Pretty Reckless (Entangled Ignite) by Jodi Linton Page A

a nice day, Luke.”
    Together, he and I turned and started to walk toward our cars when Luke hollered, “Hey, I almost forgot to give these to you.” He ran over and placed a pair of tickets in my hand, sweeping his fingers slowly against my palm as he closed my fingers around them. “For you and Nathan for the Cattleman’s Ball this Saturday. Hope you’ll come, Laney. Wouldn’t want to miss a chance to see you all dolled up.”
    I forced a tight smile. “Thanks. But with Nathan out of town, I’ll probably skip the lovely event.”
    Luke tugged at his back pocket. “Here,” he said, handing a ticket to Gunner, “you didn’t think I’d leave an old friend out.”
    Gunner took the ticket and stuffed it in his pocket. Luke pushed his sunglasses back up and headed to his truck. He’d always been a cocky son of a gun, and I should have known better than to come to this interview with Gunner, who had flung open my car door and took a step to block me getting in.
    His eyes on me were narrow and furious. “Laney, were you and Luke ever cozy?”
    “What? Me and Luke cozy?” I stammered. “Uh… no…?”
    “That’s what I thought,” he said, moving out of my way. “I’ll see you back at the station.”
    I sat still for a second until I started breathing again. This was what I’d wanted, right? To have Gunner Wilson lose interest in me. But it hurt like the dickens. The way he’d looked at me, seeing straight through my lie. One drunken night with Luke—that I didn’t quite remember—was the only luxury I’d awarded myself until Nathan. But that luxury had just imploded faster than a two dollar hooker takes to her knees.
    …
    I pulled up outside the Filler-Up, the only gas station in town. I swiped my sheriff department Visa, got the pump running, and headed inside. I grabbed an Almond Joy and a bottle of Dr Pepper, told the clerk to add it to the gas bill, and went back outside to put away the pump. Afterwards, I sat behind the wheel, running through my head any plausible explanation as to why Luke hadn’t just confronted Bosley when the old coot came out to Four Spurs that night. Nothing came to mind that made sense—unless Luke was flat out lying, and I didn’t think he was. He, Gunner, and I had known each other a long time, and we each had our “tells”. Including the one that sorry, old shit Mitch Wagner had let from his evil lips. I thumped my forehead. What the hell was the matter with me? I had a good man. I sure as shit didn’t need those other two horse’s behinds making my libido crazy in the bargain—especially not when I had the biggest case of my sorry-ass law enforcement career to solve. Still…
    I leaned forward and popped my tits up, ruffled my hair, and added an extra layer of lipstick to my chapped lips. A little damage control never hurt anybody, and I was a lot overdrawn on good will at the moment.
    When I reached the station, I tore open the Almond Joy and managed to scarf down both bars before I killed the engine. I flipped the tab on the Dr Pepper and took a giant slug, letting the cold, sweet carbonation sink to my gut. Feeling much better, even though I now felt the need to do some crunches, I swung my door open and stepped out onto the burning street. After taking a second to glare at Gunner’s Yukon by the curb, I lugged my body inside. The front office was empty, and I didn’t see Gunner waiting around anywhere. My eyes began to twitch at the nagging pounding my head. Something felt seriously off.
    Hand on my gun—just in case—I went that way, rounding the corner to find Gunner slumped in a chair, hat pulled over his eyes. He wasn’t moving. I took a step forward and heard my boot crunch on top of a fast food wrapper. Damn it. Did Elroy never pick up his trash?
    The Texas Ranger’s head shot up. He pulled his hat back, showing me his unhappy brown eyes. “Laney, you might want to stay put.”
    I slid my hand off my gun. “And why is that?”
    He stood and