here in Rust Creek Falls,” she reminded him.
“That’s funny. Gage Christensen pretty much said he was paying me to be on duty. Sounds like work to me.” He gave her his detective glare, the one he used to intimidate people who broke the law. It came more naturally right now, since his jeans were heavy, and water squished in his boots. “Thanks to you, I’m really earning that paycheck tonight.”
“The sheriff wouldn’t have arrested me.” Her tone was defiant. “But you’re not from around here.”
Not one of us, she was saying. That struck a nerve. Before he’d left the Denver Police Department everyone had been avoiding him as if he had the plague. He was treated like an outsider for blowing the whistle on a crooked cop then busted down to patrol. When his career went backward his fiancée dumped him. So much for loyalty—and love.
“I might not live in Rust Creek Falls, but I’m the one with the badge.” He drilled her with a look. “You broke the law on my watch, Lani Dalton.”
Her eyes widened a fraction. “Since when aren’t you calling me ma’am?”
Not using her name was a way to keep his distance, and he’d been trying to do that since the first time he’d seen her. She had long brown hair and creamy skin that tempted a man to touch her. Resisting that temptation tested his willpower under normal circumstances, but nothing about this night was normal.
“Do you know who my father is?”
“You said he’s an attorney, but right this minute I don’t much care.” He walked her through the doorway and into one of the cells then pulled the door shut behind them. The bolt clicked into place and echoed off the bare walls.
She flinched slightly. “So, we’re locked in.”
“No,” he said. “You’re the one locked up, and I’m the cop who has the key in his pocket.”
Her eyebrow rose. “You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“You’re very confident.” Lani shrugged then walked over to the metal-framed bunk. She lifted the sheet covering the thin, plastic mattress. “Wow, five-star accommodations. That looks like a yoga mat.”
“Let me know if it’s comfortable. You’re going to be here awhile.” She wasn’t as far gone as some he’d seen under the influence. In his opinion, she could be left alone, and that was a good thing. Russ didn’t have time to babysit the princess. “It’s nuts out there, and your stunt in the fountain took me away from where I need to be.”
“Lighten up, Detective. Everyone’s just having fun.”
“I don’t think the cowboy who got decked was having such a great time.”
“Oh? I didn’t notice.” She put just a little too much innocence in those words.
“Then you’re the only one in Rust Creek Falls who didn’t. Now I have to go deal with the guy who decked him.”
“You’re not really going to arrest him?” Her bravado slipped for the first time since he’d politely suggested she exit the public fountain.
“Yeah, I am. On the upside, you’ll have some company in here tonight.”
“Seriously, you’re going to leave me alone?”
Apparently, the reality of the situation was sinking in, because some of the spunk finally seemed to drain out of her.
“You’ll be fine.”
“I don’t think so.” She put a shaking hand up to her forehead and swayed on her feet, the color draining from her face. “I’m feeling a little dizzy. I think I might be sick.”
In one stride he was beside her, sliding an arm around her waist. She collapsed against him, clingier than the wet dress. She was deadweight, and her hand clutched him, just below his belt, trying to hang on and keep from falling. He practically carried her to the bunk and settled her on it, sitting beside her.
“Take deep breaths. Put your head between your knees.”
“I’ll fall on my face.” She sat stiffly on the thin, plastic mattress, hands clenched into fists on either side of her, and breathed deeply several times. “I think I’m feeling a little better.”
Russ studied her face and noted the color was returning. “I’ll get you some water.”
“No.” That was a little more emphatic than necessary. “What I mean is, I’m afraid it might come back up.”
“After drinking too much, the best thing you can do is hydrate. And a couple of aspirin wouldn’t hurt, either.”
There was something about her that brought out his protective streak, but he chalked it up to doing his duty. The job he could handle, but being in this small space with Lani Dalton was trouble. There wasn’t enough room for him to avoid the sweet scent of her skin. That made him want to lean in even closer and find out if that sassy, sarcastic mouth of hers would taste as good as he’d been imagining for months now.
Abruptly, he stood and turned his back on her.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
Behind him there was the sound of the plastic mattress creaking as she shifted her weight. He turned, and the innocent expression he’d noted moments ago was back in place. She sat quietly looking at him, hands folded in her lap. Her dress was still wet, and the sight of the thin cotton clinging to her breasts ignited the familiar conflict inside him.
He was really attracted to her but knew that acting on it was a complication he just didn’t need. Not now, not ever. His heart had taken a hit, through and through, and that experience made him determined not to be a fool again. His new philosophy was never trust anyone unless they gave you a reason to. So he’d decided not to get to know Lani Dalton better. And she’d done nothing tonight to make him regret the decision. Although that wet dress was giving his self-control a real workout.
“Okay, I have to go now. Looks like you’re fine.”
“I still feel nauseous. What if I have to throw up?”
“Do what you have to do.” And he would do the same, which meant getting out of here, away from her. “And right now I have to go make rounds and investigate that assault-and-battery incident. I’ll be back before you even know I’m gone.”
“Solitary will be an improvement.” She folded her arms over her chest, trying to look bored.
“Be sure to put that on the customer satisfaction survey.”
But Russ was sure some vulnerability was trickling out. And with that thought he knew it was past time to get the hell away from her. He moved the short distance to the barred door at the same time feeling his jeans pocket for the key. The familiar outline of the metal wasn’t in the usual place so he dug deeper. It wasn’t there. He checked his left pocket then the back ones.
Nothing.
“That’s the damnedest thing.”
“Is
