Cowboy Commando. Joanna Wayne
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and I know Edna took Amy and Julie to a local water park for Julie’s third birthday.”
“What about Amy’s father? Is he around?”
“No. Her parents were divorced when she was a baby. They’d lost touch with him years ago. As far as I know, he wasn’t even at Amy’s funeral.”
“That explains why he didn’t go after Dane with a baseball bat when he battered his daughter. What about siblings?”
“She was an only child. Where are you going with this?”
“If Amy was afraid of Dane or if he’d ever made threats against her, there’s a good chance she told someone—like her mother, or a sister if she had one. If a family member went to the GHPD, it might stir more action than your complaints generated.”
“If Amy’s mother has any suspicions of murder, she’s hiding them well.”
“What do you mean?”
“One of the local TV stations interviewed her and Dane the night of the drowning. She actually leaned on him at one point as if he were her pillar of strength. It turned my stomach.”
“Do you know how to get in touch with her?”
“I know her name is Edna Sears and that she lives in the Woodlands. That’s it.”
“I think we should pay her a visit.”
“Good idea. We can offer to take Julie to her house to pick up her things and then drop her off with Amy’s mother.”
“Sounds like a plan. The more immediate plan should be for you to go to bed and get some rest.”
“The Navy made you bossy.”
“I was always bossy. The Navy taught me to sound authoritative.”
“Were you ever afraid, Cutter? I mean when you were thousands of miles from home, surrounded by the enemy with gunfire shattering the night?”
“Lots of times. A little fear can heighten your senses and help keep you alive. The trick is to never let it cloud your mind or dull your will. Like a woman, it can consume you if you let it.”
He stood and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. “You don’t have to be afraid, Linney. I’ll keep you safe.”
Her hand lingered in his. She was standing in his personal space, so near she could feel his breath on her skin. Her pulse quickened and the familiar memories flooded her mind. Heat darted through her, settling in places where she shouldn’t feel anything tonight.
The impulse to stretch to her tiptoes and find his mouth with hers was all but overpowering. Just one quick taste to see if his lips still held the same salty-sweet flavor that had driven her wild in San Diego in what seemed like another lifetime.
He dropped her hand quickly, as if he’d been burned by the same sizzle that had gripped her. “Get some rest,” he said, dismissing the sensual tension as if it were nothing. “You’ll need it to deal with Dane.”
And for dealing with Cutter and a desire that didn’t have the decency to just fade away.
CUTTER WOKE AT DAYBREAK. He’d slept very little, but losing one night’s sleep would have hardly any effect on his mental or physical functioning. He’d learned to deal with sleep deprivation and exhaustion in training and in the countless operations that followed.
He stretched and kicked back the sheets he’d spread on the sofa. There were plenty of empty beds in the house, but they were upstairs, too far away from Linney and Julie in case there had been trouble.
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