My blood pressure rose several notches. Fuck, that wasn’t what I’d wanted to hear. I'd arranged this meeting with Eva to try to convince her to help me split the two apart. Trying to be reasonable for Jade’s sake. I figured that if they were split up soon and without me resorting to violence to make it happen, it would be better for her. I only wanted the best for my sister; there was nothing wrong with that, was there?
Sighing, I shook my head. She’d get over her infatuation with the biker and move on. I was screwed up and fucked for life, but there was no point in both of us ending up alone and bitter.
“Eva, I agree that Jade’s an amazing young woman—but then again, she’s my little sis, so I’m biased. I was hoping you’d agree with me that they weren’t very well . . . suited to one another. And that you’d help me show them that.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “You don’t like Ryder, do you?” A pregnant silence fell between us for a few moments. I wasn’t going to lie to her. “I accepted your invitation today so I could understand why.” Her voice had a sharp edge to it. I appreciated her honesty and straightforward talking.
“Look, I just don’t think he’s the man for my sister . . .”
“You don’t think he’s good enough for her.” Her eyes fired up as she pursed her lips.
I sat back in my chair for a moment before replying. “Yes. That is true. I can’t pretend otherwise. I was hoping you felt the same about the two of them being . . . together.”
Her nostrils flared. “Look, I don’t know Ryder all that well. We didn’t grow up as a family. But what I have learned in the short time I've known him is that he would give his life for those he cares about. That makes him a good man, in my books.”
“That may be so, but it still doesn’t make him the right man for Jade,” I said, folding my arms across my chest. Not much was going to change my opinion. Over my fucking dead body was I going to sit back and watch it happen. Fuck no.
I'd hoped that by enlisting Eva to help me split them apart, it would be a gentler way to do it—for Jade’s sake. But if I were left no other option, I'd kill the fucker before I saw him hurt my sister.
Jade’s voice raised a few decibels, her anger etched on her face. “Dammit, Harrison, you’re exactly the kind of man I detest. Judging a person without making the effort to get to know them. You’re just like—” She clamped her hand over her mouth, as if she’d already said too much.
I raised an eyebrow. “Just like who?”
She bit into her bottom lip, casting her eyes down. I leaned forward and gripped her chin, lifting her gaze to mine. “Tell me,” I demanded.
“It's nothing,” she said defiantly, not looking away.
“Oh, it's something all right. Tell me, or else you leave me no option but to do some digging of my own. I have resources available to find out every little detail about you, Eva. Don’t make me use them,” I threatened. I didn’t know why I had this overwhelming urge to know everything about her.
“It's none of your goddamn business, Harrison. You wanted to talk to me about Ryder and Jade, but clearly we are on different wavelengths where they are concerned. So, really, I think this discussion is over.”
She pulled her head backward, releasing her face from my grip. “True love isn’t always easy to find. I can’t believe that you have the gall to want to split up two people who clearly are crazy for one another and so happy together.” She looked at me as if I were the devil. “They have already overcome so many obstacles. Jade told me about some of them.” She pushed back her chair and got to her feet, looking down on me. “I, for one, am going to help them work it out. They already have the fucking odds stacked against them without you adding to it. For whatever your reasons are.”
She threw a five-dollar bill on the table. Sarcasm dripped from her next words. “I’ll get my own coffee, thanks. I really don’t want anything from you.” She turned on her heels and left.
This meeting hadn’t gone my way at all. I sucked in a breath as I watched her walk away from me for the second time in twenty-four hours. The way she swayed her hips when she walked—no, glided—across the floor had me mesmerized. I swallowed hard. Jesus, no woman had ever told me off like that. I was used to females crumbling at my feet, begging for me to fuck them, not telling me to go fuck myself.
I couldn’t help chuckling. Now I was fucking determined to get to know more about the feisty brunette with the never-ending legs.
This woman was Danger with a capital D. I could smell a threat a mile away—it was part of my job. I lived on the edge, taking risks every day. But this was different. Alarm bells went off, warning me to stay away at all costs. But fuck, I knew already I wasn’t going to listen to those bells clanging in my head.