Justice Inked (Cowboy Justice Association 7) Read online

He wasn’t interested. Period.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Are you okay to drive, Rayne?”

  Dare’s large hand pressed over hers as she pulled on the door handle of her car, his touch sending a streak of heat through her veins and a tremble to her knees. She’d spent the last hour and a half trying not to watch him, and doing a pretty decent job, but now here he was talking to her in the deserted parking lot of the bar. Not another soul around as she’d parked on the outskirts to keep anyone from door dinging her rather new vehicle.

  “I’m fine. I had one glass of wine and then I drank water. Are you okay to drive?”

  With his massive body mass he could probably drink a hell of a lot more than she could and still stay under the limit.

  “I could use a ride home. If you’re offering.”

  She hadn’t expected that answer. Was she offering? If she didn’t give him a ride home there were others inside that could, but it would be churlish to refuse. She didn’t hate Dare after all. It was just embarrassing that he’d kissed her and never wanted to do it again.

  “Sure. Get in.”

  Rayne didn’t bother to turn around, his nearness making it hard to take a deep breath. Instead, she climbed into the driver’s side on trembling legs while he punched something into his phone before swinging in beside her. Suddenly she wished she’d purchased a giant SUV instead of the low-slung fire engine red coupe. Dare was sitting a scant few inches away and she could smell his cologne and feel the warmth coming off of his skin.

  It was the last thing she wanted. The sooner she dropped him off at home the better off she’d be.

  Starting up the car, she flipped on the heater and backed out of the space before turning onto the main road. She kept her eyes forward but couldn’t help but take a quick glance as his profile. He appeared relaxed, content almost, if not happy. Whatever alcohol he’d consumed must have done the job.

  “Is this new?”

  His question pulled her out of her reverie and she shook her head as if to shake away the cobwebs. “I’m sorry. What’s new?”

  “The car,” Dare explained, sniffing the air. “It has that new car smell.”

  It certainly did and Rayne loved it. It was the first new car she’d ever purchased. All the others had been used, and she couldn’t help but feel the thrill of ownership whenever she drove her new baby.

  “It is new. Less than a month old. My old car needed to be put out of its misery.”

  “It’s pretty but not very practical.”

  Was he talking about the car or Rayne? Probably both, she conceded.

  “I didn’t want practical. I wanted sexy.”

  “You got it then. Do you know where I live?”

  Rayne laughed at the question. “Everyone knows where you live. The town isn’t that big.”

  “I guess not. I appreciate the ride home, by the way.”

  Shit, he was being nice. She didn’t want him to be nice. If he was an asshole this whole drive would be much easier.

  “Just how many did you have?”

  “A few too many. Not enough that I’m drunk but enough that my reflexes are slightly slower. I have to set a good example for the town.”

  He stretched out his long legs and she had to concentrate to keep her attention firmly on the road and not on those muscular thighs.

  “I’m sure you do. How are you going to get your truck in the morning?”

  Shit, she needed to keep her mouth shut or she’d be dragging her ass out of bed tomorrow extra early to give him another ride.

  “Billy or Sophie can bring me back for it. It’s not a big deal.”

  She turned onto his street and then into his driveway. The two-story home with an inviting front porch was dark, as were most of the houses on the street. Sane people were already in bed, which is where Rayne should have been over an hour ago.

  “Thank you. I appreciate the ride.”

  Dare’s fingers were on the handle but he didn’t move to get out of the car.

  “No problem. Have a good evening.”

  Get out. Move along. Nothing to see here.

  “Listen, I think we need to talk about the other night.”

  It was the last thing she wanted to do. Rehashing how he hadn’t enjoyed kissing her was pretty low on her to-do list. If anything, it was an absolute to-don’t.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Maybe we should just forget about it.”

  His hand captured her own and he was suddenly even closer than before, leaning toward her over the console in the middle. “I seem to be having trouble with that part. I’ve been thinking about it since it happened. Are you doing any better?”

