Under Threat by B.J. Daniels (reading the story of the .TXT) 📕

he hadn’t been able to think of anything else except her. The easy way she kissed him back, the way everything about her seemed to fit against him in just the right way. He’d been as lost as he’d ever been in his whole entire life.

In the aftermath, he didn’t know what to do about it. Apparently run away like some immature teenager was his answer. Cowardly, all in all.

But the more he talked to her, the more he wanted to kiss her again. The more he wanted to ignore everything that his training had taught him about getting mixed up with witnesses or victims or what have you. He wanted to ignore his own personal moral code and have Natalie Torres in his damn bed.

He groaned into his pillow. He felt about as frustrated as a teenager, but with the common sense of a man to make it all that much more irritating. Never in his life had he been tempted away from following his duty to the letter. Not like this. He’d always been able to be calm and rational, even when the stray thought of being the opposite had come up. He’d never gotten overly violent with a witness or perp. He’d always been calm, rational, sensible and, yes, conventional Ranger Cooper.

Why the hell was Natalie the difference maker?

After three hours of more frustrating self talk than actual sleep, Vaughn gave up. There was no use wasting time. He could be researching Callihan. He could be looking at the case. There were a wide variety of ways to employ his mind that wasn’t lying there with an ill-timed erection, trying to work out why he was so affected by a woman.

A beautiful, engaging woman who made him have the most foolish thoughts. Like, maybe she...understood. The police work being a bit of an obsession thing. She had her own obsessive situation that had ended a relationship.

He got out of his bed and looked out the window. He needed to get his bearings, and maybe looking at those mountains in the distance and remembering all he’d done to get him here could help him.

God knew he needed help.

The landscape was as barren as it had been since they’d arrived. Three days now. Three days and no one had found them or come after them. As long as this kept up, Captain Dean was going to call him home sooner rather than later. And they’d found nothing. No connections, no clues, nothing to help.

He glanced at the closet where he kept the corded phone. Since there was no cell service out here, they kept a landline open in case of emergency, but neither he nor his sister cared for people being able to call them, so they didn’t keep the phones hooked up.

But sometimes a phone call was necessary.

He grabbed the phone and hooked it up to the jack in the corner of the room.

The emails from Bennet were quick and usually in list form. If he actually talked to him, he might read some frustration level in his partner’s tone. And, be able to ask about the time they had left without the chance of Natalie reading the answer.

Making a phone call certainly had nothing to do with having to distract himself from the gorgeous woman in the living room of his secluded cabin. Zero connection to the fact she wanted him seemingly as much as he wanted her.

With irritated jabs, he punched in the number to the office and was patched through to Stevens.

“Still nothing,” Bennet greeted him, thankfully not beating around the bush.

“I figured as much,” he returned on a sigh. “How much longer are they going to let me keep her out here?”

“It’ll depend on the arson inspector’s report. We should be getting it today. I can call down and try to speed things up.”

“Yeah, I’d like to know what time frame we’re working with here.”

“That bad?”

Vaughn almost let it slip that it was terrible. But not for the reason Bennet would think. He clamped his lips together just in time to rewire his thoughts. “I don’t like that we’re not getting anywhere, and we might have to bring her back in the middle of it.”

“Yeah, this case...” Bennet trailed off. “Without Herman, we’re screwed. We’ve been trying to find someone he works with, someone who’ll talk. Nothing.”

“Nothing on those guys from the gas station?”

“They had warrants, so they’re locked up, but we had nothing on him. Not who they were working for, and not what they were trying to do to you and Ms. Torres.”

“I don’t like this. It’s too quiet, and it’s too easy.” Which was as true as the fact he wasn’t sure how much longer sanity was going to reign in this cabin.

“I’ll call Arson, see who I can light a fire under. I’ll email you the full report the minute I get it.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“In the meantime, you could relax. Laugh at my hilarious jokes. Unclench.”

“When have you never known me to relax?” Vaughn returned gruffly.

“That’s kind of the point. There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing you can change from where you are. Your only worry right now is keeping the woman safe. Which should be easy enough in the middle of nowhere. You know I’ll find any more information before you do out in the desert. So, watch a movie. Make some popcorn. Have some small talk.”

“I hate small talk.” Especially small talk that had to do with his ex-wife, and any shared sucking at relationships.

“The point is, you can kill yourself over this case, or you can have some sense and save up all your frustrated anger into dedicated business for when it will actually be helpful to us. When you’re back in Austin.”

“As encouraging as ever, Bennet.”

“I’m here for you, buddy.”

Even though Bennet was suggesting he relax, when that was the last thing he could do, it was... Well, damn, it was nice to know someone cared enough to suggest it. But that didn’t take away his