In Her Sights by Robin Perini Read Free Book Online Page B

asked her later if she missed her family, but she’d shut him out—again. It had been the beginning of the end of their relationship. A few days later, she’d walked out.
    “Why are you doing this?” she challenged. “My past, and my future for that matter, are none of your business.”
    “As a journalist, the truth is my business. Why are you lying to me?”
    She shifted and the tension emanating from her rose. “I haven’t lied. I am Jazz Parker.”
    “You were Jane Sanford.” Luke leaned forward. “What happened to you? Why would a fifteen-year-old change her name? What’s so scandalous that Brian Tower thinks he can use it to bring you down? Or maybe there’s more to this than just your past? Like something going on in the sheriff’s office right now?”
    “You think I’m corrupt? I would never dishonor my badge. My job is what I live for.”
    “Would you do anything to protect your career? Like Derek did anything to protect himself and his father?” He grasped her shoulders and forced her to face him. “Trust me. Tell me the truth.”
    Scorn colored her expression. “Why should I? So you can do to me what you did to Derek? Expose my life to the world? He pleaded with you to drop that investigation, but no, you had to keep pushing. Too bad you didn’t find out he wasn’t guilty until after he put a gun in his mouth and blew his brains out.”
    He winced at the dead-center hit. Did she think he hadn’t wondered if he could have done things differently? “He covered up his father’s activities. If Derek hadn’t asked me to lie for them both, maybe we could’ve worked together to bring down the organization. He’s the one who betrayed our friendship. He knew what happened to my unit in Afghanistan, and he lied to me anyway.”
    “He was protecting his family. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do anything for your brothers, or your daughter.”
    “Hell yes, I’d kill for them if they were in trouble. But they’d never put the innocent at risk. They’d never put me in a position to lie for them.”
    She swallowed, and her breath hitched. “Then you’re lucky.”
    A vulnerability Luke had never seen before washed over her before she pushed it back with palpable force. She shoved her hand into her pocket. He recognized the instinct. Had seen it more times than he cared to remember, and he’d never clued in on the real vulnerability the small act revealed. Going for a comfort fix, Luke realized. Her hand shook as she pulled out the roll of butter rum Life Savers. In her nervousness, the candy dropped to the floor.
    “Great.” She knelt down to pick it up, but Luke hunkered beside her and reached for the sweet. Their hands touched.
    Luke’s nerves tingled with awareness. He knew she was hiding something more than her name, but her secrets didn’t smother his desire for her. The scent of the herbal shampoo he remembered so well curled its tentacles around him. His body hardened, his heart pounded. The first time he’d met her he’d wanted her then and there. Nothing had changed. He knew the strength of her—and the accompanying softness. All this enticement he could have handled, but when her breath caught in an answering pull to his nearness, his treacherous body couldn’t deny the attraction.
    A flash of panic crossed her face, but Luke had seen enough.
    “Why don’t you just leave?” The slight quiver in her voice revealed more than she would ever admit.
    “I don’t want to leave.”
    He gripped her fingers, entwining his with hers, and squeezed. He saw the moment she recognized his desire. Her breath caught and she drew her hand from him.
    She rose, shaking her head. “No, Luke. It’s a bad idea. We’re better off leaving the past alone. I’ve moved on and so have you.”
    “It’s a very bad idea.” As if pulled by an invisible rope, he closed the remaining distance between them and grasped her arms, tugging her against him, her body fragile and defenseless against his