Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 by Karen Whiddon (interesting books to read for teens TXT) 📕

don’t you tell her yourself? Melissa had Dominique’s contact information and he saw this for what it was. His sister wanted him to give Dominique the good news, make him appear as the good guy. Melissa was too busy to be playing matchmaker but he’d learned long ago that some things weren’t worth arguing over. Especially when Melissa had her hands full with bad cops and beating back a powerful surge of crime.

“You look...bemused.” Dominique placed a mug of coffee next to him.

“Thanks. Actually, I have some good news.” His sister might be annoying but he had to admit, it felt good to see Dominique’s eyes light up as she continued to look at him. She’d been avoiding him all morning. To be fair, he’d done the same. Mornings after were never easy.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Melissa said you should stop by GGPD as soon as you can. Internal Affairs has completed the Randall Bowe portion of the internal investigation and the lab assistant is free to discuss everything with you.”

“That’s great! Not that it shouldn’t have happened sooner, of course.” He bit back a grin. Typical Dominique, always making certain that he knew she hadn’t missed or forgotten an iota of the situation.

“I thought you’d be pleased.”

“Melissa had you be the messenger, eh?” She regarded him. “Is she afraid to talk to me directly, or was she trying to give you a friendly shove toward me?”

Surprise gave him pause. “You miss nothing.”

“It’s my job. Observation.” Her cheeks flushed, reminding him of her nipples, dark and hard under his fingers, his tongue. He broke eye contact, needing to mentally regroup. Before he convinced himself that there was a way he could persuade himself and Dominique that they belonged together and could work it all out.

It hadn’t worked before, and nothing had changed from what he’d witnessed this morning at the Grave Gulch Gazette. Dominique’s goal was to win a Pulitzer, and commitment in terms of family and kids wasn’t in her wheelhouse. Why couldn’t he just accept that?

Nope. Not something he was going to think about. Been there, done that, got the broken heart.

* * *

“I want you at the table with me and Bonnie Stadler. And not just because you’re my bodyguard.” At GGPD again, Melissa had given Dominique the former lab assistant Bonnie Stadler’s information. Dominique had scored a meeting at the coffee shop with her and was in no mood to deal with Stanton’s suddenly hands-off approach. Since they’d walked into GGPD, he’d expressed his desire to sit in the break room and work.

“You didn’t want me with you at the Gazette, yet now you do?” His blue eyes were laced with Arctic ice.

“If I wasn’t already certain you’re such a badass tough guy, I’d swear you’re goading me to a fight.” She sank into the chair opposite him and looked around to make sure they were alone. It seemed the police station was as overwhelmed as the newspaper, with the constant stream of events thanks to the cartel, the ongoing corruption scandal at GGPD and Randall Bowe’s recent sighting. “The interviews go smoother if you’re there. Your presence adds—”

“Stability?” Only after she felt her face grow hot did he allow a slow grin to crease his face. Her gaze lingered on his lips, unable to look away. He was a maestro with that mouth. And his hands...

She blinked, shook her head. It didn’t matter if he knew that he’d thrown her off balance. Her hormones had been doing their own thing since he’d saved her life. “Call it whatever you want. But there’s something else.” She looked away, back at him again. “Until they are certain they’ve caught the corrupt cops, how do we know the lab assistant isn’t one of the bad guys? I mean, Randall Bowe’s already a definite, so why not his colleague? If I were working against GGPD, being paid off by the cartel, I’d make it look like my boss was all to blame, too.”

“Why don’t you just bat your eyelashes at me while you’re at it, Dominique?” He ground out the words and she allowed herself a chuckle at his expense.

“Since you’re in charge of my safety, I figured you’d want to know all the angles.”

He gathered his laptop and bag without comment and they proceeded to the exit. Stanton checked the street before motioning for Dominique to walk next to him. They headed for the coffee shop, a few blocks away.

“Are you certain you have an interview?”

“You’re the one who told me Melissa arranged it.” Doubt crept in, though, her hopes sinking as she acknowledged the possibility that the woman might not show.

“If you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do was ask.” His jest calmed her. This was preferable to the awful quiet in the car this morning, when she’d wondered if he was regretting all they’d done last night. She’d figured out that while it might not have been her smartest move, or moves as it were, she would never regret the time with Stanton. The past couple of days had taught her the hard way just how short life was.

“Stanton, I want to come clean with you on something. About last night—”

“Nope, no talking about personal stuff during working hours.”

Dominique took his interruption for what it was. Last night was supposed to be a final, better farewell for each other. Not something to rehash. Fine.

They arrived at the café and he held the door for her. When she entered, she spied a woman sitting alone at the counter and walked up to her.

“Excuse me, are you—”

“Bonnie Stadler, the former GGPD lab assistant? Yes. You must be Dominique.” The woman had silver hair and bright green eyes that assessed both she and Stanton. Her features matched the photo the Gazette had used when her termination was announced.

“Yes, I’m Dominique de la Vega, with the Grave Gulch Gazette. This is Stanton Colton, my personal security advisor.” She didn’t look at Stanton as she was certain he was