Rita Herron - Beneath the Badge

Taylor’s stomach dipped.

“I’m going to talk to your little brother. Find out if he tried to make good on his threat.” His snakeskin cowboy boots pounded the floor as he pivoted. “Meanwhile, think hard, Taylor. In the morning I want you to make a list of any enemies you might have, former boyfriends or current ones who might want to harm you. Is there one you can think of offhand?”

She lowered her head. “No. I haven’t been involved with anyone recently.”

“In the past?”

She hadn’t broken any hearts if that’s what he meant. She’d never let a man get that close. “Maybe this was a random break-in.”

“Just make the list. If it wasn’t a robbery then someone wanted you dead.”

A chill went through her. “You don’t have to remind me, Sergeant.”

“No? Well, think about this. The person who tried to strangle you could be someone you know from the foundation, someone who has it in for your family, someone who wants your money.”

His dark gaze pierced her. “And it very well may be someone you know and trust, someone you’re even close to. Someone you think is a friend, or your very own brother.”

Taylor’s heart raced. Surely the ranger was wrong. None of her friends would actually harm her. Although neither she nor Caroline had thought that Carlson Woodward was dangerous and they’d been mistaken.

And what about Miles? He’d always been jealous of her and had done some underhanded things when they were younger, but he’d never been violent.

Not until recently. But lately she’d seen a spark flare in his eyes that scared her.

His substance abuse and gambling problems had escalated, making him seem desperate at times, and…frightening.

A knock sounded at the door, and suddenly Margaret Hathaway rushed in, her face stricken with concern.

“Oh my God, Taylor, I heard what happened. Are you all right?”

Taylor clenched the sheets as Hayes gave Margaret a feral look, a look that nearly froze Margaret in her rush to hug Taylor.

“I’m fine, Margaret,” Taylor said, although tears blurred her sight. She could hold herself together in the face of Hayes’s brusqueness, but her best friend’s tenderness unraveled her calm facade. Although Margaret was old enough to be her mother, they had bonded as soon as they had met. The one person in the world Taylor trusted, the one who loved her unconditionally, was Margaret. And Taylor felt the same way about her friend. Not only was Margaret smart but kindhearted, and she’d faced her own share of problems and pain, although she hid them well from the prying eyes of the public.

Margaret bypassed Hayes and swept Taylor into a hug. “God, this is awful, Tay. What happened?”

Taylor relayed the short version of the story, well aware of Hayes’s scowl.

“Who in the world would want to hurt you, honey?”

“I don’t know, Margaret.” Taylor sighed. “But Sergeant Keller saved my life.”

Surprise registered on Margaret’s face, then she gave Hayes a curious look and smiled. “Sergeant, thank you so much for rescuing Taylor. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to her.”

Hayes’s dark eyes turned icy. “Just doing my job, ma’am. Where were you this evening?”

“Sergeant Keller, you’re out of line,” Taylor said sharply.

“Like I told you earlier, Miss Landis, your attacker could be one of your friends.”

“It certainly isn’t Margaret,” Taylor said between clenched teeth. “She would never hurt me.”

“That’s right,” Margaret said, obviously insulted at the thought. “Taylor and I are best friends.”

“Then you won’t mind answering my question,” Hayes said in a lethal voice.

Margaret tightened her jaw, and Taylor gripped her hand. “I told you she wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I had dinner with Taylor, then met my fiancé, Devon Goldenrod, at his house,” Margaret said. “You can ask him.”

Hayes arched a brow. “Right, the golden boy who’s vying for votes in the next City Board election.”

Taylor grimaced at the disdain in Hayes’s voice. She’d heard he’d had a rough life but he didn’t have to take his attitude out on her and Margaret.

Then again, for a moment, pain had flashed in his eyes when he’d seen Margaret hug her. Kimberly had mentioned that he’d been adopted, that there were some things he refused to talk about.

Margaret folded her arms. “Sergeant, what are you doing to find the person who attacked Taylor?”

His lips thinned into a deeper frown. “I’ve processed the crime scene and will be investigating everyone in Miss Landis’s life for motive.”

“What about keeping her safe?” Margaret asked.

An evil grin slid across the ranger’s face. “Well, ma’am,” he drawled mockingly, “I’ve got that covered.”

“How?” Margaret asked.

“I’ve been assigned as her bodyguard day and night.”

Taylor’s stomach sizzled with nerves yet she pressed her fingers to her lips, remembering how gentle he’d been when he resuscitated her. How in the world was she going to endure being near this man when he obviously hated everything about her?

HAYES BALLED HIS HANDS into fists to control his temper. Dammit, Taylor Landis looked all soft and needy. And she’d touched those luscious lips and looked up at him as if she was remembering his mouth on hers when he’d brought her back to life.

Hell. He couldn’t think about that. Couldn’t touch her mouth or any other part of her body again.

So he lashed out at her by taking perverse joy in taunting her rich friend. Maybe it was payback for all the taunting he’d received as a kid.

Margaret narrowed her eyes. “For some reason that doesn’t make me feel any better, Sergeant.”

He threw his head back and chuckled. “Don’t worry, Ms. Hathaway, I won’t let anything bad happen to the little princess.”

“You’d better not.” Margaret’s eyes flashed with emotions that Hayes refused to allow to get to him. “Because she’s going to be my maid of honor at my wedding, and I don’t want her showing up in a cast or on crutches.”

Or not showing up because she was dead, Hayes thought, although he refrained from comment. “In light of the fact that someone tried to kill you tonight, Taylor, you shouldn’t put yourself in the limelight right now.”

Margaret’s face blanched with fear, and Hayes’s gut tightened.

“He’s right,” Margaret said. “I’ll postpone everything until after the police find out who did this to you, Tay.”

“No, you won’t,” Taylor said, shooting Hayes a harsh look.

“But I don’t want to take a chance on you being hurt,” Margaret argued.

“She’s right, Taylor,” Hayes said. “You need to go into hiding until we find the man who attacked you.”

Anger sizzled in Taylor’s sky-blue eyes. “I refuse to run and hide. I’m not going to let some creep scare me from living my life.”

Hayes glared at her. “Then you’re a fool and asking for trouble.”

She turned a saccharine sweet smile on Hayes that was so fake it fueled his temper. “But, Sergeant, you’ll be with me day and night to protect me.”

He met her gaze with a sinister stare, but she smiled again, and focused on Margaret as if he was her minion.

Rage ripped through him. That was how she saw him, and he couldn’t forget it.

AS SOON AS MARGARET LEFT, Taylor fell into an exhausted sleep. Fitful images of the attack drove her awake several times, but when she opened her eyes, she saw Hayes Keller sitting in the chair in the corner watching her. She shouldn’t have found comfort in having him close by, but his big masculine presence soothed her nerves, and she rolled to her side and drifted back to sleep.