One Night Standoff by Nicole Helm

Author:Nicole Helm
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-11-23T19:27:15+00:00

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LANDON ALMOST LAUGHED at the way her mouth turned into something very close to a pout. Laughed because he wanted to pout a bit himself. Or maybe punch a few holes in the wall. He wanted to say screw the laptop and murder cases and spend the rest of the night learning each other.

But it wasn’t an answer, and he didn’t want to be...a distraction. Something she could excuse away later. If he had a chance with Hazeleigh, he wanted a real one.

Which meant proving, once and for all, that she was no killer. And hopefully, somewhere in all that, she could learn to trust herself the way she so clearly wanted to.

“You said we. I hope that means you agree with me about me going with.”

He wanted to scowl, but he managed to keep his mouth impassive. With a mountain of regret, he pulled his hands away from her face and took a step back. “It’s not that I don’t think you’re right about being quicker—”

“Excellent. It’s settled, then.” She strode for the door like she could steamroll him into bringing her. And there was something about her trying to steamroll him that made him want to let her.

It was dangerous, but so was leaving her here...even if he set up an alarm for her. And maybe if she could do this, be involved, she could trust herself.

Or maybe he’d lost all his good sense and was putting her in danger just because he wanted to be with her. And that was the kind of split focus Cal had forever been warning them about back in their military days.

This was like those days. It was about finding the truth, protecting the innocent. It required focus and strength of purpose and not letting anything compromise clearheaded decisions.

But that kiss still lingered, and the way she’d held onto him, sighed against him. Been wide-eyed asking him how long he’d wanted to kiss her, as if she couldn’t imagine such a thing. And he wasn’t in the military any longer. People had shot at them, a man was dead, but it still wasn’t the same.

He was a person. Not a soldier.

He wasn’t sure he knew what to do with that, but Hazeleigh was already outside the schoolhouse, getting Buttercup ready in the silvery moonlight.

He walked to his horse, hating the uncertainty that swirled within him. “Hazeleigh...”

“I’m doing this,” she said simply. “I don’t need your permission any more than you needed my permission to help me against my will.”

He supposed she had a point there. “Can you at least do it my way?”

“And what is your way?” she asked, primly enough to make him smile.

“We’ll ride the horses to the stables. You give me time to do a perimeter check, see where everyone is, and then we devise a plan from there. Maybe it’s you going into your cabin and getting your laptop, but maybe it’s something else.” He couldn’t make out her expression in the dark, so he simply had to wait for her response.

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