Free Hidden Prey (Lawmen) by Cheyenne McCray

towels.”
    After she told Johnson and O’Donnell good night, she and Landon went down the hall. He gestured to the first door on the right. “This will be your room. You’ll need to keep the door open.” When she raised her brows, he went on, “That’s one of the rules we have when you’re in protective custody.”
    She glanced into the room and looked over its simple furnishings, including the full bed at the center of the room, before she glanced at him. “Thank you for everything.”
    “Not a problem.” He stepped away as she walked into the room. “I’ll be right back.”
    In a few moments, he returned with a clean extra T-shirt that he’d kept in his SUV, and gave it to her.
    Just as he was backing up to leave the room, she reached up and pressed her lips to his cheek, giving him a chaste kiss. “Thank you.” She offered a tired smile and pushed the door so that it was only open by a couple of inches.
    Landon stood in the hallway for a moment, his thoughts wrapped around Tori.
    With a frustrated growl, he turned and headed toward the bedroom he’d be taking in between shifts with O’Donnell and Johnson.
    It had been so long since he’d been with a woman. That had to be why he found himself wanting Tori so damned badly.
    His mind rejected that thought almost at once. He was attracted not only to her body, but to her spirit and intelligence as well.
    Heaving out a frustrated breath, he reached the master bedroom. He had to be exceptionally tired because the first thing he thought of when he looked at the bed, was having Tori lying in it, waiting for him.
    Shit. He left the door partially open behind him before going into the master bedroom’s attached bathroom and stripping off his clothing. What he needed was a cold shower, and it was for a much different reason than the cold shower he’d taken this morning.

CHAPTER 6

    Gregory Smith tightened his grip on the handle of his briefcase as he strode up the sidewalk, past two-story townhouses, toward the one he shared with Tori. The streetlights illuminated the sidewalk as well as the manicured lawns and landscaping.
    What a fucked-up day. He’d been late to work at the law office and had almost missed an important client. When he’d had a moment, he’d taken his lunch break at home late in the afternoon because he’d had to pick up a client’s file that he’d left there.
    That was when he’d found Tori’s note stating that she was leaving him. He’d gone through their home to see that she’d packed up her toiletries and some of her clothes. She’d left her laptop and her favorite clarinet at the front door, though, so he knew she’d be back. He’d tried calling her cell phone but she hadn’t answered.
    When he’d returned to his office, on the opposite side of Tucson from where he and Tori lived, he’d realized that in his haste he’d left his damned cell phone at the townhouse. He’d sent his intern, Sara, to pick it up, but she had never returned to the office. He’d told Sara where the spare key was hidden, and she should have been back within an hour. That was two hours ago. Maybe she’d had something come up, but it wasn’t like her not to call in. Hell, he was fucking the twenty-year-old and she had a serious case of hero-worship that didn’t hurt his ego one bit.
    While was at work he’d used one of the office phones to call Tori and had reached her, only to have her hang up on him. He’d tried calling back but his calls had gone straight to voicemail.
    Gregory ground his teeth as he reached the front door of the townhouse and his thoughts remained on Tori. Who the hell did she think she was? He’d find her and drag her ass back to Tucson where she belonged. She was probably in Bisbee, visiting her parents. He’d been to their home once and he thought he could probably find the house again. Tori’s father was a worthless drunk and her mother had barely talked to Gregory. She’d just watched him with assessing eyes that