Page 5 of Blue-Eyed Hero

She reached into her bag and pulled out her keys. The letter fell out and floated to the ground. Before Allison could snatch the paper up, Reid retrieved it. He held it out to her, then his hand snapped back, his blue eyes darting across the page.

His jaw turned to granite, the veins in his neck bulging and tightening. He stepped toward her, his big frame dwarfing her. He waved the paper in her face. “What the fuck is this?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you curse entirely too much?”

“Don’t play games with me right now. What is this?”

She sighed. “It’s nothing.” She attempted to snatch it back, but it was fruitless.

The tides shifted in Reid’s blue eyes, turning the frustrated clear blue to a dark and stormy combination of anger and concern. “When did you get this?”

“Today, but it could have been in the mailroom longer.”

“Jesus, Allison. Were you not going to report this?”

“It’s just some asshole getting his kicks, and I refuse to let him win.”

Reid’s long finger pointed to the paper in his other hand. “This is a serious threat.”

“You’re overreacting.”

“And I think you’re under-reacting. Did you show your boss?”

She waved him off. “No. It’s not necessary.”

“Allison.” He stepped toward her, surrounding her in his masculine scent of wood and ocean air. She swallowed, refusing to inhale deeply. His hand rested gently on her arm, showing how much larger he was than her. The storm in his eyes cleared to blue skies, and he leveled her with his gaze. “What if it is serious?”

She refused to allow herself to fear some jackass. “It wouldn’t be the first time, and I’m still standing to talk about it.” But the fear that still clung to her pushed itself to the surface, and an annoying voice in her head questioned if this threat was different. After her report at Scoops and Victor going to jail for a slew of charges, some people in town weren’t exactly happy with her. They thought her report that made national news cast a dark cloud over Willow Cove. The fact she brought it up on air every chance she got… well, that didn’t help either.

She’d hoped the online bullying segment she did would help people forget about the previous big story, but that only secured their belief that Allison was giving their town a bad rep. It wasn’t her fault assholes showed up in Willow Cove. She couldn’tnotreport on it. It was her job. Those people need to get over it.

She wouldn’t tell Reid, though. He’d blow it out of proportion, and her boss would take her off the road. And then what? Sandra hadn’t retired, so her seat was firmly taken. Allison would have nowhere to go, and jobless wasn’t an answer for her.

“You’ve been threatened before?” he asked, and the incredulous tone mixed with the concern in his gaze nearly brought her to her knees. It reminded her of the last time he dropped the veil between them and showed genuine concern. It only took her almost dying at gunpoint, and it was worth it. It had only been a single moment out of the thousands shared over the last ten years, but that moment had touched her in a way she still daydreamed about.

Though, touched or not, there was nothing he needed to involve himself in. “Yup,” she said, forcing a brave smile. “So, as you can see, it’s nothing to be concerned about. Like I said, just another asshole.”

She went to take the letter from him, and he held it out of her reach. Even in five-inch heels, he towered over her. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to hold on to this.”

“Whatever. If it makes you happy, keep it. No skin off my back.” She was just going to throw it in the trash when she got home. Honestly, she had no idea why she hadn’t already.

He didn’t move, and his eyes lingered on her, heating her body under his unwavering gaze. She circled around him to her car. She needed to get away from Reid so she could think straight. “Good luck with your meeting.”

“If you get any more of these”—he waved the letter in the air between them—“please let me know.”

“I will,” she said, refusing to look more into his concern, and got in her car

A tap on the window jolted her, and she clutched her chest. She hated that she was jumpy. Hated that she gave this threat any creditability. Not anymore. She straightened, and Reid’s handsome face peered down. She turned the car on and lowered the window. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“I just wanted to say be careful.”

The kindness of his tone cut straight through the residual fear and engulfed her heart with warmth. Maybe beneath the gruff exterior and constant snark, he actually did care about her.

Chapter 3

The mayor’s office was on the far end of town, away from the tourist areas and by a private beach only accessible by town residents. Reid pulled into the parking lot and killed the engine. He adjusted his silver-blue uniform sleeves and ran a hand down the front buttons. Mayor Joan Sands was always impeccably dressed, and Reid couldn’t help but think she judged people by appearance.

With a deep breath, he headed inside. He stopped at the front desk, manned by Ruby Duran. Her blonde hair was piled on her head, and her black eyeliner curved out a couple of inches past her eye. She gave a dainty wave, and Reid smiled. The youngest of the Duran family at twenty-four, she’d been working as the mayor’s assistant since she graduated high school.

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