Colton's Lethal Reunion (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

Dane was wearing a tie, too, but his knots were always loose, leaving room for an open top button. “I want you under protection, at least for tonight,” he said to Rafe. “Here in town, if at all possible. You tell me where you’ll be and I’ll send a car.”

Rafe shook his head. He was a free man. He’d done nothing wrong. He had a choice. And...

“He can stay at my place,” Kerry blurted. “He’s already been with me the past two nights...”

She’d promised herself when he left her home that morning he wouldn’t step back inside, but that was before someone had tried to shoot him.

Not them. Him. Not up on the mountain. But on his way home. It was getting personal.

“I don’t know, Kerry,” Dane said. “If he’s going to bunk with someone, James might be better...”

“Why, because he’s a guy and I’m a woman?” she asked, quick to anger. Quick to everything these days, apparently. “Like no one ever has guys sitting in a safe house guarding women in jeopardy?”

“Excuse me,” Rafe interrupted. “I’m sitting right here. I think I can decide what protection I need and how to keep myself safe.”

Right. Her point to begin with. Before she’d gone and tried to control the situation. He was the one in charge of his welfare.

“I agree with Dane. You need the protection, Rafe,” she said before he could refuse, before her feelings could be hurt that it seemed like he didn’t want to be at her house as badly as she wanted him there. “At this point we have no idea what’s going on. Until now, the only real danger has been when we’ve been up on the mountain. This...following you out of town, or worse, sitting in wait for you to head out to the ranch...we can’t be sure this is even related to Tyler’s death, Odin Rogers, any of it. For all we know, it could have something to do with whoever shot Payne. You really need to stay in town. And you need protection.”

“I can pay for my own protection,” he said, and she let out a breath, glad to know he wasn’t arguing his need for it. And hurt that he didn’t want her services.

Hurt, because she was a confused mess where he was concerned.

And then she remembered. “You already told me once that you’d hire your own protection,” she said. “If you did, they’ve failed miserably...”

“I didn’t. But I will.”

“Now? Tonight?” Why was she fighting so hard to have him at her house? She knew what would happen. And knew that she was only creating more heartache for the future.

“Probably,” he said, bowed his head and then glanced at both of them. “I’d rather wait until morning,” he said. “I have a guy who has people on call, but I just told him this morning I didn’t need anyone. And I’m hoping by morning we’ll realize it’s not necessary. None of my other siblings have watchdogs on them at the moment.”

“None of your other siblings have been warned away or shot at recently. But you’re right, we’ll probably know more in the morning,” Dane allowed. They had the ranger’s autopsy r

esults. His death had been ruled a homicide. There’d been very clear pressure applied to his throat at or about the time of death, pressure, not a blunt force blow sustained in a fall. But enough to render him incapable of calling out or fighting much if he was being backed up to a mountain ledge. These were all things she had to tell Rafe.

Because he was helping her investigate Tyler’s death.

Because her brother had most likely suffered the same fate.

“We got a partial fingerprint that we’ve sent for identification and to be run through databases,” was all Dane said about it.

If they knew who’d pushed the ranger, they could bring him in. And maybe it could all just be over if the print came back belonging to Odin Rogers. Or whoever it came back to rolled on Odin Rogers. Or if the criminal was just plain guilty and Odin was no more than the greasy snake many of them thought him to be.

“And they might find the guy who took a shot at you. There aren’t that many ways off that road, and the state police know the area. If nothing else, we might get something on the bullets that will link us to the shots fired at you two on the mountain,” Dane added. “So definitely, for tonight at least, it’s best that you stay in town.”

“I was going to say that I’d like to accept Detective Wilder’s invitation to stay at her place,” Rafe said, glancing at her, briefly, and then looked back at Dane. “We’ve been at this a few days already and it would be less awkward,” he said.

“As long as you’re sure you don’t mind a guest for one more night?” He looked at her fully then, and there was nothing at all untoward in the glance; nothing that Dane could ever intercept or interpret in any way inappropriate.

But as she assured both men that she was just doing her job and happy to be able to help, she knew what Rafe had been asking.

And what she’d just agreed to.

He’d given his word that he wouldn’t ask her to make love with him again. But if she invited him home, all bets were off.

At least that was the translation she understood.

* * *