style="font-size:15px;"> He held out a hand and she placed the book in it. When she did, her knuckles brushed his palm and sent shivers dancing all the way up her arm.
Jerking back, she looked at him and saw the surprise and awareness on his face, too.
Before he could say anything, she blurted, “Look on page seven. There are a lot of initials and numbers we haven’t been able to decipher. Like I said, we figured out Boot Hill, but the others…” She bit off her words. She was repeating herself and sounding like an idiot. Clearing her throat, she shrugged. “Would you take a look at those and see if anything comes to you?”
“Sure.” His warm gaze lingered on her face a moment longer and she swallowed hard.
After what seemed like years, he let his blue eyes fall to the book in front of him. “So,” he drawled. “They sent you here all by yourself? With no backup?”
“Excuse me?” She understood the question, she just hoped she misunderstood the meaning behind it.
“No offense, but this is a really sticky situation and…”
At his doubtful look, Gisella bristled. She hadn’t misunderstood. And just when she was starting to think he wasn’t all bad. “What? You don’t think I can handle this assignment because I’m a woman?”
Disdain dripped from her voice but she didn’t care. She had no use for men who thought because she was female and pretty, she was somehow less than capable. Did she need to remind him of who’d saved whom only a short time ago?
He must have read her thoughts because he backpedaled and held up a hand as though in surrender. “No, no. That’s not what I’m saying—exactly. I’m just saying that this is an extremely dangerous playground. If these people find out about you and you were to get caught…” He swallowed. “I don’t have to tell you what the consequences would be. I just have a hard time believing your superiors would choose someone…”
She turned her head so that she came nose to nose with him.
And lip to lip.
Putting some distance between them, she held on to her ire and said, “I’m a big girl, Martin. I can handle it. They chose me because I can handle it. So don’t give me any grief about being a woman in a man’s world. I won’t listen to it.” She refused to bring up the incident with the informant. If she hadn’t proved herself there, it would be hopeless to get into a discussion with the man about her skills.
Over the years, she’d found arguing with the men in law enforcement about her abilities was fruitless. She just had to do her job, do it well and keep her mouth shut. She’d also found the old adage that actions spoke louder than words was true.
But Gisella’s gut tightened at the thought of the added tension Brock’s skepticism would bring to the table. She forced herself not to worry about it now. She’d just deal with it.
Like she had when she first became a Ranger and the men had looked at her with a mixture of disbelief that she’d infiltrated their ranks, and a haughty, arrogant assurance that she wouldn’t be around long.
She’d proven them all wrong and was now a respected and well-thought-of member of Company D. But it definitely hadn’t been an easy road to travel.
And while she might keep her cool and ignore a lot of stuff she considered silly, that didn’t mean she didn’t have a backbone. “Can we focus on what we need to do? You go over that book while I fill out these papers on the shooting.”
He just looked at her for a moment. Then sighed. “Yeah, sure.” He glanced down, then back up. “I didn’t mean to offend you, I was just…concerned.”
“No need to be,” she clipped.
She’d already called Ben and filled him in on the shooting incident. He wasn’t happy at the tap dancing he was going to have to do in order for her to continue her current investigation. After a shooting, an officer was generally placed on administrative leave during the investigation. But Ben had pull in a lot of places. And the videotape from Brock’s car that she’d sent him would go a long way with Internal Affairs.
And he needed Gisella in Boot Hill, Texas, investigating.
After she finished the paperwork, Brock and Gisella spent the next hour and a half bouncing ideas off each other until Brock finally said, “I don’t know. This could go on forever. I say we head to Boot Hill and start asking questions. We can see what turns up.”
“That was my original destination until I was told we were going to be working together.” A thought hit Gisella and she gave a startled laugh.
Brock blinked. “What’s so funny?”
“I just realized that they didn’t exactly send me down here all alone.”
His right brow lifted. “No?”
“Guess that’s why they paired us up. So you can protect me.” She batted her lashes and put on her most helpless expression.
A short laugh escaped him. He snorted, “Well, when you put it that way…” Brock glanced at his watch. “Get that look off your face. If we leave now, we can be there in twenty minutes.”
Gisella turned serious and sucked in a thoughtful breath. “Yeah, let’s do that. I’m going to check in with my boss again and give him an update.”
He stood as she grabbed her phone, excitement lighting his weary eyes. “Then let’s hit the road.”
“Do you have a car? I took a cab from the airport, then borrowed one of the station’s cars to come find you.”
His lips twisted. “Sure, we can use mine. Or rather, the department’s.”
She wondered at the odd look on his face but didn’t ask.
Instead, she looked at the clock. 8:07. She was starving. Her suitcase sat at her feet. “Fine, as long as you promise we’ll get something to eat soon.”
TWO
After a quick stop by Brock’s apartment to throw some things into a small suitcase, the drive to Boot Hill, Texas, took approximately twenty minutes. Upon entering the small town with the sign proudly proclaiming their population to be 1,406, Brock eyed the woman sitting next to him.
She’d been on the phone most of the ride with a fellow Ranger. Levi someone. “How’s our guy in the hospital?” she asked. “Has he come out of the coma yet?”
Coma? Guy in the hospital? Brock shot her a brief glance which she ignored. Seems like she’d neglected to fill him in on a few details.
“Right,” she said. “Keep me in the loop, okay?”
She must have gotten an affirmative response because she said thanks and hung up. To Brock she said, “Sorry, that was my new captain, Ben Fritz.”
“Who’s in the hospital in a coma?” Brock asked.
“We’re not sure who he is.” Gisella reached down into the backpack she’d brought with her and pulled out
