Circle Eight Millennium: Lazarus (10 page)

The question came out sharper than she intended. It wasn’t his fault she had been stuck musing about the fact she was falling in love with him. He’d appeared as though she’d conjured him.

“I have news.” He put his hands on his hips and fixed her with that unblinking stare. As a cop, he was damn good at intimidation simply by existing.

She crossed her arms. “About what?” She couldn’t stop the annoyed tone in her voice. He disappeared for two days and then popped in as though he hadn’t been on radio silence.

“A few things.” He held up a folder and gestured to the office. “Can we sit down?”

She shrugged. “Fine.”

They walked into the office and she put the table between them. He sat down and opened the folder. Three very neat paper-clipped bundles were inside. He lined them up beside each other, then laced his fingers together.

“Sit.”

She raised her brows.

He closed his eyes. “Please.”

Bea wasn’t normally a brat, but she felt like one. She sat across from Laz, wondering what his game was. Did he come to mess with her just to see if he could? Self-doubt assailed her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you in the last two days. I was working on the leads and tracking down a suspect.” He pulled out bright sticky notes, which, dammit, charmed her. He set out a bright green one that read
WORK
on the first pile of papers. “One Daniel Jones was a disgruntled former owner of a sporting goods store. It went out of business to be replaced by a florist shop owned by a woman. He doesn’t have an alibi and we’re close to tagging the evidence to him for all five crimes.”

She was almost disappointed. “Who the hell is Daniel Jones and why does he hate me?”

“It appears he’d been close to bankruptcy when he went to the business expo at the Circle Eight. Old school guy who was raised that a woman’s place is barefoot and pregnant. Female business owners threatened him and he blamed all of you for the loss of his business. Personally, I think he might have a chance at an insanity plea. I’ve left this in the hands of another ranger to complete.” Laz moved the pile to the side then pasted a bright blue note that read
HOME
on the second group of papers. “I leased an apartment in Brier Creek yesterday.”

Her heart slammed into high gear. He was moving back home? She didn’t know what to say. Butterflies danced through her belly.

He put a bright red note on the last pile and it read
BEA
. “I’ve spent time thinking about you. A lot.” His blue-green gaze found hers. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but after spending time with you, I feel like I’ve found where I belong. Maybe it’s too early to talk about the future, but I wanted you to know how I feel.”

Her mouth had gone cotton dry and her damn eyes stung. She pointed at the papers with one shaking finger. “What is in there?”

He smiled and it transformed his harsh expression into one of male beauty. Lazarus Graham was so damn good looking it hurt to look at him sometimes.

“Tickets to a weekend in Corpus Christi for your birthday.”

She pressed a hand to her heart. “You know my birthday?”

“Of course I do. How can I ask to be your boyfriend if I don’t know everything I can about you.” He gazed at the red note. “When you turned sixteen, my sisters went to your party but I wasn’t invited. I never forgot the date or the fact that I wanted to be there, but I was such an asshole to you I didn’t deserve to be there.”

“I also have a brochure from the community college for a degree in criminal justice. You’re so damn smart and a natural born detective. I’m overstepping, but I think you can kick ass if you decide to move into law enforcement.”

She struggled to find the words to express just how full her heart was. She could only swallow and look like a doofus. It was as though someone looked into her deepest fantasies and brought forth everything she wanted. Including Laz Graham.

“I don’t know what to say,” she managed to squeak out.

“You don’t have to say anything. All of this is for you.” He got to his feet. “Read through it and then call me when you decide if you want to take a chance on a cowboy who is half in love with you but a little screwed up. He also comes with baggage and rusty social skills.”

He turned and walked out of the office. Bea traced the writing on the red note, the square handwriting neat and precise. Laz had just offered her so much including the opportunity to change the direction of her life, her career and her heart.

Was she ready for it?

Did it matter if she was ready or not?

Bea jumped to her feet and raced through the store. He was walking toward his car when she ran into the street.

“Lazarus Matthew Graham!” Her voice echoed across the morning light. A few people on the sidewalk stopped to stare. “Where the hell are you going?”

She sauntered toward him and he crossed his arms, accentuating the breadth of his chest and shoulders. A shiver raced down her at how delicious this man was.

Her man.

“Getting out of your way.”

She pushed her breasts against those powerful arms until he opened them and she looped her hands around his neck. “What if I want you in my way?”

His gaze was wary. “Are you sure you don’t need time to think?”

She smiled with everything that was in her heart. “Nope.”

He hugged her then pulled her off her feet and swung her in a circle. “Good, because I don’t think I can go another day without kissing you.”

His lips found hers as the bright sunshine bathed them in warmth. Beatrice had begun the week with a horrific crime against her and here she was ending the week the promise of a love and a man to share it with.

Fate might be a fickle mistress, but she had her moments.

Beth Williamson, who also writes as Emma Lang, is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of both historical and contemporary romances. Her books range from sensual to scorching hot. She is a Career Achievement Award Nominee in Erotic Romance by Romantic Times Magazine, in both
2009
and
2010
, and a quarter-finalist in the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest.

Beth has always been a dreamer, never able to escape her imagination. It led her to the craft of writing romance novels, fueled by Reese’s and tenacious pursuit of the perfect story. She’s passionate about purple, books, and her family. She has a weakness for shoes and purses as well as bookstores.

Life might be chaotic, as life usually is, but Beth always keeps a smile on her face, a song in her heart, and a cowboy on her mind. ;)

Website:

www.bethwilliamson.com

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Copyright © 2016 Beth Williamson

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ISBN: 9781943089055