  “You didn’t have any trouble running out the door after it happened,” Rayne snapped, unable to keep a lid on all the emotions that had been torturing her the last few days.

  “I…regret leaving the way I did. I didn’t plan on kissing you and I sure as hell didn’t plan on liking it was much as I did.”

  She wasn’t sure she believed him.

  “You didn’t act like you enjoyed it. I asked if you wanted to do it again.”

  “I did want to, but I’d acted so incredibly fucking stupid about Sophie’s tat that I was embarrassed. I figured you wouldn’t want me to kiss you again.”

  So he had wanted to. If she were brutally honest with herself she wanted to do it again as well. She’d been distracted and there was really only one cure. More Dare. It was almost laughable when she thought about it. They were complete opposites. Two people that should never be together, but damn if that kiss hadn’t lit something inside of her that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Too long. She wanted to feel it once more.

  Rayne sucked in a breath and gathered her courage. What was the worst that could happen?

  Deep, grinding humiliation with a side of Oh my God, why did I do that? She’d have to move, leave Valley Station. Maybe even change her name. Possible plastic surgery to modify her appearance. She could talk to Presley about witness protection.

  “You could kiss me now.”

  She couldn’t help herself. She was a romantic at heart and the thought of making this giant man smile or even laugh was too heady to pass up no matter what the cost.

  Dare leaned in until his lips were just millimeters from her own. He could probably hear the wild thumping of her heart and the whoosh of blood singing through her veins. His hand cupped her chin as his other arm slid around her waist to land on the small of her back, right under her jacket.

  When his mouth touched her own it was as if she had been struck by a stray lightning bolt, and the sensation sizzled through her limbs until her fingers and toes tingled. His probing tongue brought a heat that settled in her belly and she clung to his shoulders as the universe spun around them. She lost herself in that kiss, her eyes tightly shut to keep out all the thoughts of why she shouldn’t be doing this. It wasn’t smart or wise and it was probably going to end badly but dammit, she needed this. Just one more. Like a junkie with her next fix, she wanted Dare’s lips on her own.

  So amazingly good.

  When he finally pulled back, his breathing was ragged and his blue eyes were dark with passion. He might not want to like the kiss but he did anyway. There was something between the two of them that simply could not be denied.

  “That was good.” Dare’s voice was low and gravelly as if he’d just woken up. “Real good.”

  “Yep. Good,” she echoed, not knowing what else to say.

  She stared out of the car window for a few moments waiting for him to speak…say something. Anything.

  “What do you think we should do about this?” he asked, his gaze trained on his hands which were fiddling with his house keys that he’d dug out of his pocket at some point. “I mean, do you think we should do it again?”

  I don’t think I can help myself.

  “You mean like a relationship? Like dating?”

  The thought of getting to kiss him whenever she wanted, and perhaps even do mo
re made her stomach twist into nervous knots. Happy, nervous knots though. The idea wasn’t an unpleasant one, which came as a shock. A week ago she’d been cursing his name and now she was contemplating letting him have use of her girl parts. It was a quick turnaround.

  “Yeah, maybe like dating, I guess. Would you go on a date with me if I asked?”

  Christ, were they thirteen years old? He needed to know what she’d say before he asked.

  “You could ask me and find out. Isn’t that usually how it’s done?”

  Dare’s thumbs were tapping out an unheard rhythm on the faded denim covering his knees. “We’ve kind of gone about this backwards so I’m not sure. So, would you go out with me, Rayne?”

  Her head said no but every other part was saying yes. “Sure. I will.”

  Dare nodded, still not looking at her directly. “Good. That’s good, I mean. How about we see a movie and then have dinner on Saturday night? Sound good?”

  “Fine.” This was awkward. Hopefully the date wouldn’t be this bad.

  “Sophie sure will be surprised,” Dare observed. “Your sister probably will too.”

