Page 6 of Billionaire Protector

He could live with that. He had plenty to say, just not yet. First, he had to figure out how the town delinquent became sheriff. Her story might fool others, but he knew the real her. Staying silent while the woman who’d broken every law in the county take the job he wanted was not in the plans. No way had she completely turned around, not when he’d spent years trying to make it happen. She was hiding something, and he was going to discover what it was.

He folded his arms across his chest, satisfied when her cheeks turned pink. She may pretend he didn’t affect her, but he’d always been able to see the truth. And yet a surge of something roiled him, as well.

“No more investigating is happening tonight.” Her tone was light, but an edge belied its nonchalance. She hadn’t missed his challenge.

For tonight, he would let her go.Temporarily.“I concur. If the arsonist were here, he’d be laughing too hard to actually commit any crimes.”

She narrowed her eyes but didn’t refute it. “Why don’t we catch up during your shift tomorrow? I can explain all the ways you can serve me.”

A smile tugged at his lips. There was that feisty woman he remembered so well. He stepped closer. Her color deepened but she stood her ground. “Don’t you mean serve the people of Harmony Creek?”

Her sapphire eyes blazed. “Of course.”

“I’ll be there for the afternoon shift.”

A muscle ticked in her slender neck, and she nodded. For a few seconds, neither of them moved. And that’s when it hit him like a missile out of a rocket-strewn sky.

Attraction. Magnetism.Desire.

An urge as unstoppable as gravity drew him, an all-encompassing craving to get closer. He fought the temptation to take her captive again, to pull her close and do more than simply hold her. It was as inexplicable as it had been all those years ago. He hadn’t been able to resist her then, and clearly not now.

He hadn’t been lying when he said he’d been looking for her. Seeing her tonight was unplanned, but since he’d come to town, he’d thought of Sarah Tanning more than once, twice or a dozen times. He’d been planning to look her up, and sooner rather than later. What he’d do once he found her, he had no idea.

She regarded him carefully, her face flushed. Did she know what he was thinking? Without another word, she pivoted and walked away, her boots slapping the wet ground. Even though his car was in the opposite direction, he followed behind, close enough he could see her, but far enough she wouldn’t sense him in the shadows. It was ridiculous to follow a police officer toensure she made it safely to her car, but it was still a crime scene in the middle of the night. Plus… it was Sarah.

He watched in the shadows as she climbed into an old nondescript black Toyota, undoubtedly the same one his father used when investigating undercover crimes, and revved it up. It wasn’t until she sped away that he turned and walked back to his truck. Boss or no boss, she would not wrestle control from him. The sooner she found that out, the better.

* * * *

Cole took a long gulp of steaming black coffee, his third despite the early hour, and certainly not his last. He looked at the still strong man relaxing in the rocking chair, an older version of himself. “You must have been furious when you found out. Why didn’t you tell me?” He could only imagine how his dad, sheriff of Harmony Creek for thirty long years before his retirement, had accepted being replaced by a habitual lawbreaker.

Jack Carter took a swig of his own coffee. “It’s pretty astounding.”

“Yes, it is.” Sarah being sheriff wasalmostas unbelievable as the fact that after all these years, his feelings for her were alive and kicking. “How did it happen, Dad?”

“Not from good luck, I’ll tell you that.” He sat back in the rocker. “No, it was hard work, plain and simple. She worked twice as hard as everyone else to earn her place. Did you know this isn’t her first stint at being sheriff?”

“You’re kidding.” Cole sat up. “She conned another police department? Did she rob them on her way out?”

“Of course not,” Jack said gruffly. “She did a lot of good for them. They were mighty miffed when she accepted a position in Harmony Creek. But she was steadfast. After everything, she wanted to help her dad.”

“You mean after everything she put him through.”

Jack gave him a long look. “You’re misreading the situation, Cole. She’s not the same girl you knew in middle school.”

No, she wasn’t. She was confident and beautiful and tempting andahem. He forced his mind away from his alluring boss for the tenth time in as many minutes. This conversation wasn’t progressing as expected. “Don’t tell me you’re happy about this.”

“Why shouldn’t I be?” Jack shrugged. “A woman raised in a rough home worked hard and made something of herself. To me, that’s a victory for everyone.”

“Her home was rough because she made it rough.” The old frustration rose, the memories of Sarah squandering chance after chance. “Everyone knew about her crimes, but she never even got arrested. I never figured out how she managed that.” And yet for some reason, he was glad. Even if she deserved it, the thought of her in jail just felt wrong.

“Not everything is as it seems.” His father’s deep rumble tore him from his thoughts. “Maybe she just needed another chance. A better one.”

Cole bowed his head at his father’s cryptic reply. “It doesn’t matter how many chances you give Sarah – she’ll waste each and every one. I never understood why you gave her so many to begin with.” A crow cawed in the distance, its voice harsh and raw. “No one can change that much. Someone needs to keep an eye on her.”

Now Jack straightened, and suddenly Cole found himself the recipient of the same hard stare he received upon arriving home thirty seconds past curfew. With his dad, there was no such thing as a little wrong. “Are you looking to cause trouble, son?”

“Of course not,” Cole scoffed. Only maybe… a little? “I’m just looking out for the people of Harmony Creek. If she’s been honest, there won’t be a problem.”

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