Free Grayson by Delores Fossen Page B

examiner on the way?”
    “Yeah. He and his crew are right behind us.” Dade volleyed more glances between the two of them.
    “Good. Mel can stay with the body, and you can get Eve and me out of here,” Grayson instructed. “I want to get the photos to the Rangers.”
    Dade called out Grayson’s instructions to Mel, and the deputy nodded.
    “Are you really okay?” Dade asked Eve as the three of them headed back toward the road.
    “You mean other than the raw nerves, the tear-stained cheeks and adrenaline crash?” The corner of her mouth lifted. “Yes, I’m okay.”
    Dade hooked his arm around her shoulders. “I wish you could have had a better homecoming.” He shifted his attention to Grayson but didn’t say anything. Dade’s left eyebrow lifted.
    Grayson ignored him and kept on walking. Thankfully, they soon reached a spot where the cell signal was stronger, and he fired off the photos. If the dead man had a police record, then it wouldn’t take the Rangers long to come up with an ID.
    It took a good ten minutes for them to get back to the road where Dade had a cruiser waiting. Dade helped Eve into the front passenger’s seat, closed the door and turned back around to stare at Grayson.
    “Don’t ask,” Grayson growled in a whisper.
    Dade lifted his shoulder. “Hey, you got my vote if you’re getting back together with Eve.”
    “It’s not a vote.” Grayson cursed. “And what part of ‘don’t ask’ didn’t you understand?”
    “The don’t part.” Dade smirked as only a younger brother could manage to do.
    Grayson cursed some more. “Look, I’m in a bad mood. The kind of mood where I’d love to beat someone senseless. My advice? Stay out of my way, or that someone will be you.” He threw open the door and climbed into the driver’s seat.
    As soon as Dade got in, Grayson sped back toward town. His mood improved a little when he saw the ME’s van approaching from the opposite direction. That meant Mel wouldn’t have to stay out there very long, and that was good. He needed all his deputies back at the station so he could figure out what the heck was going on.
    “Any idea how the dead man tracked you down?” Dade asked from the backseat.
    Grayson was about to say no, but then he groaned. “Probably a tracking device. He put one on Eve’s car, we know that, and I’m guessing he put one on the truck, too.”
    Eve made a small gasping sound of surprise.
    “I’ll have someone check when they fish your truck from the creek,” Dade assured him. But Grayson heard the hesitation in his brother’s voice. Dade was no doubt wondering why Grayson hadn’t thought of the possibility of a tracking device before he’d driven the truck away from his office.
    Grayson didn’t need another reason to put some distance between Eve and him, but there it was. He was thinking like a rookie, and the stakes were too high for him to make another mistake.
    This mistake could have gotten Eve killed.
    He wouldn’t forget that.
    Since Eve was shivering, Grayson decided to turn up the heat, though the adrenaline was probably more responsible than the chilly temperature. Eve apparently had the same idea because she reached at the same time he did. Their hands collided. And she pulled back as if he’d scalded her. Ironic, since just a half hour earlier he’d been deep inside her. Still, it was good they were in agreement about this no-touching thing.
    “Uh, I’m guessing Eve’s in protective custody?” Dade wanted to know. It sounded like a loaded question.
    Eve turned in the seat to look at Dade, and Grayson nodded. “She can stay at the ranch.”
    “At the ranch?” She shook her head. “That’s probably not a good idea.”
    Yeah. He was in agreement with that, too. The sex against the tree had only created more tension and friction between them, but there couldn’t be any more mistakes.
    “You might not have to be there long,” Grayson explained. “We just need to tie up some loose ends on this