  Craptastic. Rayne hadn’t really thought this through. The whole town, including Camy, was going to be all up in their business. Asking nosy questions and generally being busybodies.

  Rayne slapped her forehead and groaned. “Camy knowing about this is kind of a nightmare. She’ll be a pain in the butt when she finds out. She’ll have you measured for a wedding tux before our first date is over.”

  Rubbing his temple, Dare grimaced, shifting in the leather seat. “Sophie might not be much better. She’s always telling me to get a woman. Says I won’t be so grouchy.”

  “I hope you’d be less grouchy,” Rayne retorted with a giggle. “But we do need to think about this. If this…thing…between us doesn’t work out it’s going to be tough to explain to everyone. Heck, if it does work out it’s going to be difficult to explain. Maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone for awhile. Just until we know how this is working.”

  If the truth were known, Rayne wasn’t sure they’d get past the first date. She might clobber Dare during dessert for being crabby or just plain uptight.

  “You mean, sneak around?” Dare sounded incredulous and she didn’t blame him. Everybody in Valley Station, and its close by neighbor Fairfield, knew pretty much everyone else’s business. There weren’t many secrets, or at least the salacious stuff was out in the open. The boring crap no one cared about.

  “We could date out of town,” Rayne suggested. “Drive separately. That kind of thing. Not for long. Just until we figure out whether we’ll kill each other or not.”

  “I guess we could give it a shot. If people find out then we’re no worse off than if we hadn’t tried. It might help not to have any pressure for the first few dates. I think it’s a good idea.”

  So it was settled then. They were going to sneak around like what they were doing was horribly wrong. It said too much about her that it gave her a small thrill to think of the subterfuge.

  Rayne needed help. Deep therapy, apparently. Surely she was psychologically damaged in some way to get a kick out of the situation.

  “So you can call me and let me know where to meet you. Or can you? Because you’ve been ducking my calls for over a week.”

  Dare held his hands up in surrender. “I swear I’ll fill you in on the case completely on Saturday night. How does that sound?”

  “Like the best I’m going to do,” Rayne sighed. “I’ll see you then.”

  The chances were high she’d see him before that, but they were going to pretend they barely knew one another.

  “See you.”

  This time Dare did exit her vehicle before bounding up his front porch steps two at a time. She waited until he was inside then backed down the driveway, heading for home. Camy didn’t realize how successful the evening had been.

  Rayne had a date with Sheriff Dare Turner.

  She better pick up those ice skates for hell. It had to have frozen over.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dare scrolled through the background information he’d been able to piece together regarding his murder victim Patrick Moulson. The man was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky before he joined the Army after high school. Four years later he was discharged and never seemed to find his place in civilian life. He’d drifted from one job to another while dating one girl after another, never settling down. That wasn’t against the law of course, but it spoke of someone who might be troubled or easily swayed into crime, especially if money was hard to come by.

  Moulson’s bank account was as bare as his apartment in Salt Lake City. Hardly any furniture, a closet half full of clothes, and an empty refrigerator were all he’d left behind when he’d come to Montana. Dare still hadn’t been able to find where Moulson was staying while he was here. He’d checked every hotel and motel between here and Billings, turning up nothing. If the man had slept in his truck that too had disappeared without a trace.

  Unless Patrick Moulson was a magician, personal belongings like clothes and vehicles didn’t generally just fade away. They had to be hidden or disposed of. That meant an accomplice. It was a good bet that the accomplice was the shooter and had hidden any evidence that Moulson was in the area, but that simply challenged Dare all the more. Unless they’d dug a gigantic hole somewhere that truck could still be found. It might have a clue as to the identity of the killer. Or even just the why of the situation. He’d settled for that right now.

  The forensics team hadn’t done much better. Fingerprints confirmed Moulson’s identity but all the other prints had led to a dead end. Rayne kept her shop clean and neat but there were still prints from at least half a dozen people, none of which were in the system.

