Texas Hunt by Barb Han

almost overwhelming need to touch her. He shouldn’t want to be her comfort. And yet she’d trusted him with a secret that she’d kept inside for more than fifteen years.
    So much made sense about her past and present behavior to him now. Scars were still fresh with no way to heal them. He couldn’t imagine how she could ever trust a man again. That look he’d seen in her eyes, the one that said she never would, made him realize she needed a friend more than ever now.
    Yes, a very big part of him wanted to march out the door and arrive in Beckett’s yard, unannounced, and then show him just how it felt to be afraid.
    With her settled on his chest, his arm around her, he could feel her trembling. If that didn’t make a man want justice, nothing would.
    Act on it and Ryan would be the one tossed in jail while Beckett enjoyed his freedom. Lisa’s family would be left unprotected. She was too frightened to confide in anyone else and if what she said about her father was true, then the Alcorns were far more dangerous than anyone realized. The town was still reeling from the fact that Charles Alcorn might have been involved in the abductions in the first place.
    Ryan had personal reason to dislike the family. It was high time others saw the Alcorns in the same light he did.
    What’s done in darkness always comes to light.
    Those bastards needed to pay.
    Lisa tilted her head up and he could see an emotion behind her eyes that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
    Ryan kissed her forehead and refocused.
    â€œWe’ll figure this out. In the meantime, I want you by my side at all times,” he said. Without evidence, her case would be a hard sell. Not to mention that he’d hate to open her up for public scrutiny. It didn’t matter that she was a kindergarten teacher now. Her painful youth would be dug up, chewed on and spit out. She was strong, but no one deserved to be treated like that.
    â€œI don’t want to interfere in your life.” She sat up, looking a mixture of exhausted and relieved. “You have a job.”
    â€œIt’s fine. Taking time off when I want is one of the benefits of owning a business.”
    She’d been there through the weekend, so he’d think that he’d get used to her being around. Yet every time she entered a room his body reacted. Her being at his place was right on too many levels and he told himself that it had been far too long since he’d gone on a real date with a woman who held his interest.
    Or maybe it was just companionship he missed. If he was being honest, his house had had an empty quality to it before Lisa showed up. He hadn’t paid much attention to it before but he was already dreading the day she would leave.
    Being with Lisa 24/7 made Ryan realize how lonely he’d been up until now. When this whole ordeal was behind them, it might be time to swing by the animal shelter and pick up man’s best friend, he conceded.
    Until then, he needed all his attention on this case. He cursed himself for not realizing sooner the depth of what was going on with Lisa. She’d been scared to death at the hospital. She’d checked the door every few seconds. He’d brought her to his home and she immediately made him promise to lock the doors and close and lock all the windows.
    â€œTry to get some rest. We’ll leave in the morning.”
    Lisa leaned her head against his shoulder and he tried not to think about the citrus shampoo that smelled so good on her. Instead, he focused on the facts so far. While Lisa was healing the rest of the town was on alert to locate Charles Alcorn. The man who was wanted for questioning, believed to be the Mason Ridge Abductor, had disappeared. But where?
    Given Alcorn’s considerable resources, he could be anywhere. Ryan couldn’t rule out the fact that Alcorn might be out of the country by now, too. If Ryan found Charles, would he be able to find Beckett?