the jail?â
âIf he was...then he knows youâre here.â Her palms covered her eyes. An old habit sheâd had since a kid. âThere goes that bit of surprise.â
âI may be wrong.â
âI doubt it. Makes too much sense.â
âSo I guess youâre on board with flushing this guy out. No way to talk you out of it?â
âI said yes to Parker. He explained why itâs important and asked that I remind you to take Snake Eyes alive. I donât understand why he thinks youâd shoot him. I mean, you havenât killed anyone in the line of duty.â
Jesse knew. Watching her, heâd kept an eye on her legs, her waist, the curve of her lips. There wasnât a night that went by that he didnât wish his hands were stroking her silky skin. He remembered how sheâd felt against his flesh, how sheâd eagerly responded to his kisses.
Heâd defend her with his life. Heâd rather shoot the other guy first. Yeah, he knew why his commander needed to remind him.
âYou know heâs not going to approach me if youâre around.â
âProbably wonât be tonight, then.â He chugged the rest of his beer, listening to her small pretend gasp. âIâm not heading anywhere.â
âI put sheets and a pillow on the couch. I donât have a guest room.â
The security light popped on. They both went for the shotgun. Both realized it was just a tree branch blowing in front of the sensor. No one stood in the driveway ready to kill them. She slid the gun across her lap anyway.
âYouâre not going to like the couch,â she added with a grin.
âItâs okay. I didnât plan on getting much sleep.â
Avery stood on the step, shotgun resting on her arm as she looked up and down the street. He understood that she was silently waiting on him to gather his things and come inside. He did, watching as intently as her.
Once inside, he dropped his bag and laptop, then began checking window locks.
âThey havenât been open since I was locked up.â
Focus. Theyâd apologized. No need to go back and dredge up another hurt. If they were going to do that, heâd talk about their last night together. Explain how things had seemed different.
Later. Now was the time to talk strategy.
âWhenâs your shift start tomorrow? How much do you plan to tell your staff?â He checked the back door and paused for her answers back in the living area.
âAre you even curious why I didnât get the message that Rosco was dead?â
âYou said Sheriff Myers is out of town and you released me before daylight.â He returned from the small bedroom that was just big enough for her queen mattress sitting without a frame in the corner. âWe both have deductive skills that we utilize fairly well. All the windows are secured. You spoke to Parker. If thereâs a problem, heâll find it.â
âGlad nothingâs changed in the last ten minutes. I checked them when I got home.â
âJust making sure.â
âWell, you could have asked.â
âCome on, Avery. We both need to be on our toes. We canât get emotional about this situation.â He dug through his bag, removed weapons and ammo. Unzipped carrying cases, setting a rifle and three handguns on the coffee table.
She placed the shotgun between the door and porch window. Easy access. Then she huffed to the kitchen. âI suppose some things will never change.â
âIâm the same man I was before. Iâm not changing who that is for this assignment. Itâs the reason they sent me.â It sounded as if a metal pot hit the floor. âI never wanted to let you down, Avery.â
âHa.â
They were there. Emotional. A night of mistakes between them. âThereâs no way to avoid this conversation. Is there?â
âYou seem to have done a good job avoiding it for at