Free If You Know Her: A Novel of Romantic Suspense by Shiloh Walker

staring at her, she didn’t pay them any attention. He suspected she noticed. Suspected she’d even noticed him, sitting in a booth and chowing down on wings. She wasn’t one to miss things.
    That bothered him, even as it excited him.
    She’d be a fighter, like her cousin. It was a thought that thrilled him, frustrated him. He wanted her, could already feel that burn—but knew he couldn’t risk this. Not after Jolene. Not only would it throw doubts on everything he’d done when he’d killed Carson, but there was no way he could take somebody like Nia and not expect it to be noticed
—very
noticed.
    The sort of notice that he would do anything to avoid. So he would keep his distance, and he would content himself with his memories of her cousin … and thoughts of what it might have been like. There wasn’t much physical similarity between the cousins. Next to none.
    But he could see … something.
    Attitude, perhaps. Arrogance. And strength.
    She wasn’t here to leave flowers in her cousin’s memory.
    He watched as she slid onto a bar stool, watched as a few men shot her considering looks. Three of them were married. Two started toward her side anyway. He was considering moving to that empty spot himself. He could be friendly, make small talk. It would be amusing, he thought, talking to her, trying to figure out just why she was here, even though he suspected he already knew.
    But one man beat them all.
    Law Reilly.
    Law had been shooting pool with a couple of the numerous Jennings boys when Nia Hollister came into the Grill.
    Silence fell.
    Even though music still blasted from the jukebox, there was an odd hush. He wasn’t fooled into thinking she didn’t notice. Still, she didn’t seem to pay any attention as she slid onto a bar stool and smiled at Leon, the bartender who had been working behind the counter foras long as Law had lived in Ash. Law didn’t think Leon had aged a day since Law had met him. He was also sure Leon hadn’t smiled once in those ten years.
    “Damn, ya see the ass on her?” Ethan Sheffield muttered. One of the deputies from the sheriff’s department, he was young, happily married, and one of the biggest flirts in the whole damn town.
    And while his wife understood Ethan’s harmless flirting, Law didn’t want the guy anywhere near Nia. Smacking the deputy in the belly with his cue stick, he said, “Play the next round without me.”
    Without waiting for a response, he headed over to the empty stool next to Nia. It wouldn’t stay empty for long, he knew. Even as he settled on it, he saw a few familiar faces hovering close by, almost as if they were waiting to see if he struck out.
    Screw ’em.
    “Didn’t know you were hanging out around town,” he said as Nia’s gaze slid his way.
    “You didn’t ask.”
    “True.” He nodded at Leon and the bartender brought him a beer. “I’ll tell you, if you’re out looking for wild nightlife in Ash, you already found the hot spot.”
    Amused, she glanced around the small bar and grill. With the music blasting from the jukebox, the empty stage, and the booths roughly half-full, it was actually fairly busy for the small place. But he knew what it looked like—dead.
    He liked it.
    “I’ll try to contain my excitement,” she said, leaning in closer.
    He told himself it was so she wouldn’t have to raise her voice over the music. And maybe it was. It also brought her close enough that he could smell the scent of her skin, her hair … nice …
    “You want to get excited, hang around a few weeks. We start our county fair. That gets really exciting.”
    “Hmmm. What’s the highlight … cow-tipping?”
    He chuckled. “Nah. We save that for the yokels who don’t live close to Lexington. We’re classy here. Something to do with horses. Not entirely sure what, though. Can’t say I’ve ever been.” He tipped his beer back, desperate to wet his throat. It didn’t do much good, though.
    “That’s not very neighborly of