Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 Karen Whiddon (best fiction books to read TXT) 📖

found no sense of accomplishment in the pronouncement. Not when Stanton had just taken a bullet in all likelihood intended for her. She swore she could feel her bones rattling at the thought of how close she’d come to losing him. Again. And it wasn’t his job that was to blame, but a story she’d insisted on pursuing. Charlie Hamm’s justice was a priority, but maybe Soledad was right. Was it worth putting the one man she’d ever loved at risk?

“I’m driving to the hospital, no arguments.” She held out her hand and Stanton reluctantly dropped his keys in her palm.

“Only to keep you happy, and because the hospital is nearby.” He accepted a large gauze pad from the receptionist who’d brought out a first aid kit, and pressed it to his upper arm. “Let’s get this over with. All they’re going to do is wash out the graze, trust me.”

“You need to go for our insurance purposes, since you were shot on police property.” Melissa’s displeasure at the fact was evident in her stern reply.

“Roger. On our way.”

“Thank you, Chief. And please thank the officers who responded.” Gratitude engulfed Dominique and she blinked back sudden tears.

“It’s our job.”

As she made sure Stanton got into the passenger side and buckled, then took the driver’s seat, Melissa’s words echoed in her mind. Protection and apprehension were GGPD’s job. Getting the dirt on Jimenez and his cartel, whatever it took to clear Charlie Hamm, was hers.

“Don’t make any funny moves,” Stanton chided her as she drove out of the lot and proceeded to the ER, also downtown. “I’m a little sore.”

“You mean like the ones you taught me?” When they were together he’d taken her out to a defensive driving school and taught her some very basic maneuvers.

“Good to know that you remember something useful from our time together.”

She bit her tongue from retorting that she remembered more than he’d imagined, including how he’d always made her feel so important, so special. The issue wasn’t her memory, but how she’d ever forgotten how good it felt to be next to Stanton.

* * *

Stanton was glad to be home earlier than normal from work. Correction, he was happy to be at his parents’ estate with Dominique safely inside, away from the targets that Jimenez’s men kept placing on her. He thanked the stars above that he’d been standing where he had and that the thug had been a poor shot. His injury was a bit more than a graze, and he’d been sent home without any stitches, but just a simple bandage that he was instructed to change twice a day for the next few days. The doc’s instructions to take it easy were easily swatted away in the ER, when the adrenaline still surged through his system.

Now that he was back at the lake house, he was becoming more aware of the soreness that he knew from experience might bother him for the next several days. He had to ignore it, because he had a job to finish: to keep Dominique alive. No matter how much he repeated it to himself, he couldn’t erase the kiss they’d shared in his cousin’s office this afternoon. His body thirsted for her touch. That had never eased no matter how much time grew between when they’d been together and now.

“Can I get you anything?” Dominique spoke from the kitchen, where she was putting away the groceries they’d picked up for the weekend. He’d tried to help but she insisted he sit down for a bit.

“You.”

He heard a pause in her movements and smiled to himself. There was nothing like the thrill of catching her off guard. It wasn’t often when the woman you cared about broke her reserve, not if she was as intelligent and focused as Dominique.

Had he just admitted to himself that he still cared for her?

“What?” She stood at the end of the sofa he was stretched out on, contemplating him with wariness.

He laughed. “I meant I want you to take a break, too. Have a seat.” He pointed to the large white easy chair with the woven throw tossed over the back. It was usually Italia’s spot when she and Frank spent their nights inside during the cold months.

She perched on the edge of the cushion and looked over her shoulder out the window to the lake below. The house was perched on a high bluff but protected from Lake Michigan’s worst gales by the surrounding trees. “It’s still as beautiful as I remember. It must be hard for your parents to leave when they travel.”

He pushed himself up and leaned against the back of the sofa, his feet on the coffee table. “They certainly love it here, but I know they also cherish the freedom to travel. Dad’s business has been successful and they’ve raised all four of us. It’s their time to enjoy life.”

“They know how to live, don’t they? They could have chosen to leave the area like many do, heading south to warmer weather, or back to Italy, to be with your mother’s family. But they’ve picked Michigan.”

“Yes, I’d have to say they’ve found their paradise.” He didn’t want to talk about his parents or his siblings. It was a rare gift to be alone with Dominique and he wasn’t a fool. He knew that this might be the last time they’d be so close, without interruption. As long as Jimenez’s thugs didn’t find them here, they were safe for tonight. And they had the entire night in front of them.

“When do you think you’ll want dinner?” She looked at the clock that hung over the kitchen’s back counter. “It’s almost six.”

“Any time that works for you.” He really wanted to eat yesterday and skip straight to where he hoped they’d spend the night. In his bed. Well, in what was now the guest bedroom, formerly his childhood bedroom. He’d left home for college at eighteen and when he’d returned to Grave Gulch he’d been eager to