions or he’d use that weakness against her. He did have more experience in combat situations, but that didn’t intimidate her so much as the fact that he was a pro when it came to seducing women.
    He’d gotten further with her than anyone else had on the rare dates Bianca had agreed to in the last four years.
    She hadn’t prepared herself for the possibility of being attracted to Ryder, and at some point, she’d have to come to terms with how she could be attracted to a killer. But they could use this little burst of chemistry to their advantage as long as she kept her britches on, as Mama would say.
    No reason to worry about that, is there now?
    Shame brought a flush of heat to her face, and she quickly looked out the left side of the chopper to hide it. Bernard had hurt her in many ways, but the very worst had been when he’d laid the blame for his cheating on Bianca at her own feet. Because she was frigid.
    How could she argue when she’d found sex painful at best?
    Ryder sat back and she turned to see a dark shadow cross his face when he muttered, “Van Dyke Enterprises.”
    His jaw bunched with an emotion that filtered up to his eyes. She’d seen that look in the prison. The raw despair that had broken through his cold indifference when Murdock had threatened to leave Ryder locked in isolation if he didn’t deal.
    She could better handle Ryder’s anger than his desolation.
    No, no, no!
    A feeling of empathy for this man was about as useful to her as socks on a rooster. She was so not going there.
    She couldn’t help her natural curiosity though. It had served her well in the research department, and it made her want to dig around in Ryder’s mind. Finding out what made a killer tick would be endlessly useful to a law enforcement officer, no matter what agency she worked for. But the “not welcome” sign that had curtained his gaze for the last two days warned her not to go excavating.
    The helicopter approached Van Dyke Tower in the area of Atlanta known only as Buckhead. The thirty-two-story, glass-and-bronze structure designed by a Danish architect housed the brain center of Van Dyke Enterprises, or VDE, on the top ten floors.
    Their weapons manufacturing plant was north of the city near Suwanee, Georgia.
    Once the helicopter set down, the pilot killed the rotors, pulled off his headset and flipped switches to shut the engine down. When the rotors wound down, he climbed out with Ryder right behind.
    Ryder turned to help Bianca, who cursed her narrow dress again. She’d have worn pants and a jacket, but the team felt a mauve dress said wedding day