Free Her Heart-Stealing Cowboys [Hellfire Ranch 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Jennifer August Page A

days. He was scheduled to check out yesterday but he didn’t settle his bill. I saw his car was still in the lot so I figured he just hadn’t had time to finish whatever he was here to do.”
    “How did you make the connection?” Rebecca asked.
    Whitcombe shrugged. “Well, it just makes sense, doesn’t it? This Michaels man has not been seen in days and you’ve got a dead body in your jail. It has to be the same guy.”
    “You mean you’re not sure?” she said.
    Wade closed his eyes.
    “I wouldn’t say one hundred percent but at least ninety-nine,” Whitty said.
    Tag sighed. “All right. I’ll look into it. Sorry, Wade. I won’t make it to your blood drive this evening.”
    Wade scowled. “The bus will be here until Maljib closes at ten. Come back after you get off work.”
    “Damn, you’re a pain in my ass.”
    “Yep.”
    “All right.” Tag pulled out his phone and waggled it at Wade. “I’m only doing it because I’m a sucker for a good cause.” He looked at Rebecca. “You stay and finish your lunch with Wade while I take care of this.”
    “I’d like to come,” she said.
    “No way. Boundaries, remember?”
    She nodded. “You’re right, of course. Get as much information as you can then. Look at everything. Take pictures. Sketch the scene. Note all the objects in the room.”
    Tag lifted a brow. “Darlin’, this ain’t my first rodeo. I do know what I’m doing.” He peeled off a twenty and tossed it to the table. “That’s for dinner. Damn.” He stared mournfully at his half-eaten steak. “That was really good today, too.”
    “It is good every day, Sheriff,” Maljib said. “I will send a fresh plate to your office when you are finished at the Queen.”
    Wade started at the man’s silent arrival. “You move like a ghost,” he accused. “Don’t sneak up on people like that.”
    Tag waved as he left.
    “I do not sneak, Mr. Merritt. You simply do not listen.” Maljib winked at Rebecca and returned to the long hallway. He disappeared around the corner.
    Wade looked at Rebecca and inclined his head. “Shall we finish?”
    Her smile made his stomach flip with a hunger that had nothing to do with chicken-fried steak. “Sure. You can tell me about your blood drive.” She sat back down and picked up her fork.
    Wade moved into Tag’s seat directly across from her and switched their plates. He lifted his tea glass in her direction. “I’d rather talk about you.”
    One finely manicured blonde brow rose. “Oh? I’m not very interesting, Mr. Merritt.”
    “Wade. I’m afraid I’m going to have to call bullshit on that.”
    She laughed and he sank deeper into her allure.
    “Were you a siren in a past life?” he asked.
    She blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
    Oh, I’d love to have you begging. On your knees in front of me with that beautiful mouth open and ready to suck my cock. Wade shifted in his seat. “You know, a siren? The mermaids who lured sailors to their doom using their beauty and voice?”
    Another blush graced her cheeks. “Well, I’d say thank you for the compliment, but I’m not entirely sure that is one.”
    “It was, I promise.”
    “Uh-huh. So, tell me about this blood drive.”
    Wade launched into a lengthy explanation of the contest, the blood drive, their goals, and how the high school teachers were determined to win.
    “Are you going to donate?” he asked as they finished their lunch. “We have cookies.”
    She cleared her throat. “Oh, I don’t know.”
    “Don’t tell me you’re scared of needles, too?”
    “No, definitely not. I spent way too much time in and around hospitals growing up to develop a fear of them.”
    “Why were you in the hospital so much? Are you better? Where did you grow up?”
    Rebecca’s gaze slid past his shoulder. Wade turned but didn’t see anyone or anything there. When he returned his attention to her, she’d pasted a bland expression on her face.
    “All right. I’m going to assume your background is a