Page 17 of Wicked Games
I followed a pace or two behind his casual stride, noticing his posture was rigid with tension. Ryder didn’t utter a word until we were alone in the library with the door shut, then he spun around and charged toward me. He fisted my jacket in both hands and jerked me forward until our mouths were mere inches apart.
“What fucking game are you playing now, Lucien?”
“How’d you know it was me?”
Ryder shoved me away, turned his back toward me, and ran his hands through his hair. “Are you fucking kidding me? You think a stupid fake mustache and a wig are a decent disguise? You have to know the feds would’ve shown your picture to everyone they interviewed, including my mother.”
“No one has made the connection so far,” I countered.
“Well, that’s because they don’t know you as well as I do. You didn’t think I’d recognize your chin dimple or your square jaw?”
I was too flattered to form a response right away other than to grin broadly at him. “I didn’t expect you to be here when I interviewed your mother. Are you worried about me, love?”
“Wipe the smug smirk off your fucking face right now before I knock out a few of your teeth. And do not call me your love. This isn’t funny, Lucien. Even if the disguise had worked, I still would’ve recognized my blue tie.” I could’ve reiterated that I hadn’t expected to run into him but didn’t.
I looked down at the blue silk tie I couldn’t seem to stop touching after Ryder left. If I looked close enough, I could still see the slight impression left by my teeth. “Well, it’s a very lovely tie, and you so carelessly left it behind.”Left me behind, I wanted to add but wouldn’t. I had no right to be hurt over his behavior. “Finders keepers.”
“You can keep the tie as a keepsake. You can wrap it around your cock and—”
The library doors opened suddenly, cutting off Ryder’s words. We both jerked apart like we were up to no good then stared at each other for a few heartbeats before we both turned our attention to the beautiful woman who joined us.
“I’m so sorry to keep you waiting, Inspector,” Celeste Jameson said, offering me a brisk handshake. “I see you’ve met my son, Ryder. We’re hoping we can help each other out.”
“How’s that, ma’am?” I asked.
“We all want the same thing, Inspector, which is to find out who connected with the museum is responsible for the heist. You’ll find your thief, and we’ll restore my son’s good name,” she said confidently, wearing the look of a determined mother. “I’m convinced someone has decided to pin this crime on him, and I will not stand for it.”
“I think we can help each other then.”
“Good. Let’s get comfortable.” Celeste led us over to a lovely sitting area with a velvet settee and leather club chairs. She and Ryder sat beside each other on the settee while I took a chair across from them. The furniture was modern but crafted in the old English style with great care put into the finishing touches. The bronze nailhead trim around both the velvet and leather pieces were hammered into place by hand instead of a machine. My mother would love the richness of the burgundy velvet used for the sofa and the buttery, ivory leather used for the chairs.
I noticed a sterling silver tray in the center of the ivory and gold marble table. Celeste gestured to it and said, “Betty put together a tray of coffee and cookies for us to enjoy. Please help yourself.”
“Mother, I’m sureInspectorSomerby isn’t in the mood for coffee and cookies. I bet he wants to get straight to the interview so he can get on with the next interview. Isn’t that right, Inspector?”
I could feel Celeste looking between her son and me. I knew the right thing to do was to agree with Ryder and get on with the interview and stop antagonizing him, but the daredevil look in his eyes made me think naughty things and made me want to do even naughtier things to him.
“Ryder has a blue silk tie just like the one you’re wearing,” Celeste said abruptly.
I ran my hand over the cool silk while maintaining eye contact with Ryder. “He has very good taste.”
“WELL, IN THIS CASE,Ihave good taste,” Mother said, completely unaware she was seeking help from the same man who ruined my career. The irony was big enough to choke a man, but I had other things I’d like for Lucien to gag on. “I bought it for him when he graduated with his master’s degree. It’s his lucky tie.”
“You don’t say,” Lucien said, stroking the tie as intimately as he would a lover. “This is my lucky tie also. It was a gift from someone after a very memorable occasion as well.”
“Oh, a lovely lady?” Mother inquired. I wanted to demand she stop making nice talk with Lucien and get down to business, but it would only make her suspicious. I received my first manners and etiquette lesson before I cut my teeth.
“A lovely man,” Lucien told my mother.
“Forgive me,” Mother said, placing a dainty hand over her chest. “The mother of a gay man should know better than to make assumptions.”
“It’s quite all right, Mrs. Jameson. Shall we get started? I’m sure you have better things to do the night before a holiday than talk to me. I hope I’m not interrupting your baking.” I snorted.
“Oh, hush, you,” Celeste said, making a shushing noise at me. She turned to Lucien and said, “Please, won’t you at least join me for a cup of coffee?”
I seethed inside while I wanted to shout at the universe to stop throwing this man in my path. We weren’t star-crossed lovers destined to keep finding one another. I realized my mother was right about one thing though. Lucien, under the stupid guise of Inspector Somersby, might help us gain access to the information I need to clear myself since I had no real friends at the museum. I had committed myself to doing whatever it took to restore my good name, and if it meant working side by side with the man who caused me the trouble, then so be it.
I tuned out the small talk Mother and Lucien engaged in to do some thinking. Lucien wouldn’t be here if he stole the vessel, which meant someone else had, and he wanted to find out who and how. Lucien was interviewing museum staff, directors, and board members to find out who the leak was so he could trace it back to the person who stole the artifact. Why? What would he gain? Was his life in danger because someone else got to the vessel before he did, or was this all part of his show? Was this an act of pride?