Taming Deputy Harlow

Chapter 2

Holding the Neville case file binder, Reese followed the receptionist through the cubicles to an office on the far side. At the door, the slender woman let her pass. She caught the name sign and grew confused until she spotted two men standing in the middle of a seating area, waiting for her. She hadn’t expected two detectives. Both big men, the one with sexy blue eyes and short black hair captured her attention first.

What was Captain America with dark hair doing in Rock Springs, Wyoming? He stood with his hands at his sides, tall and unflinching, rippling muscles beneath a tight Henley shirt tucked into black jeans. This must be his office. Apparently he ignored company dress code. He seemed out of place in such elegant surroundings. Something more rugged would suit him better, like a battleship or a city riot. She gobbled up the sight of him, so hardened and forbiddingly handsome.

Why did he magnetize her so completely? He wasn’t even wearing a cowboy hat. She’d have thought a man more country than him would be the one to catch her eye as undeniably as this man had.

The receptionist closed the door, jolting Reese out of her sudden affliction of man hunger. She looked to the man next to him and recognized him instantly. Kadin. Her father.

Her heart beat so heavily a lump formed in her throat.

You’re here to explain the case...

She cleared her throat and swallowed. “Um, hello.” She stepped forward, tripped on her shoe heel and had to take a few extra quick steps to catch her balance, nearly dropping the binder. She’d worn her only suit jacket and skirt today, gray with a white blouse underneath.

The man beside Kadin reached out for her at the same time he moved toward her. But she caught her balance before he touched her.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

His deep, raspy voice transfixed her. She melted into his blue eyes. “Y-yes.” Feeling as though her breathy, stuttering answer revealed too much, Reese fought a flush and turned to Kadin with an outstretched hand. “I’m Reese Harlow.”

“The deputy sheriff from...?” Kadin shook her hand.

She found herself transfixed again, this time for different reasons. Now she studied her biological father. The hugeness of the secret she carried pushed her awkwardness away. She looked for similarities. He must be where she got her five-nine height from. Other than that, she didn’t see much resemblance.

“Never Summer, Colorado, which is in Ute County,” she finally said, trying to gather the rest of her wits.

Kadin smiled politely. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“Not many have. It’s a small mountain town in southwestern Colorado.”

“Ah. I have detectives from that area.” He turned to the other man. “This is Jamie Knox, my new security officer. Today is his first day on board.”

Reese reluctantly moved her gaze to him. Immediate smoldering attraction swept over her. “Mr. Knox.” She sounded all breathy again.

His mouth rose with a hint of licentiousness and his incredibly blue eyes reacted in kind. “Please—Jamie. What brings you to DAI? You said it was something personal?”

She’d said that to get Kadin’s attention. She hadn’t lied. She had a whopper of a personal reason for being here. “A murder. Isn’t that what brings everyone here?” She laughed at her attempt to be funny, wondering if she sounded as nervous as she thought.

While Kadin eyed her with some suspicion, Jamie’s smile expanded ever so slightly. “Why don’t we have a seat?”

Having to pass him to sit down, she fed on the sight of his muscled chest and felt tingly as she sat on the sofa.

Eyeing Jamie, Kadin sat on a chair across from her. Jamie boldly lowered his big, sexy body next to her, eyes still glinting.

“What about this murder that brought you all the way here, Ms. Harlow?” Kadin asked.

“You can call me Reese,” she said. “I learned of your agency and, given the length of time that’s passed in my case, I thought you’d be able to help me more than anyone else.” She placed the binder containing copies of everything on the Neville case on the coffee table. “That’s why I’ve taken a personal interest.”

Kadin slid the binder toward him and began flipping through pages.

She didn’t have to read along with him. She knew what it said. The coroner’s report stated the inspector arrived at the scene and noted the time. The weather was indicated as sixty-one degrees, along with the humidity and position, location and condition of the body. Lifeless. Female in her twenties. Injuries on the body indicated the victim had died prior to her tumble down the embankment. Fully clothed in a big-collared, long-sleeved, sapphire-blue, knee-length shirtwaist dress with big white buttons up the front. Dirt collected from the fibers had come from the slope. Ligature marks on the neck indicated strangulation as the cause of death. Rigor mortis had been established throughout the body. Estimated time of death was twelve to fourteen hours prior to the coroner’s examination.

