Page 16 of Outlaw Ridge: Reed (Hard Justice: Outlaw Ridge #6)

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Reed pulled the cruiser into Hallie’s garage, turned off the engine and shut the garage door. What he didn’t do was make a move to get out.

Neither did she.

She had to be exhausted. He sure as hell was.

And Hallie might even be experiencing some shock over her father’s murder.

Yes, she had despised the man and had helped put him on death row.

His murder might even be a relief, but it was still an emotional blow that had come on the heels of nearly forty-eight hours jammed full of emotional blows.

So far, they didn’t know the whole story about Kip’s murder, but it was being investigated.

Apparently, the man had been shanked and bled out when he’d been in the exercise yard during his daily half hour outside.

As a death row inmate, that would have been one of the few times Kip would be allowed out of his cell.

And during that half hour, someone had gotten to him.

Security feed would be scrutinized. Lots of interviews would take place, and in the end, Reed had no doubts that they’d be able to ID who’d killed the killer. After that, they’d have to figure out if the prison murder was connected to what was happening in Outlaw Ridge.

“It’s been a really long day,” she whispered.

He made a sound of agreement. It had indeed been hellish long, and it’d started out with a murder, followed by Hallie being shot by a gunman. Then, interviewing Luther and having him give them those pictures.

And that hadn’t been the end of it.

After all of that, there’d been the gut-twisting visit to her mother’s storage unit.

A visit cut way too short so they could go to Helen Robey’s ranch and ultimately charge Corman with trespassing.

What they hadn’t been able to do was keep him locked up.

They had to walk him out of the station after his lawyer had arranged bail to be posted for him.

So, yes, hellishly long. And despite all of that, it had taken Reed a while to convince Hallie to call it a day and let him drive her home. In the end though, long after her shift had been over, she’d finally given into the exhaustion and probably the pain, too, and had agreed.

She had even taken more of the over-the-counter meds for her aching bruise, and with luck those would kick in soon. With more luck, he’d be able to talk her into a long soak in the tub.

Reed was about to reach to open the door when his phone sounded with a text. When he saw it was from Griff, he read it right away. And felt the relief.

“It’s good news,” he let Hallie know. “The CSIs found more pictures of the party in the storage unit, and Griff has IDed the guy named Teddy that Corman mentioned.”

He frowned. The good stopped there.

“Theodore Atkins,” Reed finished.

Hallie’s gaze slashed to his, and he didn’t have to ask if she recalled who that was.

Of course, she would remember. Theodore Atkins was one of the murders attributed to her parents, but it had never been confirmed.

He’d died about fourteen years ago when he’d been doing some electrical work in the home of an elderly woman, Betty Gomez.

Both their bodies had been found in the home, and later, there’d been enough circumstantial evidence to charge Kip and Tami with her death but not Theodore’s.

“Two people in those pictures were murdered,” Hallie spelled out. “Three if you count my father. You think someone’s cleaning house?”

“Possibly. Or someone might want us to believe that’s what’s happening.”

If so, then someone was trying to get them to aim their suspicion at Corman. Then again, there might be someone else in those photos who had something to hide. If so, Griff might be able to ferret that out.

“Come on,” Reed insisted. “Let’s get inside, and you can take a long soak in the tub. That’ll help the bruises.”

She didn’t argue. On a heavy sigh, she got out of the cruiser, and he followed her inside. Hallie stopped though in the mudroom and turned to him.

Groaning, she dropped her head onto his shoulder. She didn’t say anything, didn’t make a sound other than that groan. But because she was pressed against him, Reed could feel the tension. Her muscles were in knots, and her breath was thin and labored.

She was going through hell all right.

Mindful of her bruises, he eased his arms around her. “What can I do to help?” he asked.

“You’re doing it,” she whispered. “I, uh, just need a minute.”

Reed gladly gave her that minute and more. He wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but he just kept his arms around her and waited her out.

