Page 143 of Snowbound Threat

With a mug of steaming coffee in hand, I sit on Shawn’s couch, my Bible open before me. I’ve showered and dressed for the day, and I’m feeling a lot better now than when I first crawled out of that ridiculously comfortable bed this morning.

A workout will definitely do that. And a workout in the same vicinity as Detective Shawn Sampson? It should be illegal to be so attractive that it’s distracting. Especially when a relationship with him isn’t remotely close to something I want. Right?

It’s even more than surface attraction, too, which isn’t something I thought I could ever admit. But he’s so much more than I thought he was.

He’s caring.

Sensitive.

I lift my gaze toward the sliding glass door as I hear it open.

He looks frustrated now, his blond hair a mess on top of his head as if he’s been running his hand through it. A habit I’ve noticed he does relatively often when frustrated. “Everything okay?” I ask, closing my Bible and setting it on the coffee table.

He comes around to sit on the chair across from me. “That was my captain.”

“Okay.”

“He hasn’t changed his mind about me looking into your husband’s death.”

Frustration threatens the peace I found only moments ago. “What? Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Even after the attacker told me to stop looking into it or I would be killed, too?”

Shawn sighs. “Captain Reynolds believes that you heard what you wanted to hear. Traumatized woman and all that.”

“Traumatized woman?” I growl. “I may have been terrified, but I’m not going to imagine things that don’t happen.”

“I know that,” he says.

“I can’t believe this. A direct threat related to the case, and theystillwon’t take me seriously.” Desperate to move, I get to my feet.

“We’ll figure it out.”

I turn toward him. “We’ll? You were told to leave it alone.”

He stands and shoves both hands into his pockets. “I never was good at following directions when I didn’t agree with them.”

I can’t tear my gaze from him. Is he serious? “You could get into trouble.”

“Oh, I offered to resign if they catch me.”

“Shawn. No. What?”

“I became a cop to find the truth. If I back down from every bully who doesn’t want me to ruffle a few feathers, then I wouldn’t be able to do my job. Reynolds is worried about his own career, I’m not.”

“But you could lose your job.”

“And you could lose your life. Are you going to stand there and tell me you plan to walk away from this?”

I stare at him, completely and utterly entranced by his willingness to sacrifice everything to help me find the truth.

“Why?” I whisper.

Shawn crosses his arms. “Why what?”

“Why are you helping me? Why are you risking everything? Like you said, this isn’t in your jurisdiction, but you told me that you’d keep going even if it cost you your badge. That doesn’t make sense to me.”