Justice Inked (Cowboy Justice Association 7) by Olivia Jaymes Page A

matched your unsolved murder. How’s that for a strange coincidence?”
    The hair on the back of Dare’s neck stood straight up. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
    “Neither do I,” Tanner agreed with a short laugh. “Somehow your break-in and murder are connected to my bank robbery. I’d bet on it. I’d like to get together and compare notes if you don’t mind.”
    This was the first positive news Dare had received in days. “Absolutely. I can drive over there if you like. You name when.”
    “How about tomorrow around ten? We can go over the evidence and then have some lunch and catch up while we figure out our next steps.”
    Dare quickly agreed and ended the call. Finally, a break in the case that might lead to solving Moulson’s murder once and for all.
    *   *   *   *
    Rayne hadn’t wanted anyone to know about her date with Dare tonight, but keeping anything a secret from her best friend Misty Monroe was almost impossible. Within just a few minutes of their phone call, Misty had known something major was up and didn’t relent until Rayne confessed.
    In truth, she was glad to have someone to talk to about the forthcoming evening. She was incredibly nervous and not at all sure she’d done the right thing by agreeing to this date. Sexual attraction didn’t necessarily equate to any sort of real compatibility, so this whole endeavor could be headed for a failure of massive proportions the likes which few had seen before.
    “So what are you wearing tonight?” Misty asked. Rayne had her friend on speakerphone as she stood in her bathroom making up her face. “That red dress always looks nice on you.”
    “Way too dressy,” Rayne protested, slowly and carefully drawing on eyeliner. “He mentioned dinner and a movie which says casual to me. I was thinking black jeans and a sweater. It’s chilly tonight and I don’t want to freeze my fanny off.”
    “Hmmm…black jeans say casual and dressy. That’s good. What sweater? And what shoes? Boots or heels?”
    Rayne held up the two sweaters she was deciding between – one cream and the other purple. “Purple with the three-quarter sleeves. And black flats. I want to be comfortable tonight. I’m already short so heels wouldn’t fool anybody. Dare is about seven feet tall so anything I wear would be just a drop in the bucket anyway.”
    Misty giggled on the other end of the line. “Dare is a big one. He’s taller than Jared so that makes him around six-three or four.”
    And every inch muscle from the looks of him. Rayne wondered how many hours in the gym he had to put in to keep that mouth-watering physique.
    She sat down on the edge of the tub with a groan, almost ready to call Dare and cancel the whole darn evening. “I think this is a mistake.”
    “No. No, it’s not,” Misty pressed. “You two are attracted to each other. A date is the next natural step. You’ll just wonder what could have happened if you don’t go.”
    “Nothing is going to happen tonight. Just dinner and a movie. No happy-naked-fun-time. Not on the first date.”
    “This from the same woman who told me I needed to get laid. You were right, by the way—now it’s my turn. Don’t say never. If it happens tonight, it happens. Since when have you become the morality police?”
    It truly wasn’t Rayne’s normal attitude about sex. She’d always been of the live and let live persuasion and didn’t believe that women should be slut shamed for enjoying something men clearly did. It was a natural biological function, not to mention fun as hell with the right partner. She’d had long-term and short-term relationships along with a couple of one-night stands, and she was okay with her sexuality.
    But with Dare it was different.
    Not in a bad way. He was smoking hot and devastatingly handsome. He was also something else, something that made her wary. He would never hurt her or force himself on her. That wasn’t it. It was something else that she couldn’t quite