Free Night Shift (Grizzly Cove Book 3) by Bianca D'Arc Page A

weren’t so bad,” Zak told her honestly. “You were a lot calmer than you think. Give yourself some credit. You were actively fighting, buying time for me to figure out how best to attack the situation. You did really good, Tina. Never doubt it. And never doubt yourself. You’re an amazing girl, and I’m really sorry our picnic got ruined.”
    “Hey, that wasn’t your fault. There was no way to know that kind of thing was going to happen.” She shuddered, but seemed to be holding together a lot better, Zak was happy to note.
    “It’s my land. I should have inspected the waterfront better before taking you there. I’m really sorry.”
    He felt terrible that he had brought her to such a dangerous place. All he’d wanted to do was have a nice, romantic picnic by the water. Instead, he brought her onto the set of a horror movie.
    “You can’t be responsible for the entire ocean, Zak. I know you take your duties as a deputy seriously, but that’s going a little too far above and beyond, you know?” She smiled again, and he saw her point…somewhat.
    “Well, I can promise you, we’re not going to stop until we get to the bottom of this. Nobody is safe until we figure out what’s going on in the cove.” Zak knew this was going to be a difficult task, but everyone was going to work hard—especially Zak—to nail this down and make the water safe again. “Now, I saw Nell watching us, so you’re probably going to be facing some questions when you go inside.” He wanted her to be prepared for the sisterly third degree.
    “Yeah, I figured as much.” She didn’t look too thrilled by the idea.
    “I’ll save you a seat up front at the town meeting. They may want to ask you questions about the creature.” He wanted her to be ready, just in case.
    “Really?” She didn’t look too thrilled with that either. “I suppose… But it all happened so fast.”
    “If anything, they might ask about the thing’s strength. How hard it was pulling you toward the water. Stuff like that. They might ask if there was anything you noticed about the suckers, or the slime. Physical stuff. I’ll try to deflect as much as I can from you.”
    “No, it’s okay. They need to know everything they can to fight this thing. It’ll be okay.”
    He loved the way she found her courage. He was so proud of her. Zak reached over and kissed her.
    The kiss wanted to turn hotter than it should for the front seat of his town-issued SUV, but he controlled himself. He backed away, letting her go by slow degrees, until he was looking deeply into her eyes. The moment felt significant.
    “What was that for?” she whispered.
    “For how strong you are, how brave, and how lovely,” he replied in the same hushed tone of voice.
    She dropped her gaze, smiling shyly. “I’m not brave.”
    “I beg to differ.” He let her move away, each retreating to their own side of the vehicle. “You handled yourself really well today, Tina. Don’t ever think differently. I was very proud of you and the way you handled yourself. I’d pick you for my team any day of the week.”
    He was glad to see her smile at that last bit. He thought she would be okay now. Zak opened his door and got out of the SUV. He jogged around to her side, opening the passenger door with a flourish.
    “Thank you,” she said demurely as she stepped down out of the vehicle.
    He was probably standing too close, but he couldn’t help himself, and she didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she stepped closer, almost pressing against him as her gaze lifted to meet his.
    “You’ll be all right with your sister?” He found himself worrying about her. She nodded in response.
    He still had a job to do, and for the first time in his life, he found himself conflicted between his duty and his desires. If he followed the latter, he’d stay with Tina all day, just following her around, making sure she was safe. That would probably annoy the hell out of her in short order, but keeping her out of