shell. Fully formed and fully lovely.
His stomach tightened on a hard knot of need and he willed it back, refusing to allow it any more control over his thoughts.
This was a case.
A
job
.
And he couldn’t afford to lose sight of that.
Voice gruffer than he intended, he returned to the morning’s incident. “Who knows the stable’s open?”
Landry’s eyes widened slightly, but if she sensed a shift in the conversation, she said nothing. “Everyone, I guess. But it’s not like the property’s open. You can’t just stroll through the front gates.”
“The ranch is nearly 200 acres. All someone needs is determination and a bit of patience and I’d wager they don’t need to use the front gates. An old line of fence or a thick copse of trees and someone could get through.”
“Which is why we keep track of the main perimeter of the house and stables, as well.”
“The stables, too?”
“Of course. We have hundreds of thousands of dollars of horseflesh in there, not to mention top-of-the-line equipment.”
“Do you have video equipment? Eyes on the stables?”
“Yes. It all feeds into the main security system in the house.”
He cursed himself for not thinking of it immediately. His thoughts had been so full of Landry while they were still in the barn that he hadn’t even looked at the situation through the eyes of a trained operative.
With a hard, swift slap, the same shame he’d known at his failure to protect Rena rose up to knock him down. He was already on leave for one failed attempt at protection. Would he fail Landry, too? And by default, her aunt Kate?
The calming benefits of the hard ride vanished as reality came crashing back in.
His last case was still a disaster.
Adair Acres still held a wealth of secrets and sins.
And Landry Adair was still in terrible danger.
Chapter 8
L andry fought the urge to ignore her work in favor of pacing the small room she used as an office. But she did give herself a moment to simply sit and stare at the wall. And brood.
The room had been her play area as a child, but she’d traded dolls and stuffed animals for bookshelves and a writing desk years ago. The soft cream-colored walls, dotted with vivid prints to add splashes of color, were her sanctuary. But not today.
Maybe because you’re hiding.
Her conscience rose up to taunt her and she resolutely ignored it. She wasn’t hiding. She was doing work. Good work if the letter she was drafting to the governor would ever get written. A thank-you note for his support and the confirmation that her children’s charity had received his promised funding.
So why was her mind filled with Derek? They’d worked as partners this morning. First in the stable and then after, helping Noah calm the horses and resettle them into their routine. Even their ride had been full of carefree moments as they flew over the grounds of the ranch.
Easy.
The moments had been easy, even with the danger of the morning hanging over them. Sure, they’d need to consider all the angles around the break-in to the stable and put together a suspect list of who might be interested in doing them harm. It was tension-filled work, especially since she couldn’t dismiss those she knew completely out of hand.
But they’d agreed to partner on investigating what was happening at Adair Acres. And they had a comfortable camaraderie that was friendly enough. Pleasant, even. If the sexual tension reached up and grabbed both of them every so often, well, she could live with that.
They were working in close proximity to each other.
And then he’d gone and checked out. She’d seen it happen, too. One moment there was a deep smile reflecting from those midnight-dark eyes of his, and then the next he was shuttered and terse. All business with an edge of annoyance.
Landry searched her memory for something she might have said or done, but knew she wasn’t at fault. Whatever was going on was his problem.
So why the hell was she upset about
His stomach tightened on a hard knot of need and he willed it back, refusing to allow it any more control over his thoughts.
This was a case.
A
job
.
And he couldn’t afford to lose sight of that.
Voice gruffer than he intended, he returned to the morning’s incident. “Who knows the stable’s open?”
Landry’s eyes widened slightly, but if she sensed a shift in the conversation, she said nothing. “Everyone, I guess. But it’s not like the property’s open. You can’t just stroll through the front gates.”
“The ranch is nearly 200 acres. All someone needs is determination and a bit of patience and I’d wager they don’t need to use the front gates. An old line of fence or a thick copse of trees and someone could get through.”
“Which is why we keep track of the main perimeter of the house and stables, as well.”
“The stables, too?”
“Of course. We have hundreds of thousands of dollars of horseflesh in there, not to mention top-of-the-line equipment.”
“Do you have video equipment? Eyes on the stables?”
“Yes. It all feeds into the main security system in the house.”
He cursed himself for not thinking of it immediately. His thoughts had been so full of Landry while they were still in the barn that he hadn’t even looked at the situation through the eyes of a trained operative.
With a hard, swift slap, the same shame he’d known at his failure to protect Rena rose up to knock him down. He was already on leave for one failed attempt at protection. Would he fail Landry, too? And by default, her aunt Kate?
The calming benefits of the hard ride vanished as reality came crashing back in.
His last case was still a disaster.
Adair Acres still held a wealth of secrets and sins.
And Landry Adair was still in terrible danger.
Chapter 8
L andry fought the urge to ignore her work in favor of pacing the small room she used as an office. But she did give herself a moment to simply sit and stare at the wall. And brood.
The room had been her play area as a child, but she’d traded dolls and stuffed animals for bookshelves and a writing desk years ago. The soft cream-colored walls, dotted with vivid prints to add splashes of color, were her sanctuary. But not today.
Maybe because you’re hiding.
Her conscience rose up to taunt her and she resolutely ignored it. She wasn’t hiding. She was doing work. Good work if the letter she was drafting to the governor would ever get written. A thank-you note for his support and the confirmation that her children’s charity had received his promised funding.
So why was her mind filled with Derek? They’d worked as partners this morning. First in the stable and then after, helping Noah calm the horses and resettle them into their routine. Even their ride had been full of carefree moments as they flew over the grounds of the ranch.
Easy.
The moments had been easy, even with the danger of the morning hanging over them. Sure, they’d need to consider all the angles around the break-in to the stable and put together a suspect list of who might be interested in doing them harm. It was tension-filled work, especially since she couldn’t dismiss those she knew completely out of hand.
But they’d agreed to partner on investigating what was happening at Adair Acres. And they had a comfortable camaraderie that was friendly enough. Pleasant, even. If the sexual tension reached up and grabbed both of them every so often, well, she could live with that.
They were working in close proximity to each other.
And then he’d gone and checked out. She’d seen it happen, too. One moment there was a deep smile reflecting from those midnight-dark eyes of his, and then the next he was shuttered and terse. All business with an edge of annoyance.
Landry searched her memory for something she might have said or done, but knew she wasn’t at fault. Whatever was going on was his problem.
So why the hell was she upset about
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