Colton's Lethal Reunion (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

Like she’d known the second she’d seen Odin standing at the opening to that mine—she had him, at long last.

* * *

Rafe asked for his keys and was glad when Kerry handed them over to him without an argument as one of the chief’s officers arrived and drove them back to his truck. Dane had taken their prisoner into jail in the back of James’s patrol car, as the chief was staying at the mine until ATF could get there and take possession of the drugs and weapons stashed inside it.

“I have to go into the station” were her first words to him once they were alone. Her first words to him period, other than asking him if he was all right.

He got it. She was working the scene. Had a job to do. Protocol to follow.

And she was avoiding...them.

It wasn’t up to her to understand, or care, that he was still shaking from having shot at someone for the first time in his life. If he’d gone right, even a fraction...

“I’ve got reports to write.”

“You can shower first. Clean up.”

“I already showered this morning and I’m fine,” she told him.

“Your Jeep is at your place.”

“Lizzie can run me home at lunch. Seriously, Rafe, I get that this morning was out of the norm for you and it’s not like I’m facing down guns on a regular basis, but this is my job. This is what I do. And now I have to go write it up. Besides, if you think I’m going to miss one second of Odin Rogers’s interrogation...”

She was fired up. And covering up, too. She wouldn’t look at him. Didn’t even seem to see him, other than as the body that had helped get his truck out of the mud and was now driving the vehicle them both back to town.

While he was needing her. And he needed to say things to her.

“You’ll need to come in, too,” she said. “Long enough to give a statement. Not to me. You’ll need to speak with Dane. I’ll make sure he gets to you first so you can get on to your day.”

So saying, she picked up her phone, dialed and was clearly speaking to her f

ellow detective as she gave her location and arranged to have Rafe present and ready for questioning in twenty minutes. About the time it was going to take for them to get to the station, park and get inside.

Not a minute to spare.

Without speaking to him first about it. As though she was the boss.

Which, he had to acknowledge, she probably was. He’d jumped into the investigation. He’d shot a man’s finger off. Realizing that Kerry was taking care of him as well as doing her job, he sat back and drove her into town.

Mustang Valley Boulevard was coming to life as he pulled into town and it was odd to think that a lot of people were just having breakfast. He felt as though he’d lived a day and a half, at least, since he’d rolled out of bed that morning.

When he parked in a visitor’s slot at the police station, Kerry reached for the door handle immediately, but he held her back with a hand on her arm. She stilled, sitting there, staring toward the dash.

He waited until she looked him in the eye.

“We aren’t done yet,” he said. “If nothing else we have to figure out how we go back to coexisting in the same town and stay away from each other.” If nothing else. But there was something else. He just needed a minute to figure out what it was. And what to do with it.

She pursed her lips, her chin tight. But, still looking at him, finally nodded.

He couldn’t stop staring at her. Couldn’t stop the flood of gratitude that she’d made it off the mountain without injury.

“Congratulations, Ker, you got him,” he said, all the love he felt for the woman pouring out in his voice.

Her lower lip started to tremble and she bit it. Nodded, and got out of the truck.

Rafe followed her inside.

* * *