Just This Once, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge #3) by J.H. Croix Read Free Book Online Page B

headed his direction,” Jo said as Aidan started to walk past her desk to the door that led into the rest of the lower floor, which was mostly offices, in addition to an in-house gym. Aidan worked out daily with weights and alternated with running, biking and swimming. He wanted his security staff in tip-top shape, so he made it easy for them by offering the gym on site. It was busy morning and evening.
    He passed his own office and headed down a short hall to Dale Cooper’s office. As soon as he tapped his knuckles on the door, Dale’s voice filtered through. “Come on in!”
    Aidan stepped inside and shut the door before leaning his hip against Dale’s desk. “Jo said you wanted to check in. What’s up?”
    Dale finished typing something on his keyboard and swiveled his chair to face Aidan. Dale was an ex-Marine and looked the part. He kept his brown hair close-cropped and dressed in identical clothes daily. In the world of private security, that meant a black suit. His brown eyes were serious when he met Aidan’s gaze. “Right. Remember a while back when we heard about that perp who was threatening attorneys and making life hell for his ex after she didn’t back down from an assault charge?”
    Aidan nodded slowly, concern weaving into his thoughts. He’d warned Becca about this same guy at the time because she was the prosecuting attorney. Though she’d gotten annoyed with him at first, she’d later called him to check in and had tolerated him adding an extra security guy at the courthouse to keep an eye on her office and monitor her apartment building after hours. “Did something change? Last we heard, his girlfriend dropped the charges and that was that.”
    Dale leaned back in his chair and idly tossed a tennis ball he kept on his desk. “That was the latest status. He got arrested again this weekend and is making all kinds of noise about going after the current attorney handling it.”
    “Can’t be Becca. She was out of town this weekend.”
    Dale shook his head. “Nope. Lloyd Russell’s dealing with the new charges. Unlucky draw. Anyway, thought you’d want to check in with the district attorney again.”
    “I’m handling the courthouse security this week, so I’ll stop in today.”
    Dale arched a brow, his brown eyes holding a question. Aidan’s company had been covering security for several years at the courthouse, yet he almost never covered it himself, as Dale well knew. Dale was one of several who usually covered it, so he would notice when it wasn’t on his rotation. This had been a deliberate choice on Aidan’s part because he’d needed to keep a clear distance from Becca to hold his feelings at bay. And then the other night happened. Now, all he could think was maybe, just maybe, he had a chance with her. Though it might be half-crazy on his part, he intended to make sure his path crossed with Becca’s as often as possible. Things had been left unsettled after her request the other night. He’d purposefully not mentioned it on the drive back to Seattle yesterday and figured he needed to leave it to her to take the next step.
    A tennis ball flew past Aidan’s head and bounced against the wall. Dale deftly caught it and bounced it again. Aidan watched its path before he met Dale’s gaze again. “It’s been too long since I covered that rotation. It’s good for me to have eyes on our regular jobs here and there.”
    Dale nodded. “Right. Timing’s good this week then.”
    Aidan’s eyes tracked the tennis ball for another moment before he nodded and stood. “That it is. If I need any extras after I talk to the DA, I’ll call.”
    Dale caught the ball one last time and set it down on his desk. “Catch you later,” he said as he turned back to his computer.
    Aidan headed to his own office and plowed through emails and reviewed a few reports Jo had prepared for him. His mind wasn’t as focused as he’d like with Becca peeking in and out every few minutes. He couldn’t help