Page 38 of Reclaiming Chaos
Chapter 20
Carlee
Carlee was working on her second glass of wine in front of the computer when Ridge returned. The morning sun had long disappeared and had been replaced by dusk and the rising moon in the sky.
She smiled up at him as he entered the room. “Did you catch the bad guy?”
His brows knit as he closed and locked the door behind him. “Yeah. You could say that.”
“Have you been interrogating him all this time? You must be starving. I saved you a plate of spaghetti. Let me just heat it up.” Carlee rose from the chair, heading into the kitchen.
Ridge reached for her arm, stopping her. There was something in his gaze she couldn’t read.
“What’s wrong?” Her eyes searched his for the answers.
“He had a plane ticket in his car, pictures of my family, and schematics of the wedding venue. He knew about the wedding and assumed I was already there. He was going to finish the job.”
Her mouth parted. “Oh my God, Ridge. I’m so sorry.”
Ridge pulled her into his arms and lowered his mouth, pressing a tender kiss to her lips. His hold was strong, his lips soft, and it was only a few seconds before he pulled away, taking the heat with him. She stared up into his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered an apology for the kiss.
She wasn’t. Carlee pulled him back down and took the kiss she knew he wanted to give her. He moaned, and their tongues dueled. He tasted of peppermint. Fire licked in her veins as his hands slid up her back and into her hair. She tilted her head, wanting nothing more but to surrender to what she knew was inevitable. They might have kissed before, but this was the one that started it all. It sent spirals of ecstasy through her. The need for more spurred them both on.
The heated frenzy sizzled, driving up her need until he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“I’m sure your emotions were just on overload and you wanted to thank me.”
His lips twisted at the corners, and lines crinkled around his eyes. “I’d planned to thank you. Not kiss you. I don’t know what came over me. And then…”
“I kissed you back, and I’m not sorry,” she said, stepping out of his hold. “How about I heat up your dinner, and you can tell me how everything went while you eat.”
Stepping out of his hold cleared the sexual haze she’d been under. Her body still thrummed from his touch and his taste. There was no denying the connection. Not even if she tried.
She heated up the spaghetti and grabbed her glass of wine and sat with him at the table while he ate.
“He was exactly where you said he’d be,” Ridge said, twirling the noodles around his fork. “I called in backup and had them covering the exits. I wasn’t letting him slip away.”
“That’s great. I’m glad you caught him. A random shooter will be one less thing to worry about at the party.”
He took a bite and chewed, taking his time before he answered. “The interrogation was interesting. Of course, he lied about being the shooter, but we have the proof from the hotel.”
“Why was the interrogation interesting? You didn’t rough him up, did you?”
Ridge took a sip of his drink and set it down. “He claims you ordered the hit.”
“Ha,” she couldn’t stop herself from blurting out. “Right. Like I know a ton of hitmen and have the cash to pull something like that off. Tell me you didn’t believe him.”
Ridge tilted his head and stabbed his noodles. “No, I didn’t believe him.” He lifted the fork to his mouth and hovered. “But he said he has proof. He claims you’re the person doing the blackmail.”
“He’s lying. Obviously, Russell is trying to cover his tracks and put the blame on me. He can’t control me, and he has to know I’m going to expose him.” Her voice rose in pitch, trying to calm the anger trying to grip her.
Ridge put his fork down. “Carlee, those plans on my family weren’t the only thing we found in his car.”
Her heart skipped a beat as a ball of anger settled in her gut. “What else?”
“He had directions to the bunker where you and the others meet.” Ridge pulled out a hand-drawn map and unfolded it and slid it across the table. “No one else has seen this yet.”
