Harlequin Intrigue April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 Carol Ericson (short books to read TXT) 📖

there. The dog had followed her inside. Jax was coming, too, but moving more slowly.

Keara kept her gaze on Patches, petting the dog while she tried to come up with a way to redirect Jax, a way to avoid talking about what had happened to Juan.

“I don’t have anything new to share about the bombing,” Jax said, his voice slow and soft. “And Anderson is still waiting on that file from Houston PD. Is there more you need to tell me? Some other connection we should investigate?”

When she didn’t immediately answer, he put his hand under her elbow.

The contact startled her, warmth from his hand making her realize how cold the rest of her body felt. She jerked her gaze back up to his. “Maybe. I’ll know more once I get a look at that case file.”

Jax stared at her, his dark brown eyes hypnotic. Finally, he nodded, stepping just slightly closer.

She had to tilt her head back to hold eye contact and she put a warning in her gaze. She liked Jax, but she’d been a police officer too long not to see what was coming. He was trying to make a connection, sympathize with her so she’d trust him enough to tell him what he needed to know.

A slight smile tilted his lips and Keara wondered if she needed to put a different kind of “back off” vibe out there. Nerves fluttered in her chest and she put it down to how long it had been since she’d had to let anyone down easy. Since she was their police chief, thankfully, people here mostly considered her off-limits as a woman.

“I’m not an agent.”

His words were so far from what she’d expected to hear that it took her a few extra seconds to digest them.

“And you have no jurisdiction in Luna,” he continued.

She crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to take a step backward and let him know his closeness affected her. “And?”

“The case you talked about feels psychologically different—the MO, the location, everything. But I can’t get that symbol out of my head. It might have been an accident that we were able to recover it on the bomb, but it wasn’t an accident that the bomber made it. It means something to him. That suggests the cases are connected somehow. I can’t let this go. And since you’re waiting on a case file you really shouldn’t be requesting, I’m guessing you can’t, either.”

Keara frowned, trying to keep her expression neutral as Patches nudged her leg, looking for attention. Despite all the memories that had resurfaced tonight, she couldn’t help but smile at the dog, with her tiny matching brown spots at the top of each eyebrow, and bigger spots on her muzzle and chest. Keara silently pet Patches again as she waited for Jax to continue.

“I think we should work together,” Jax finished, staring at her expectantly. “Quietly, on the side. If we come up with anything, we share it with the agents.”

It was a mistake for a lot of reasons.

Keeping information from the investigating agents—no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential—could be the difference that prevented the case from being solved. Besides, if she and Jax worked outside the official team, they wouldn’t have all of the information.

After this was over, Jax would go back to Anchorage, but she still had to live in this community. She’d have to answer to her citizens if something went wrong, and she’d lose the support of their closest neighboring town, too.

Then there was Jax himself. Although she had no concerns when it came to her self-control around the handsome Victim Specialist, she couldn’t deny that he ignited a tiny flicker of attraction whenever he was near.

Juan had been gone for seven years. She wasn’t totally closed off to the idea of moving on someday. But it didn’t feel like the time, not even for a fling. Not if this case could be the key to solving his murder.

“Okay,” she agreed, the word bursting free before she could hold it back. “Let’s work together.”

CHAPTER SIX

Something was wrong.

Jax could see it through the window of the tiny diner on the outskirts of Desparre, somewhere Keara had told him they were less likely to attract attention. It had been an hour drive for him after spending the day all over Luna with Ben and Anderson, talking to victims and families. He’d left discouraged and exhausted, with the bruises on his back and legs aching, but judging from the unguarded torment on her face, Keara’s day had been worse.

He pictured the look on her face yesterday when she’d asked if the bombing was connected to her husband’s death. That meant her husband had been murdered—and presumably, that the murder had never been solved. He’d desperately wanted to ask about it, but he couldn’t turn off years of working as a psychologist. It had been the wrong time. But maybe today would be different.

“Come on, Patches,” he said, leading the way into the diner. Keara had told him that the owner was low-key and didn’t mind letting working dogs inside.

True to her promise, the diner was mostly empty and the waitress who nodded a greeting just cooed “aww” when she spotted Patches.

By the time Jax joined Keara at her booth, she looked serious and in control. The ability to mask her emotions that fast was probably a necessary skill for a police chief. But it still surprised him. And if he was being honest with himself, he was a little disappointed that she felt the need to hide from him.

You barely know her, he reminded himself. Yes, people usually opened up to him faster, probably because knowing how to reach people was a job requirement he couldn’t just turn off outside work. And yes, last night they’d agreed to work together, so he’d expected more honesty. But mostly, he was just intrigued by her. He had no idea how long he’d have to get to know her before the case was solved