Page 3 of Tough as Steele

This wasn’t good. Not good at all. Londyn was a city detective, not county. This guy could try to take over, and Londyn would be in a battle to remain in charge of finding Mimi. Losing Mimi would be tragic and would be terrible for her family. Finding her was the most important thing to Londyn, but it went deeper. Personal. Could Steele Guardians survive the negative publicity from the kidnapping, much less if Mimi were to lose her life? Not likely.

Londyn couldn’t let the company fail. She had to remain in charge here. She just had to. If she had any hope of bringing Mimi home, Londyn would need to battle the determined officer heading her way.

Nate Ryder stomped into Mimi’s bedroom to warn the occupant that he was coming. He rounded a corner and spotted a woman facing away from him, weapon in holster, and staring at a pillow.

“If Mimi has indeed been taken, you’re contaminating my crime scene..” He put a heavy measure of force into his tone and planted his feet on the wide-planked wood floor.

“She is, and it’s my crime scene.” The woman spun, her hand drifting toward her holstered sidearm. Eyes that were a mixture of blue and brown and ringed in black glared at him.

He wanted to fire back a comment, but when those eyes locked on him and drew him in like some magnetic force field, he had to take a step back. He didn’t know her, that he was sure of. She was a looker with that fiery gaze, and the way she breathed with fierce passion cut right into him and sent his heart beating faster.

She lifted her chin, displaying a lovely long neck. “I’m Detective Londyn Steele with PPB. And you are?”

Ah, yes.He’d heard of her. Most everyone in local law enforcement had heard of her and her family due to her brother’s murder. Nate had planned to attend the funeral to support a fallen officer but had been called to a homicide at the last minute.

“Detective Nate Ryder,” he said, softening his tone. “Washington County.”

“Well, Detective Nate Ryder, Washington County.” She paused and her chin rose even higher. “I arrived on scene first, and I have skin in the game, so I’m preempting you.”

He wanted to chuckle at the bulldog intensity coming from the woman who looked soft with luxurious waves of hair in the color of his favorite mochas, and a body snugging black dress that she’d topped with a cool turquoise jacket. Sure, she carried a weapon, but that only made her intimidating and enticing at the same time. He didn’t know if he should lean into the womanly vibe or the professional one.

Dumb thought.Professional, of course. It was always about the work for him.

He widened his stance. “I’m afraid my lieutenant will disagree with that and so do I.”

“Then I’ll have my LT call yours.” She lifted her hand from her weapon, but he doubted it was due to trusting him.

“Won’t make any difference. Jurisdiction is jurisdiction, and I have skin in the game too. Clarice and Charles have been like surrogate parents to me.”

Her expression tightened, and she looked like she wanted to spit tacks, but she couldn’t very well dispute his connection to Mimi’s only daughter and her husband.

“I could make sure your LT knows about your personal connection, and he’ll take you off the investigation.”

“But you won’t,” he said, feeling confident in his take on the situation.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I don’t know you yet, but the Steele family is well known in law enforcement for your commitment and loyalty to one another.” He shifted, but kept holding her gaze. “So family is important to you, and you won’t use mine against me because you wouldn’t want me to do the same thing to you.”

Londyn stepped closer and peered at him, those big eyes seeming bottomless in the muted bedroom lighting. He caught a hint of a scent reminding him of the peach cobbler his mother used to make, intriguing him even more. Never had he found a fellow detective attractive, and definitely never encountered one that left him with the urge to lessen the distance between them.

“Look,” she said, continuing to hold his gaze. “My family company provided the guards tonight, and we’re vying for a contract for the Vandervoort global business. Tonight is a test to see if we can fit in at the company’s posh events, and the account is important for our company. Regardless of that, I can’t let someone go missing on my watch, and I sure won’t let someone lose their life. So I have to find Mimi.”

“I’m sorry.” For the briefest of moments, he thought to accommodate this woman who piqued his interest. But giving in to her would be personal, and he never did personal. Just business.

He raised his shoulders and continued to hold her gaze, trying to transmit his determination. He was all in—all the time. A leftover from his SEAL days. “I have a responsibility to Clarice and Charles too, and I’m not giving up jurisdiction.”

“Then let’s work together.” Her pleading tone almost made him want to agree.

Almost.

But he didn’t need the distraction of a beautiful detective when he was trying to repay his surrogate parents for the many years they’d blessed him. “Doubtful my LT will go for that. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get a look at the note pinned to that pillow and securemycrime scene.”

She curled her hands and vibrated in place as if she wanted to stomp her feet, but marched away. She was beyond angry, and he didn’t blame her. She had a vested interest in this investigation, but so did he. The law was behind his interest, and he would lead this investigation,ifhis LT didn’t pull him from the case due to his connection to the family. Nate would hold off telling his supervisor about that until it was absolutely necessary. By that time, hopefully Nate would be too invaluable to be replaced.

2

Londyn considered hanging back in the sitting area and listening in case Detective Ryder made any phone calls, but she had little time before he came out of the room. If he found her working the investigation, he would boot her from the house. That would stop her from interrogating Wendy further and updating her parents, plus Clarice and Charles, about Mimi before getting to work in earnest.

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