Free Deadly Sins by Lora Leigh

replying. “You’re not listening.”
    “I rarely do, “she agreed. “But it’s been twelve years. Surely you can afford to have a life now.
    “And just four weeks ago some nutcase decided to copycat the Sweetrock Slasher and nearly killed my cousin’s lover.” His tone was intentionally harsh. “And that was after he’d already killed another woman. No, Skye, I don’t think it’s safe yet to have a life. And it’s sure as hell not safe to have a dog.”
    It probably never would be.
    “She’s an orphan, Callahan,” Skye finally sighed softly. “Like you. Like me.” She gave a small sad smile. “For some reason, she seems to want you, not me, and not anyone else. That’s a gift you rarely get. Can’t you just take her in for a few days?”
    Logan set his cup back on the counter, careful not to allow himself to feel anger or to show any emotion where that unneeded information was concerned.
    “I can take it to the shelter.” He lifted his shoulders as though it didn’t matter. “I’m sure it can find a family there.”
    The recrimination in Skye’s gaze was, frankly, pissing him off. Because she had no idea how much he wished—
    She breathed in slowly, as though forcing herself to maintain patience, before she set her coffee cup on the counter carefully.
    “You don’t need anyone, do you? Did you even check on your grandmother?”
    “I don’t have a grandmother.” He kept his tone even, but the anger and the hunger for things he knew weren’t his still burned inside him.
    “I saw her at the pharmacy the other day,” she said then, her tone too soft, too filled with sympathy. “She asked about you.”
    “And why would she do that?” It was almost a sneer, but he couldn’t seem to get it just right.
    Her shoulder lifted negligently. “I don’t know, but she seemed very worried.”
    “Stop.” It was time to put his foot down and get her the hell out of his life and out of his head. “If you’ve heard the gossip, then you know everything. Stop being so fucking nosy.”
    “And stop caring about you?” That couldn’t be an edge of regret in the question. “The big, bad, tough Logan can’t have anyone care about him, or care for anyone, can he?”
    “They end up dead.”
    And he couldn’t forget that.
    “And you just sit back and accept it?”
    “Hell, baby, it’s millions in cash, bonds, and property.” He laughed mockingly. “Wouldn’t I be stupid to turn my back on that?”
    He would in a heartbeat if he thought it would change a damned thing.
    But it wouldn’t. Just as leaving before hadn’t changed anything.
    “You’re stupid if you think I believe a word of what you just said,” she said, her voice low now. “I listen to everything I’m told and I know how to put two and two together. Three big tough military heroes aren’t going to take this lying down. You’re here. You’re investigating it, aren’t you?”
    Logan stared back at her narrowly. “I don’t give a fuck, Ms. O’Brien. All I intend to do is live here until those bastards die in order to prove to them they aren’t stealing a fucking thing from my parents or from me. After that, Corbin County can kiss my fucking ass.”
    Silence stretched between them. Disappointment finally filled her gaze and the sight of it tightened in his chest, far too close to his heart.
    “Do whatever,” she said coolly. “It’s time I head home. I have better things to do than try to charm Scrooge tonight. Have a nice, lonely life, Callahan.” She turned as though to leave.
    He was damned if he wanted her to leave.
    “Take the dog home with you,” he finally snapped as anger got the best of him. “If I wanted it, I would have brought it in. And I don’t have time for a trip to the shelter. Remember they put down unadopted dogs there. There’s no way that mutt is going to get a home the way it howls and cries twenty-four seven.”
    And the puppy needed out of the mountain air. Pugs could sicken easily. They