Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) by Olivia Jaymes (reading women .txt) 📕

Should I tell him I was joking? Should I just play it off?

His smile widened and those blue eyes...they softened as he reached out to pull her as close as the console between them allowed. His hands were strong and warm and she snuggled into his side, inhaling his heavenly scent. If they bottled it, they could make a fortune.

"I love you too, Jenna Waters. And that was pretty spontaneous, by the way."

"It was, wasn't it? Maybe you're having an effect on me."

"I hope so, but I don't care if you're spontaneous or if you plan everything down to the last minute. I love you either way."

They didn't need candlelight or flowers or champagne. They only needed each other.

They were in love. Officially.

And despite what had brought them together, it was glorious.

Knox had never been in love before.

Sure, he'd thought he was in the past, but clearly it hadn't been the real thing. There had been women - lots of them, to be truthful - and he'd cared about several of them. A few times he'd thought he was in love. Now he could see that he'd only been practicing for an actual, authentic love. Everything before Jenna seemed small and unimportant.

She'd been so cute and incredibly adorable when out of nowhere she'd told him she loved him. Her cheeks were all pink and her eyes had gone wide in fear as if she didn't know how he was going to reply. She should have known. She'd had him wrapped around her little finger since the first night they'd met. As he'd said before and he'd say many times in the future... There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for Jenna.

He was only beginning to comprehend how much he loved her, and how different this was to any relationship he'd had in the past.

She was currently asleep, her golden blonde hair fanned out on the pillow, her body curled around the covers. Knox carefully reached out and plucked at a curl, wrapping it around his finger before letting it softly fall on her silky shoulder.

He was glad that she could sleep, but he was wide awake. His mind was far too active, hopping from one idea to another about what might happen in the morning. There was hope that Hedgcock might be the one, but then if he wasn't, where did they go from here?

Slowly sliding out of bed so he wouldn't wake Jenna, he threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and headed for the kitchen. Maybe a shot of whiskey might help him sleep and settle his thoughts. The house should have been dark but the kitchen light was already on.

"Jesus, do you ever sleep?"

It was Eli, of course, munching on a sandwich and a glass of orange juice. He simply looked up from his snack, not seeming surprised that Knox was awake too.

"I do," Eli replied. "But my body clock is a little messed up. I slept a few hours but now I'm wide awake. Are you hungry?"

"I actually came out here to have a drink. I thought it might help me sleep."

"Couldn't hurt."

Knox reached for the whiskey bottle in the cabinet. "Want one?"

"Whiskey, roast beef, and orange juice doesn't sound like a good combination. I'll pass, but thanks. Why can't you sleep? Worried about tomorrow?"

"A little," Knox admitted. "If they don't find anything, I'm not sure where to go with this investigation."

"We start all over at the beginning," Eli said with a grin. "You know how this works. We've been here a million times. We start again and go over every piece of evidence and information with a fine-toothed comb. We'll find something. You already know that they're getting nervous. They'll show their hand again soon."

"What if they don't?"

"They will. Have some faith."

Knox poured a finger of whiskey and sipped at it, enjoying the burn in his belly. "You sound so calm. Do you meditate or something?"

That made Eli laugh. "Nope, I just don't let the little shit get to me. And as the saying goes...it's all little shit. As long as we keep Jenna and her family safe, we have time to investigate."

Knox emptied the glass. "But where do we go from here? I don't think my brother is guilty, and if Hedgcock isn't..."

"We expand the investigation. We look where we haven't looked before."

"Where is that?"

"You tell me. I just got here."

"I don't know."

And that frustrated the hell out of Knox.

"You will," Eli said, finishing off his sandwich and crumpling the paper napkin between his fingers. "Maybe not tonight, but eventually."

"In the meantime?"

"We place ourselves firmly between Jenna's family and the person that wants to hurt them. That will piss whomever it is off. I kind of like the idea of making a killer mad, don't you?"

"It's one of the better parts of this job."

Eli stood and placed his plate and glass in the sink. "How about we watch a movie? I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep any time soon. We've got about five hours to kill before they serve the warrant."

"Fine, but I get to pick the movie."

"I'll give you a choice. Die Hard or Die Hard II."

"The original. Is Die Hard your favorite movie?"

"No, but I thought we could use some inspiration right about now. What's more inspiring than John McClain taking back an entire skyscraper from terrorists single-handedly?"

"I can't argue the logic. We've got five hours. We could watch both of them."

It wasn't the worst way to pass the time. Did Brett Hedgcock kill Lori Waters? They just might get their answer tomorrow.

28

Knox and Jenna