Notes on the crime scene indicated tire tracks on the side of the road—both from a driver with a flat tire and another vehicle. The tires may have been from a 1973 Volkswagen Passat. Photos were taken of the body and the surrounding area, including the slope up to the road.

The first sheriff’s follow-up report said he hadn’t done any extra testing on the evidence. The second sheriff in office looked into the case and questioned more residents, particularly hotel and motel staff. One witness had reported seeing a blue Passat but couldn’t identify the driver, including whether it was a man or woman. The second sheriff had looked into the case again in the early 1990s and that had been the last time anyone had paid any attention to Ella Neville’s murder.

While Kadin read, she stole a look at Jamie, catching his eyes doing a roam up her legs and slowly lifting to her chest and then finally her face. He grinned ever so slightly and made her feel a fresh burst of delighted tingles.

When she turned back to Kadin, she saw he’d finished and now observed them.

She cleared her throat. “As I’m sure you’ve ascertained from the report, no one knows what became of Ella after she closed the library. She never showed up to her husband’s work-related dinner party. Less than twenty-four hours later, a man with a flat tire saw her body and called the police. The evidence is limited. There were tire tracks and not much else. Lots of pictures. Her clothes and shoes were bagged correctly, each labeled Dress, Underwear, Pantyhose and Bra.”

“How were they rebagged?” Kadin asked.

Relieved that he’d dismissed her and Jamie’s steamy moment, she said, “Not taken out of their original packaging, just sealed better from what I can tell. I sent the clothes to a lab.”

“Good thinking. Can you stop them from going to your lab?” Kadin asked.

Taken aback, she recalled her conversation with Margaret. “I think so, our office manager said she’d take them Monday when she runs her other errands.”

“Send them to me. I have a lab that will do the best job. If there’s trace evidence, they’ll find it, and if anything has been contaminated, they’ll know how to handle it.”

“All right.” But Reese felt suddenly cornered. This could be the beginning of a connection and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that. Plus, he had a take-charge attitude. Would giving him her evidence be wise? Yes, for the case, but maybe not so much for her.

“This case is very cold,” Kadin said, probably picking up on her hesitation. “You need all the expert help you can get if you want to solve it.”

She did want to solve it. How badly began to take over. If she had to have an extended relationship with Kadin to do that, she would. But why did he offer to help? Was it passion for what he did—avenge victims of heinous crimes? Or did he sense something in her? Her personal reason for coming...?

He looked over more of the pages, coming to the pictures and taking special time to go through those. In the lapse in talk, she slid a glance toward Jamie and caught him checking her out again, sending more delicious tingles fluttering through her. He looked younger than Kadin but not by much. Kadin had to be well into his forties. She’d put Jamie at around thirty-one. Of all the things she imagined would happen while she was here, meeting a hunk wasn’t one of them.

“Have you talked with any neighbors or family and friends—if any are still alive?”

Reese turned back to Kadin. “There is no family.” Jeffrey had no living relatives and the report said Ella had no family, either. That had come from talking to neighbors and friends, who’d claimed Ella had told them she had none.

“Pay particular attention to the husband. Nine times out of ten, they’re the killer.”

“Not Jeffrey.” She couldn’t even picture him holding a rope around someone’s neck. “He was the most harmless man I’ve ever met.”

“The most demented ones usually seem that way,” Jamie said. “They’re good at blending into society, even to the point of being likable. Take human traffickers for example. They lure innocent foreigners to the US with the promise of honest work and force them into slave labor, or worse.”

He seemed to have firsthand experience with that kind of person. “But...what if he’s as innocent as he seems?”

“You said his wife was supposed to meet him at a dinner party,” Kadin said.

“Yes.”

“Sounds like a perfect alibi to me.”

