Ill get what your team needs out of Watts, Agent Acevedo, Joanna reassured him. And youre welcome to make the arrest.
What do you get out of this? Miguel asked.
Miguel! Elizabeth chided.
Telling him this was about a promotion wouldnt build any trust. Telling him her personal reasons for accepting this assignment wasnt an option, either. Joanna settled for a truth somewhere in between. The satisfaction of a job well-done.
We can all use a little of that, Ben intervened. Joanna nodded, appreciating his support more than she realized. She didnt have to worry about thanking him, though. He turned away to mark himself In on the duty board and nodded for Miguel to follow him into an office opposite the sheriffs. I want you to tell me more about that medal Julie sent you before she died. There has to be a reason why you, me and Tom all got one.
Once the door closed on their conversation, Joanna became aware of the warmth of Elizabeth Reddawns hand, still linked through the crook of her elbow. Had the older woman been holding on to her this entire time? Claiming her as a friend? Subtly hanging on in the face of the teasing, doubt and outright resentment from the three men?
As uncomfortable with the show of support as she was unaccustomed to it, Joanna shrugged away from Elizabeths touch. She busied her fingers, plucking imaginary specks from her blazer and slacks. She was perfectly capable of standing on her own two feet in this investigation without the older womans help. Joanna just needed a moment to shore up her defenses again, make sure her powers of observation, her strength and intellect, were firmly in place. Could you show me where the interview rooms are? Im afraid Sheriff Martinez has been held up on the phone.
Sure, hon. Elizabeths frown indicated disappointment at Joannas abrupt insistence on working rather than resuming their trip down memory lane. But there was also something she supposed was maternal understanding when she patted Joannas arm. Come on around this way. There are two rooms, with an observation window in between. Elizabeth led her back toward the security desk and a hallway that ran parallel to this wing of offices. Can I get you some coffee?
Black, thanks. That would be lovely.
Ill brew a fresh pot and bring it right in.
As Elizabeth bustled away, Joanna paused for a moment to inhale a quieting breath. But shed switched on the light in the first room before realizing how much Elizabeth Reddawn and the secrets from the reservation they shared had gotten into her head and diverted her focus from the investigation.
You forgot the case file, Sherlock. Stopping short of thumping herself on the forehead, Joanna retraced her steps. Shed already mapped out her strategy for questioning Watts. Now she needed to choreograph her questions with the placement of chairs and where she would sit or stand during each phase of the interview.
Joanna unzipped her bag and pulled out the thick manila envelope with the case reports and her notes. Shed just acknowledged the security guard in the lobby when the front door opened with a rush of wind and patter of raindrops.
Elizabeth? The familiar male voice swept straight through her, mocking any attempt to keep her emotions in check. You left your purse at the church. What are you carrying in this thing, bricks?
Joanna stopped in her tracks. Stared.
The man, easily six foot four, froze in the open doorway. His dark eyes narrowed as they locked on to hers. The wind glued his brown suit jacket to his broad shoulders. The rain made his military-short hair glisten like polished onyx.
Joanna? The timbre of his voice darkened. The deep pitch of it filled up his chest and rumbled out in a seductive whisper.
Ethan. Here. In the flesh. Impossibly bigger, broader, harder than the man she remembered. The silent intensity of his dark, nearly black eyes hit her like a sucker punch to the heart.
Ethan Bia.
The man shed given her virginity and her young girls heart to.
The man whod taught her how to survive the mountainsand her family.
The man shed walked away from fifteen years ago without ever looking back.
Chapter Two
What are you doing here? Ethan asked, anchoring his boots to the floor and holding himself still against the impulse leaping through every muscle of his body. Fly across the room and scoop her up in a fierce hug.
But another part of him had grown wiser and more cautious over the years. One, they had an audience in the form of Officer Bates at the security desk. And two, even if they were all alone, he wasnt too keen on getting his ego smacked or his heart crushed again.
Hed seen plenty of death and destruction in his years as an army ranger and his two tours of duty in Afghanistan. Hed dealt with loss in his work as a search-and-rescue team leader. But nothing had ever hit him as hard or left him feeling as powerless as watching Joanna Kuchus tearstained face when shed scrambled out of his truck that last warm spring night on the rez.
There are no good memories for me here. I have the chance to leave and Im taking it. Goodbye, Ethan.
She was barely eighteen and he was only twenty-one, but hed known in his bones that they were supposed to last.
But boom. They were done. She was gone.
And he was the man left behind.
Im working the Julie Grainger murder investigation, she explained, clutching a thick investigation file against her chest. Her fingers fiddled with the edge of the manila envelope in a subtle revelation of nerves. But they stilled almost as soon as he noticed the unconscious movement.
Always guarded, always with a plan, always thinking two or three steps ahead of everyone else in the room. That part of her personality hadnt changed.
I knew there was a good chance Id run into you. We should get this meeting over with so that it doesnt cost either of us more pain than it has to. She pointed over his shoulder. Youre getting wet and sos the rug. Why dont you close the door? Im sure we can find a private place to talk.
No good memories. Not even him. Them. Shed been through hell those last few monthsand the years before hadnt been much better, so hed never held her need to leave against her. But shed never even let him try to help. Shed refused his offer to go with her. And his love hadnt been enough for her to stay.
Ethan pushed the door shut behind him. He might not hold her obsessive drive to escape Mesa Ridge and the reservation against her. Didnt mean he had to let her fillet his heart open and char it over the flames of false hope and misguided passion again, either.
Im just here to deliver this to a friend, he explained, holding up the purse he carried.
Elizabeth? She inclined her head toward the main hallway, exposing a swanlike expanse of neck that beckoned to randy memories from the past. Shes in the break room making coffee. Ill walk you back.
Though this sure as hell wasnt the homecoming hed once wished for, spending a few impersonal minutes in her company could no longer hurt him. Ethan shortened his stride and fell into step beside her. Time has treated you well.