“You made your point. Now, can you please be the reserved, controlled Jared I know and love? I need to earn the respect of the people here.”

“I’m sorry,” Jared said, kissing my hair.

“Nina?” a voice called from across the room. I winced at the horrid sound, and then turned to see Sasha barreling toward me with someone in tow.

“Practice what you preach,” Jared said with a contrived smile.

Sasha's annoying smirk twisted her face in a way that made her already sharp features seem cartoon-like. She gestured to the brawny, dark-headed man behind her.

“I’d like for you to meet my date, Ryan Scott. Ryan, this is a fellow intern of mine, Nina Grey.”

I couldn’t hide the instant shock and dismay that came over me.

Ryan held out his hand. “Intern? Doesn’t she run the company?” he winked.

Sasha laughed once, caught. “Er…not yet.”

I took Ryan’s hand. “I believe we’ve met.”

“Oh?” Sasha said, genuinely intrigued.

Ryan glanced at Jared, and then back at me. “Could I…steal you for a minute?”

“No,” Jared said without pause.

I chuckled nervously, and then peered up at Jared from under my lashes. “Sweetheart, I’ll just be a minute.”

Jared frowned, but he didn’t argue.

“Well,” Sasha said to Jared in her high-pitched, irritating voice, “I guess it’s just you and me, then.”

“I’ll be right back,” I said, staring directly at Sasha.

Ryan held me by the arm, quickly stopping in a quiet corner. “I thought we had a deal.”

“A deal?” I hissed. “I agreed that I owed you for helping me fool Jared. I didn’t say I would help you talk to Claire. Ambushing her is not a good idea.”

He sighed. “Well, I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. My partner was murdered, and I think it has something to do with the other police deaths over the last year. I think they’re all connected. I need to talk to her before I can get my head on straight enough to investigate this. It’s big, Nina. Really big, and I can’t focus on it if my mind is always on Claire.”

“You’re investigating the police murders?”

Ryan’s features were so stern I was suddenly nervous. “Not officially. Anderson and I were both on the case before he was killed. I wasn’t sure before that they were connected, but now that Kit’s dead…I know. Even the one’s that appeared to be accidents.”

“Listen—,” I began, but Ryan cut me off.