Too perfect. What he implied hit her. No one had considered Jeffrey had gone to the dinner party on purpose, knowing his wife would close the library alone, knowing she’d never show up for dinner.

“Forget what a quiet, nice man Jeffrey appeared to be and look into any motive he may have had to kill her.”

Reese thought of the hidden money. “My God.”

“Already know of something?”

“The carpenters doing the renovations on my house found some money hidden under the floorboards of my bedroom. That’s how I learned of the murder. Jeffrey and Ella lived there. Jeffrey lived there until he died two years ago. If he killed his wife over the money, why hide it?”

“Maybe he didn’t know where it was.”

“Obviously, he didn’t. So, why kill her before knowing?”

“You must be a good deputy,” Kadin said. “Those are all the questions I’d ask. The key is asking them all, no matter how unlikely the motive seems. Even if he knew of the money, that could be enough motive. He may not have found it, that’s all. People have killed for less.”

She glowed and felt strange for doing so, because the way he instructed her felt like father-daughter advice. He shared from his vast experience. That she appreciated, but seeing him as a father figure gave her a panicky feeling. She did not want to be close with her biological father, did she? How drastically would that change her life? Her plans?

She had parents. Biological parents she didn’t even know couldn’t take their place. And she had plans of her own for her future. She was just curious. That’s all. Besides, her life had no room for obligatory relationships.

She uncrossed her legs and switched to her left one on top, a movement Jamie caught with manly appreciation, much more pleasant than her uncertainty over Kadin and what he represented.

“Let me have some more time with these documents,” Kadin said. “How long are you in town?”

“Just for the night. I have a flight late tomorrow afternoon.”

“Good. Let’s meet in the morning. Do you have a car?”

“I took a cab.”

“I’ll have one of my drivers take you to wherever you need to go, and to the airport tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” She felt special. He had drivers and cars. This operation was much more sophisticated than she thought. She glanced at Jamie, and he was the new security officer. A truly capable-looking man, if one judged by form. Few, if any, could likely overpower him. If the intelligence in his eyes was any indication, few, if any, would outsmart him, either.

Turning back to Kadin, she saw him take note of their exchange again and grew flustered.

“I should get going.” She stood.

Jamie stood right after her, and his looming body, even against her height, stimulated her pheromones.

“I’ll leave you two to...whatever it is you’re doing.” Kadin eyed them, teasing, as he stood.

She faced him, smoothing her shirt even though it needed no smoothing. “What time tomorrow?”

“Whenever you get here. I’ll clear my schedule. It’s not every day I get a forty-year-old murder case.”

She smiled back, feeling his passion for solving cases, especially those that didn’t haunt him. He’d offered to help for that reason, and that reason alone. He hadn’t picked up on any father-daughter vibes.

“Good to meet you, Reese.”

She shook his hand. “You, too.” She watched him leave and then the energy in the office changed. She was alone with this hot, sexy man. His presence engulfed her senses. If she touched him he’d burn her.

Where had this instant attraction come from? Was it the slope of his nose, the line of his jaw? His tall, muscular build? Or was it what she’d seen in his eyes? He was intelligent, yes, but he also exuded uncrushable confidence. Most likely what aroused her was the entire package. He physically stimulated and mentally intrigued her.

“Will you join me for dinner tonight?” he asked.

What an irresistible invitation. His lightness in flirting with her contrasted sharply with darkness lurking somewhere behind his magnetizing eyes. His mystery drew her as much as his physical perfection. How could she refuse? She wouldn’t. Dinner with him excited her.

“I’ll meet you in the Butte Hotel lobby at six. There’s a restaurant there,” she said.

“There’s also a restaurant across the street. I’ll meet you in the lobby and then we can walk there together.”

She’d seen that restaurant, the nicest one in Rock Springs. And something about him made her feel free to say, “Looking forward to it.”

A man like him wouldn’t fence her in. She had no desire for commitment at this point in her life. Their geographical distance assured her he’d be a pleasant encounter and nothing more.

