Black Ice (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Read Free Page A

reached out to flip the heat on full blast.
    “Cold, Warren?”
    “I’m not going to bother answering your ignorant questions.” She propped her elbow against the door and rested her cheek against her fist, her mind focusing on the case.
    From the evidence she gathered, the initial target was Sophie’s fiancé, Rick. The brake line had been cut. Blake didn’t know why Sophie drove that car last night and hoped to find out some answers.
    The vic had no priors against her. Rick, however, had several. Forging checks and laundering money could land him a few enemies. Sophie came from a rich family. Plenty of suspicion and plenty of motive.
    “Who do you think did it?” Ryder’s voice drew her out of her thoughts.
    “I don’t know.”
    He scoffed as he stopped at a red light. “You’ve got to have some kind of gut feeling. Do you think it the vic’s boyfriend or the girl he banged on the side?”
    “What girl he banged on the side? No one mentioned a girlfriend in the file or even rumors of a girlfriend.”
    “Oh, come on, Blake.” He turned in his seat to face her. “Every rich man has a bimbo on the side, right? Isn’t that what women like you think? The whole men are pigs scenario.”
    “You don’t know anything about me, so I advise you to keep your mouth shut.” She shook her head and glanced out the side window. “The boyfriend has motive, but you know as well as I do, everyone remains innocent until proven guilty.”
    Ryder turned back to drive through the green light. “That’s a crock, and you know it. You’re guilty until proven innocent. That’s why we have trials and defense lawyers. Whoever puts up the best case wins.”
    She kept her mouth shut, taking in the flakes of snow covering the roads. He couldn’t possibly be insinuating what his words just said. He was a detective. He had to have faith in the system, otherwise what was the point.
    “You’ve got a reputation, you know. One I don’t particularly like.”
    He snorted and pulled the car into the Snowflake Lodge. “I’m sure there’s plenty going around about me that even my own mother is ashamed of. Doesn’t mean it’s true.”
    “But, isn’t it?” She turned toward him as the car came to a stop. “Weren’t you the reason your partner died? Something about not doing your job. Your ridiculous statement a few seconds ago hinted the system is faulty, that if you know what you’re doing, you can get away with everything. Is that what you did? Is that the reason you don’t work well with others?”
    He didn’t look at her. She’d heard from the ever-popular gossip chain that before he joined the Minneapolis Police Department, he and his partner had walked into a sticky situation and he left his partner to deal with the mess, ultimately costing the partner his life. Whether or not it was true, she didn’t know. It didn’t settle her worries though and put her in an uneasy state. She wanted someone on her side, not some hot-headed jerk screwing up her case.
    “You don’t know what the hell you are talking about.”
    He opened the car door and climbed out, slamming it shut behind him. The Town Car rocked with the force, and Blake sighed. A long day didn’t describe what was in store for her.
    Blake caught up with him before he entered the building. “Well, surely you can understand after hearing those kinds of rumors, I’d be worried about my safety, right? Partners hold a sense of trust in one another. And I sure as hell don’t trust you.”
    “And this is my problem, how?” Ryder stopped and met her eyes. “I told you I’m fine on my own. If you want to sit at a desk and do the paperwork, I’m okay with that. Walk away now.”
    “I’m not giving anything up. This is my case.”
    “You have no seniority over me. It’s my case, and regardless of your insecurities, you do what I say.”
    “You’re an ass.”
    “I’ve been called worse.” He started walking again, and Blake reluctantly followed.
    Known as