  Ballistics were run but the bullet hadn’t matched anything in the database. It was beginning to piss him off.

  His phone vibrating in his pocket pulled him from his thoughts. “Turner.”

  “Hey Dare, it’s Tanner. Got a minute? It’s important.”

  Tanner Marks didn’t use that word lightly so Dare was all ears. “Of course. What’s going on? Is there something I can help you with?”

  “I think you and I need to start working together, my friend. You know I’ve been working on this bank robbery, right?”

  Dare had looked at the footage but hadn’t seen anything that would help the investigation, so he wasn’t sure where Tanner was going with this.

  “I do. Have you found something?”

  “We did. Remember our two victims from the bank robbery? The ME pulled the slugs and ran them through the system. When the ballistics came back this morning it matched your unsolved murder. How’s that for a strange coincidence?”

  The hair on the back of Dare’s neck stood straight up. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”

  “Neither do I,” Tanner agreed with a short laugh. “Somehow your break-in and murder are connected to my bank robbery. I’d bet on it. I’d like to get together and compare notes if you don’t mind.”

  This was the first positive news Dare had received in days. “Absolutely. I can drive over there if you like. You name when.”

  “How about tomorrow around ten? We can go over the evidence and then have some lunch and catch up while we figure out our next steps.”

  Dare quickly agreed and ended the call. Finally, a break in the case that might lead to solving Moulson’s murder once and for all.

  * * * *

  Rayne hadn’t wanted anyone to know about her date with Dare tonight, but keeping anything a secret from her best friend Misty Monroe was almost impossible. Within just a few minutes of their phone call, Misty had known something major was up and didn’t relent until Rayne confessed.

  In truth, she was glad to have someone to talk to about the forthcoming evening. She was incredibly nervous and not at all sure she’d done the right thing by agreeing to this date. Sexual attraction didn’t necessarily equate to any sort of real compatibility, so this w
hole endeavor could be headed for a failure of massive proportions the likes which few had seen before.

  “So what are you wearing tonight?” Misty asked. Rayne had her friend on speakerphone as she stood in her bathroom making up her face. “That red dress always looks nice on you.”

  “Way too dressy,” Rayne protested, slowly and carefully drawing on eyeliner. “He mentioned dinner and a movie which says casual to me. I was thinking black jeans and a sweater. It’s chilly tonight and I don’t want to freeze my fanny off.”

  “Hmmm…black jeans say casual and dressy. That’s good. What sweater? And what shoes? Boots or heels?”

  Rayne held up the two sweaters she was deciding between – one cream and the other purple. “Purple with the three-quarter sleeves. And black flats. I want to be comfortable tonight. I’m already short so heels wouldn’t fool anybody. Dare is about seven feet tall so anything I wear would be just a drop in the bucket anyway.”

  Misty giggled on the other end of the line. “Dare is a big one. He’s taller than Jared so that makes him around six-three or four.”

  And every inch muscle from the looks of him. Rayne wondered how many hours in the gym he had to put in to keep that mouth-watering physique.

  She sat down on the edge of the tub with a groan, almost ready to call Dare and cancel the whole darn evening. “I think this is a mistake.”

  “No. No, it’s not,” Misty pressed. “You two are attracted to each other. A date is the next natural step. You’ll just wonder what could have happened if you don’t go.”

  “Nothing is going to happen tonight. Just dinner and a movie. No happy-naked-fun-time. Not on the first date.”

  “This from the same woman who told me I needed to get laid. You were right, by the way—now it’s my turn. Don’t say never. If it happens tonight, it happens. Since when have you become the morality police?”

  It truly wasn’t Rayne’s normal attitude about sex. She’d always been of the live and let live persuasion and didn’t believe that women should be slut shamed for enjoying something men clearly did. It was a natural biological function, not to mention fun as hell with the right partner. She’d had long-term and short-term relationships along with a couple of one-night stands, and she was okay with her sexuality.