If You Know Her: A Novel of Romantic Suspense

But I … well, I needed it too much. I don’t like needing people, needing anybody. Especially when I’m already freaked out.”
    A faint smile tugged at his lips. “Well, I think I can get that.” He eased up, rubbed his lips over hers. “Maybe you can tell me what happened, then. So I don’t have to go beat it out of the sheriff.”
    That startled a laugh out of her. “Beat it out of the sheriff?”
    “Yeah. Although sometimes I think about beating him up just for the hell of it.”
    “Hmm. Yeah, I heard you have a thing for his wife.”
    “Had—it’s a past thing.” Law scowled. Then he settled down on the bed next to her, slid her a sly grin. As he laid a hand on her thigh, he murmured, “I got a thing for you, if you want the truth.”
    That grin of his made her heart race. Or maybe it was the fact that he had his hand resting so high on her thigh. Both, perhaps. “Do you, now?”
    “Hmmm. But you’re not talking.”
    “No. I guess I should. Would hate to see you get arrested for assaulting the sheriff.” The lighthearted moment passed as she looked at the window. The terror of the past night rushed up, grabbed her. “I was sleeping. Something woke me. I don’t know what. I don’t remember hearing anything. When I opened my eyes, it was too dark in here—earlier there had been lights, and last night. From outside. But not then. The only light was from the moon. I saw …” She broke off, took a deep breath. “I saw something out the window—a hand. It moved, closer.
He
moved. He was standing right outside the window. Staring inside.”
    “He … you’re sure it was a man.”
    “Yes.”
    “Did you see him? I mean, his face? Any idea what he looked like?”
    “No, just a silhouette. But it was a man, I’m sure of that.” She turned her head, met his gaze. “I didn’t turn on the lights—didn’t want to look. I had a feeling he
knew
I was there, watching him. But I didn’t want to see if I was right. I grabbed my gun, called nine-one-one. Right before I started to talk, he turned around, left. Just like that. