Free Harlequin Intrigue, Box Set 1 of 2 by Delores Fossen

either.”
    â€œThat?” Again, it was something she shouldn’t have asked out loud. No need to clarify anything when it came to her mouth and his.
    â€œThat,” he verified, and touched her lips with his index finger. Like the previous look, it felt very much like a kiss. “We’re good together like
that
, but it’s the only way we’re good together. My family knows it, and they won’t want me tangled up with you again.”
    It was true. They were good together when kissing. And in bed. But they couldn’t live in bed forever, and the real world always came crashing in. After all, she’d always be Herschel’s daughter, and in the eyes of his family, she would always be the one who helped her father get away with murder.
    Too bad it was partly true.
    If she’d just figured out a way to stop him. Or at least have found some evidence that would lead to his arrest. But nothing.
    â€œDon’t worry,” Jericho added. “No one will object to you being here.”
    Only because of Maddox. And it made her wonder—would the Crocketts soon want her out of the picture?
    Probably.
    That wouldn’t happen. Despite the mess she’d made of her life, Maddox was her son, and even though he had Crockett blood, she wouldn’t just let Jericho push her out of their son’s life.
    â€œI’m bringing in your father for questioning this morning,” Jericho tossed out there.
    That got her attention. “You talked to him?”
    He shook his head. “Only spoke to one of his lawyers and told him if Herschel didn’t come in, that I’d put out a warrant for his arrest.”
    Her gut twisted. Not because her father shouldn’t be questioned. He should be. But an ultimatum like that was like poking a stick at a bed of rattlers.
    â€œMaddox and you will stay here while I talk to him,” Jericho went on. Not really a request. More of an order. “Chase and Levi will be coming to the ranch, to make sure you’re safe.”
    â€œBut what about you? Someone tried to kill you, too.”
    He tapped his badge. “That goes with the territory.”
    As arguments went, that one sucked. Because she was the reason he was in this
territory
.
    â€œTalking to my father won’t help,” she reminded him. “In fact, prepare yourself because he’ll probably have some out-of-county lawman with him who’ll insist on you turning me over to him so I can be arrested or locked up in a mental hospital.”
    â€œYeah, I figure he’ll try to pull something like that. But I’ve got three hours before the meeting, and I’m hoping between now and then we can find something to connect him to the hired guns who’ve been coming after us.”
    â€œGood luck with that.” Sarcasm aside, she meant it. And then she had a thought. “Maybe while you’re with my father, I can somehow get into his office and find something. Not just connected to this, but also to your father’s murder. My mother’s death, too.”
    Jericho didn’t shake his head. He just gave her a flat look to let her know that wasn’t going to happen. “Just in case he’s the one who wants you dead, let’s not make it easy for him.”
    â€œJust in case?” she repeated. “You’re thinking maybe it’s not him, after all?”
    â€œI’m thinking there are other suspects. Theo and his Mommy Dearest. Diego Cawley and Quinn Rossman. And no, adding Theo to the suspect list doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that he’s your ex-lover.”
    â€œMy ex-fiancé, not my lover,” she corrected without thinking.
    She should have thought first.
    Because Jericho honed right in on that. “Something you want to tell me, Laurel?”
    â€œNo.” And she was certain of that. Best not to get into why she’d allowed herself to accept a proposal from Theo. Jericho already