* * *

Jamie wasn’t prepared for Reese in a dress. She emerged from the elevator with a jacket draped over her arm, blond hair up in a stylish bun and a light application of makeup accentuating her golden-brown eyes. She’d had her hair in a ponytail earlier. The black sleeveless jersey dress flared from the waist down and swayed as she walked toward him in spiky ankle boots. The modest bodice covered her chest to the rounded neckline. A simple silver cuff bracelet and silver hoop earrings finished the outfit. But he didn’t pay much heed to that. He’d like to get her hair down and see her only in those boots. He might let her wear the bracelet.

She stopped before him with a coquettish look.

“You look beautiful.” He had to say it. She did. And he was glad he’d worn a suit and tie.

Her luscious mouth curved in a smile. “I went shopping. I didn’t pack for a date.”

He offered his elbow, unable to stop looking at her.

She slipped into her jacket and then slid her hand under his elbow and onto his forearm.

Jamie’s blood heated as he walked with her across the street to the steak house. He couldn’t tell if his eagerness to start fresh with a normal life overshadowed his attraction to her. The first encounter with her had sizzled with chemistry. She’d felt it, too. He had seen it in her eyes. But he’d be making a mistake if he grabbed the first beautiful woman to step into his life if it turned out later she wasn’t The One.

With Dexter Watts dead, Jamie had no further obligation to Stankovich—the terms of his service were complete. Valdemar may not see it the same way, but Jamie had done all he’d asked, and Jamie had ensured his nemesis had nothing more to hold over him. That part of his life was over. He looked forward to the next part, the best part, but he intended to get it right this time.

His days of pushing the envelope and working for the wrong people were over. He’d take his life back working for Kadin, a good man with an honorable cause. He could still travel and see the world the way he loved, but he’d have his integrity intact. And a family with the right woman.

He didn’t know if Reese would be part of that journey. It sure felt promising, though.

“How does a town get the name Never Summer?” he asked as he opened the door for her.

“It’s surrounded by fourteen-thousand-foot mountains.” She stopped inside the restaurant lobby. “And ten thousand feet above sea level doesn’t allow for a lot of warming.”

“Why would anyone want to live in a freezer like that?” he asked while they waited for the hostess to greet them.

“The beauty. The silence.” She sounded matter-of-fact. But then she softened as she thought further. “The smell of snow falling through a forest of coniferous trees, the wildflowers in summer and that first dampening of mountain soil.” Her eyes raised heavenward as she drifted, inhaling as though smelling the mountain air right now. “The air is so cool and crisp and fresh after a big snow.” She breathed in again, eyes closed.

He couldn’t stop an erotic image of her.

At last, she lowered her gaze to look at him. “Cities are stressful.”

He grunted because he had the exact opposite feeling toward cities. Cities comforted him the way her chilly, remote mountain hideaway did her. “I still don’t see the reason for the name Never Summer.”

“We have a summer but it never really gets hot. Mid-July to maybe early September are the warmest.”

That sounded more stressful to him than cities.

“Right this way,” the hostess said.

At their table, Jamie pulled out the chair for Reese, unable to recall the last time he’d done this for a woman. Long before the military. The girl after high school. He’d broken up with her to join the Army.

She smiled up at him, seeming to enjoy this as much as he was. The first date. The excitement of meeting someone who hit the mark. Or maybe he misread her. She did live in Colorado and his office was here in Wyoming. If she was all he felt she could be, then she was worth risking a long-distance affair for a while. He’d worry about logistics later.

He sat across from her. They spent the first few minutes in small talk, reading the menu, giving the waiter their order. The wine came and they sipped.

The air between them hummed electrically whenever their eyes met, as they connected on a subliminal level. He almost couldn’t bare the intense physical attraction and suspected she struggled with the same affliction. While he knew what he’d do with that magic, he didn’t think she’d be ready this fast. Besides, creating his new life would take time. He wouldn’t rush into it like he did his job with Aesir.

“So...deputy sheriff, huh?” he asked, breaking the silence. Just how serious was she about devoting a lifetime to Never Summer?