Cera didn’t bother asking how he’d accessed those documents. A man in his line of business probably had all sorts of hidden talents where finding information was concerned.
“And?” She kept her spine straight, despite her urge to hide.
The last thing Cera wanted was to see that look on Ivan’s face. It was the same one she got from every man when they discovered the truth. Only Ivan was different than those other men. In so many ways.
The most relevant being Ivan was her P.I. Not her date.
“What you said fits,” he announced. “The reports you filed. The timeline. All the claims you made to both departme—”
“They weren’t claims,” she corrected him. “Everything I’ve told you was the truth.”
She really needed to make that point clear. Crystal, even.
“I know.” Ivan nodded without hesitation. “Like I said, it all checks out.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
His frown deepened, twisting his otherwise perfectly handsome face. “There’s no problem, really. I just…I wanted to talk to you about a couple things. That’s all.”
Praying her assumption was wrong, and hedidn’tknow about her humiliating secret, Cera slid a little farther back along the couch’s generous cushion. “Okay…” She gave a small shrug of her shoulder. “What is it you want to discuss?”
Shadows dulled the blues in his eyes as Ivan stared back at her from across the rustic coffee table. And when that same haunted look from before returned, she had her answer. Even before Ivan’s deep voice rumbled with the command to…
“Tell me about James Stiegler.”
8
Cera sucked in a breath.Or at least, she tried to. But every molecule of air seemed to have been sucked from the room at the mere mention of the murdering son of a bitch’s name.
“H-he has nothing to do with this,” she finally managed to choke out. “Which means there’s no reason to continue this line of questioning.”
Pushing herself to her feet, Cera began walking away with no real destination in mind. She closed her eyes at the sound of soft footfalls falling in line behind her.
“Where are you going?” Ivan followed her every step.
“Anywhere I don’t have to talk about James.”
Just saying his name made her want to vomit.
“I’m not trying to upset you.”
“Then don’t.” She pushed up her sleeves part-way, the show of frustration coming as she marched down the hall.
“Would you please just wait?”
She didn’t wait, but rather stepped into the bedroom where, a few short hours before, she’d been dreaming of this man in ways that made her subconscious blush. But now…
I can’t get far enough away from him.
“Goddamnit, Cera! Would you stop for two fucking seconds and talk to me?”
In a lightning-fast move, Ivan reached for her. Grabbing her left wrist as she continued trying to walk away. His grip was gentle, yet firm. Even in the heat of the moment, it registered somewhere in the back of her mind that he was being careful not to hurt her.
Resisting the urge to drag the insistent man behind her—as if that were even possible considering his size and stature—Cera gave into his efforts to stop her and spun on her heels.
“What?” she yelled back. Her weary gaze searched his while his masculine fingers remained curled around her wrist. “What are you looking for, Ivan? Whatexactlyis it you want from me?”
Her mistake materialized a second too late.