his mind.
Now, he was right back where he’d started. What did he expect? That in six years’ time she’d become less attractive? If anything, she’d grown more beautiful and lived enough to know how to work her feminine wiles. Landon groaned as he reached for a difficult handhold and pulled himself higher on the wall. She’d been making the rounds with celebrities and dating fucking sports superstars for the past six years. And it wasn’t like she’d ever been the innocent, wide-eyed girl, even at eighteen. He thought about the pictures pasted on the Internet and the soccer star’s arms around her as he shielded her from photographers. His stomach burned and his jaw clenched as Landon propelled himself to another hold farther up the wall. The thought of another man touching Emma made him want to break something. Namely, the bastard’s face.
His foot slipped on the hold and Landon cursed. He’d come to the gym this morning for a workout and to clear his mind. But an hour and fifty vertical feet later, he still felt like shit and his brain was nothing more than a tangle of knotted thoughts. The only thing that was going to clear his head at this point was distance. From this case. From her. If he didn’t wrap it up and get a lead on Ruiz soon, it wouldn’t be only his success rate on the line.
It would be his badge.
Landon pushed away from the wall as he fed the nylon rope through the belay. He dropped from the top of the wall to the floor in a matter of seconds, and his stomach gave a pleasant flip with the quick descent. He landed on his feet, unclipped the carabiner, and shed the harness, handing it over to Josh. “Thanks, man,” he offered without eye contact as he headed for the lockers. The only thing he’d gotten out of this morning’s climb was a bruised ego and a shit ton of frustration. He dug his phone out of his gym bag and passed the counter without a second glance at the smart-ass giving him a superior smirk. Sometimes caution was the better part of valor and he didn’t think Morgan would appreciate it if he decked anyone for no good reason while visiting the deputy’s city.
As he hoofed it for his car, Landon called Galen. He needed tunnel vision for the rest of his time in Seattle if he was going to keep Emma out of his head and get down to business. “What did you find out from the prison staff?” he all but growled when Galen answered his phone.
“Wow. Good morning to you, too, sunshine. Rough night?”
You have no idea . “I just want to wrap this shit up and get home, that’s all.”
Galen’s answering silence only served to annoy Landon more. “Oh reeeaaallly?” Galen replied, obviously smug. The bastard. “Who could possibly make you want to ditch the Emerald City?”
“Why does it have to be a who?” Landon asked as he unlocked the car and threw his gym bag in the backseat. “In case you’ve forgotten in your quest for celebrity status, the Portland field office is where I work. I’m not exactly fond of living out of a hotel room.”
“Oh, it’s a who,” Galen responded. “Because I know for a fact that you don’t mind Seattle or hanging out in hotels.”
Okay, so one time he took an unscheduled two-week vacation and shacked up with a park ranger at a Best Western. But it wasn’t like he whored around Seattle regularly. The hiking in Olympic National Park was great. “How about you fill me in on the prison guards before I call Harper and give her the scoop on some of your more questionable past relationship choices.”
“Are you suggesting that there’s someone in Seattle you’d rather not know about yours, too? Because I’ve got some hard-core ammo for retaliation.”
As if Landon would give Galen the satisfaction of confirming his suspicions. And, seriously, why was he even considering the possibility? Of course there wasn’t anyone in the city he cared about. No one. At all. Period. “The prison staff? I haven’t got all day, Galen.”
Galen
Now, he was right back where he’d started. What did he expect? That in six years’ time she’d become less attractive? If anything, she’d grown more beautiful and lived enough to know how to work her feminine wiles. Landon groaned as he reached for a difficult handhold and pulled himself higher on the wall. She’d been making the rounds with celebrities and dating fucking sports superstars for the past six years. And it wasn’t like she’d ever been the innocent, wide-eyed girl, even at eighteen. He thought about the pictures pasted on the Internet and the soccer star’s arms around her as he shielded her from photographers. His stomach burned and his jaw clenched as Landon propelled himself to another hold farther up the wall. The thought of another man touching Emma made him want to break something. Namely, the bastard’s face.
His foot slipped on the hold and Landon cursed. He’d come to the gym this morning for a workout and to clear his mind. But an hour and fifty vertical feet later, he still felt like shit and his brain was nothing more than a tangle of knotted thoughts. The only thing that was going to clear his head at this point was distance. From this case. From her. If he didn’t wrap it up and get a lead on Ruiz soon, it wouldn’t be only his success rate on the line.
It would be his badge.
Landon pushed away from the wall as he fed the nylon rope through the belay. He dropped from the top of the wall to the floor in a matter of seconds, and his stomach gave a pleasant flip with the quick descent. He landed on his feet, unclipped the carabiner, and shed the harness, handing it over to Josh. “Thanks, man,” he offered without eye contact as he headed for the lockers. The only thing he’d gotten out of this morning’s climb was a bruised ego and a shit ton of frustration. He dug his phone out of his gym bag and passed the counter without a second glance at the smart-ass giving him a superior smirk. Sometimes caution was the better part of valor and he didn’t think Morgan would appreciate it if he decked anyone for no good reason while visiting the deputy’s city.
As he hoofed it for his car, Landon called Galen. He needed tunnel vision for the rest of his time in Seattle if he was going to keep Emma out of his head and get down to business. “What did you find out from the prison staff?” he all but growled when Galen answered his phone.
“Wow. Good morning to you, too, sunshine. Rough night?”
You have no idea . “I just want to wrap this shit up and get home, that’s all.”
Galen’s answering silence only served to annoy Landon more. “Oh reeeaaallly?” Galen replied, obviously smug. The bastard. “Who could possibly make you want to ditch the Emerald City?”
“Why does it have to be a who?” Landon asked as he unlocked the car and threw his gym bag in the backseat. “In case you’ve forgotten in your quest for celebrity status, the Portland field office is where I work. I’m not exactly fond of living out of a hotel room.”
“Oh, it’s a who,” Galen responded. “Because I know for a fact that you don’t mind Seattle or hanging out in hotels.”
Okay, so one time he took an unscheduled two-week vacation and shacked up with a park ranger at a Best Western. But it wasn’t like he whored around Seattle regularly. The hiking in Olympic National Park was great. “How about you fill me in on the prison guards before I call Harper and give her the scoop on some of your more questionable past relationship choices.”
“Are you suggesting that there’s someone in Seattle you’d rather not know about yours, too? Because I’ve got some hard-core ammo for retaliation.”
As if Landon would give Galen the satisfaction of confirming his suspicions. And, seriously, why was he even considering the possibility? Of course there wasn’t anyone in the city he cared about. No one. At all. Period. “The prison staff? I haven’t got all day, Galen.”
Galen
Similar Books
