Tribal Law by Jenna Kernan

And he just sat there like a chunk of wood, wishing he could take her in his arms. Knowing what would happen if he did.
    She reached out and he clasped her cold hand, his thumb rubbing over her knuckles. Her fingers were smooth and elegant, and devoid of the wedding band he had promised her. The lump in his throat moved to his heart.
    This touch was not sexual and yet, somehow, it felt more important. They’d always had the physical attraction. Fierce and alive as an electrical storm. And for a while they’d had the intimacy, too. But that had all changed after her father’s arrest. How he missed it. Being able to tell her everything, anything, and knowing what she was feeling, too.
    Had he lost that because of his job or because of her father?
    Selena spoke again, her voice intimate in the closed compartment. “Andre invited me to the funeral on Saturday.”
    â€œWill you go?” Gabe asked, resisting the urge to bring her soft fingertips to his lips. What would he give to have her run her fingers over his face and through his hair?
    â€œOf course. And he told me you’ll be speaking.”
    Gabe felt a stab of sorrow slicing through his middle.
    â€œI’ve never given a eulogy before.”
    He’d never needed to. Dante Chee was the first of his men to be killed in the line of duty.
    She brushed her thumb over the back of his hand. “You’ll be wonderful.”
    He didn’t remind her that he wasn’t the family orator. That was Clyne.
    â€œI’d rather be locking up his killers.” Though it seemed that the two gang members who had been killed tonight might be the shooters. A preliminary check indicated the footwear worn by Nota and the second man might be a match. If their shoe treads and the tracks at the site of the body dump were the same, the police might right now be zipping Chee’s killers into body bags. Too good for them, he decided.
    â€œAndre told me they still don’t know who killed his brother.”
    â€œWe’ve got some leads.” He said nothing else.
    She cast him a sidelong glance. Was she waiting for him to say more? He had always avoided speaking about his police work with Selena. Up until today, he had believed he was protecting her from the darker side of his profession. Now it felt more as if he was just shutting her out.
    Back when he had discovered what her father had been doing with his delivery truck, he’d been very glad that he’d never divulged anything that might have compromised an investigation. Could he have been using his job as a way to keep Selena from getting too close?
    Gabe shifted uncomfortably. He glanced over to see her staring out at her house.
    Could his silence feel like distrust to her?
    Selena had stopped stroking his hand. His gaze snapped back to her. She studied him with her brows raised and he scowled.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œNothing.” Her hand slipped from his and she turned away, staring out at the snow that glistened under starlight.
    Gabe glanced at Nota’s car parked beside her sister Mia’s box truck and then at the empty place where Selena’s truck should now be parked. She had no truck for tomorrow’s run.
    â€œI know you’ll find Dante Chee’s murderer,” she said, her voice filled with a sort of world weariness. “You never let anything stand between you and an investigation.”
    And that included her. They both knew it.
    â€œWhat will you do tomorrow?” he asked, pointing at the place her truck should be.
    â€œI’ll take Mia’s truck. She’ll have to wait until I get back. We did it that way for a long time, remember?”
    He did.
    She glanced toward the front door. His heartbeat accelerated. He wanted to keep her here, if only for a moment more. Every moment with Selena was worth the pain that came afterward, when he was without her again.
    â€œMy little sister might be visiting soon,” he blurted.
    Her