“I’m so happy my father’s dead,” Hallie finally said.

“Understandable. A lot of people are no doubt happy about that.”

Shaking her head, she looked up at him. “But we’re cops. I should be thinking of the injustice of someone being murdered—”

“Bullshit,” he interrupted. “Your father was a serial killer, period, and another killer ended his life. Personally, I see that as well deserved karma.”

She continued to stare at him and nodded. Hallie also seemed to be on the verge of stepping away from him, and Reed didn’t want her to do that just yet. Especially because he thought he knew the reason she was considering an end to this body to body contact.

“You work for me,” she said.

Yeah, he’d gotten that right, but Reed opted to move things in a lighter direction. “I guess you mean job stuff and not that the hug I just gave you has magic healing powers.”

Her mouth quivered, the smile threatening. “Well, the hug was sort of magical, and it did make me forget the bruises for a while. Thanks for that.” Her expression turned serious. “But you know what I meant. I’m your boss.”

Finally, Reed got to say something he had been waiting to say. “But you’re not,” he insisted, and he tapped his watch. “It’s ten minutes after midnight which means I’m not a deputy. I’m your ex-boyfriend who gives out magic hugs and still has a thing for you.”

The corner of her mouth lifted in one of the almost smiles. “A really hot ex-boyfriend.”

That both pleased him and embarrassed him a little. They’d been so good together a decade ago, and her parents had done a thorough job of screwing that up. Her parents weren’t totally out of the picture and never would be, but Reed hoped this could be a fresh start for Hallie and him.

He leaned in closer to her, searching her eyes for any sign of hesitation. There was none. Satisfied with that, he touched his mouth to hers. A moment later, his lips were on hers, tentative at first, then more certain. It was a kiss that spoke volumes—about worry, relief.

And maybe even something more he wasn’t ready to name.

He deepened the kiss, feeling the heat and need slide through his body. Hearing it slide through her as well when she made a soft moan of pleasure. It was a damn good sound and the green light for him to keep kissing her. To keep notching up the heat.

Her hands found their way to the back of his neck, pulling him even closer. Reed could feel her heartbeat matching his own, a rapid, steady rhythm. Their breaths mingled, and for a moment, all the bad stuff vanished. There was no investigation, no killer on the loose, no unanswered question.

There was just this.

Them. Together. Kissing.

The problem with an amazing kiss—and this one was indeed amazing—was that it created a fierce urgency in his body.

Especially his dick, who thought it would be a stellar idea to rev up this heat even more until it led to sex.

But Hallie wasn’t in any shape for that.

And that’s why he inched back just enough so he could look into her eyes again.

Big mistake.

It was easy to get lost in those drown-in-me eyes. Man, he was toast.

“I’m not fragile,” she insisted, pulling him back to her for kiss number two.

And it was another winner all right. Long, hot, and deep. Talk about a cure for those doubts he had. Hell, it was a cure for everything. Except that sliver of common sense that thankfully could overrule the kiss, the heat, and his dick.

“Remember that big-assed bruise on your chest,” he managed to say when they finally had to stop the kiss so they could breathe.

Hallie’s lips brushed his in a light touch as she smiled and shook her head. “It’s a small price to pay for kisses like that,” she said.

If he’d been the one feeling the pain, then he would have agreed and kept on kissing her. Pleasure could override pain. Well, this kind of pleasure anyway.

“Tell you what,” he managed to say. “I’ll stay in the guestroom tonight. You take that hot bath and then get some rest. Tomorrow, if you want to pick up where we’re leaving off, just let me know.”

She sighed. “Reed Winston, you’re too much of a gentleman.”

He was. And at the moment, that felt like a whopping big curse. “Trust me. It’s not easy.”

Hallie smiled, and this time, it was the real deal.

He wanted to claim that smile with his mouth. Wanted to kiss and haul her off to bed. But Reed forced himself to stay put while Hallie turned and walked away from him.

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