It had been one hundred and six days since Juliet Prince went on the run.
And it’d been nine days since JJ had received a notification on any sort of sightings of the woman who had kidnapped one of her boss’s many cousins. Or, in this case, JJ figured Kate was actually a second cousin to Brantley Walker, the man JJ called best friend and boss. Not that it mattered whether she was second, third, or tenth, Kate was family and anyone who lived in Coyote Ridge, Texas, knew how close the Walker family was.
Nine freaking days of crickets and it was killing her.
While JJ wasn’t a part of the Walker family, or even close to them despite her proximity, she had a vested interest in this case. She’d been a part of the investigation when Kate originally went missing, called in to help by Brantley himself. And she refused to give up until they’d located Juliet Prince and put that crazy beeyotch in a cage where she belonged.
“Why are you here?”
JJ shrieked, jumping back in her chair and damn near toppling over.
Clutching her chest where her heart thumped a little too hard, JJ glared over at the man who appeared at the top of the stairs.
“You scared me half to death, Reese Tavoularis,” she chided.
His response: a smirk.
The butthole.
Worse, he smirked, and it had that dimple in his cheek winking, which was oddly endearing and made it nearly impossible to be angry with the man.
“I’m workin’,” she told him, doing a double take when her brain processed the eyeful of sexy cowboy.
Reese looked smoking hot in his black button-down, ass-hugging Wranglers, lightly scuffed boots, and a black felt Stetson sitting atop his handsome head.
Somewhere close to six and a half feet tall, not too skinny, not too muscular, with a striking jawline and pretty brown eyes, Reese Tavoularis was a ridiculously attractive man.
Such a shame the guy recently realized he was gay, falling fast and hard for Brantley.
“Why’reyouhere?” she asked, not voicing thelookin’ like thatpart.
“To find out whyyou’rehere.”
“Did Brantley send you?” she asked, smiling as she turned her attention back to her computer.
“Maybe.”
“Well, you can tell him I’m fine. I don’t need a babysitter on New Year’s.” JJ toggled to another screen. “I thought y’all were goin’ out.”
“We are.”
“Well, you better get goin’,” she drawled. “I mean, it’s good to be fashionably late, but not so late that you miss the party.”
“Doubt we’ll miss it,” he said drolly. “Still a few hours till midnight.”
JJ relaxed in her chair, spun it to face him. “Why don’t you sound happy about that?”
“I can think of better ways to pass the time.”
She popped her eyebrows. “Naked, right? With Brantley? I can—”
“Don’t even,” he warned, fighting a smile.
“Fine.” She wouldn’t go there. Aloud, anyway. “Brantley talked you into it, huh?”
“Doesn’t he always?” Reese hooked his thumbs in his pockets. “Come with us.”
“What?” Before he could answer, she was shaking her head, turning back to her computer. “Nope. No way. I’ve already imposed on enough holidays this year. I’ve met my quota.”
