Read Online At Close Range by Jessica Andersen - Free Book Online Page B

Cassie Dumont.
    That fragile pink, that hint of vulnerability, only served to underscore the fact that she was wearing a hotel robe with nothing underneath.
    Seth clamped his jaw. “I should go. Once my people get to your house, I’ll have Marcy call you. She can sign some clothes out of the scene for you.” In retrospect, he should have snuck a change out for her in the first place, but he’d wanted the scene processed by the book.
    She dipped her chin in a nod. “Thanks.” Then she pressed her lips together. “But don’t think this means you’re in charge of the case. I don’t care what the chief says, or what you think. This is my case, not yours. Once your people are done processing my…” She faltered and swallowed, before continuing, “My house, they can turn around and head back to Denver, or wherever your field office is.”

    “You know damn well it’s in Denver,” Varitek snapped, annoyed. “And don’t tell me what to do with my team. Have you stopped to think that we could use their help?
    That you’re a one-woman shop in the middle of a case that’s looking way more complicated than any of us thought?” He took a step closer to her, then realized it was a mistake when her feminine scent reached out to him, reminding him that she was wrapped in a single layer of terry-cloth belted at her waist.
    Instead of backing down, she narrowed her eyes to blue slits. “Oh, no you don’t.
    Don’t even dare. We had an agreement, remember? I’m in charge of this case, not you.”
    He growled, attraction giving way to rising irritation. “Be logical. Alissa and Maya are away for at least another week and you’re a damned target. Do you really think the chief is going to let you out in the field if the bastard is looking for you?”
    “The chief isn’t going to let me do anything,” she hissed. “He’s going to expect me to do the job I was hired to do. Nothing more, nothing less. And if you get in the way of that, I’ll…”
    She left the threat hanging, but Seth didn’t care to ask you’ll what? He spun on his heel and headed for the door. It was either that or he was going to grab her and—
    hell, he didn’t even know what he’d do. Shake her until her teeth rattled. Kiss her until the frustration either bubbled over or went away.
    Neither was the right answer.
    Once he had the door open and one foot in the hall, he turned back. “Get some sleep. We’ll deal with this in the morning.”
    He tried not to notice the fine smudge of a bruise developing on her cheekbone, or the faint shadows beneath her eyes. She was no more fragile than the iron roses his metalworking sister crafted for fun—pretty and indestructible at the same time.
    But even those roses could shatter if they were heated wrong. So he paused when he knew he should shut the door between them. “You going to be okay?”
    A shadow flickered in her blue eyes, there and gone so quickly he didn’t even know precisely what he’d seen. “I’ll be…” fine, he could see her start to say, but then she stopped and corrected herself. “I need a weapon.”
    He nearly snorted at the incongruity of a beautiful bathrobe-wearing blonde with pink toenail polish demanding a gun.
    Then he saw she was serious.
    “You’ll be safe here,” he said. “You’re on the fourth floor. I’ve got a room just down the hall. Nobody’s going to get at you.”
    “You don’t know that,” she countered, voice low. “He got into my place. He got into the apartment building where the body was found. What’s to say he won’t get in here? Hell, it’s a hotel. All he needs to do is rent a room.” She held out a hand.
    “Your weapon, Varitek. I’m sure you’ve got a spare or two.”
    She didn’t flinch when he glowered, didn’t back down when he cursed. Finally, he reached down, yanked up his pant leg, and pulled out his spare piece. “Fine. Have it your way. Nothing new about that.”
    He slapped the smaller weapon in her palm, and this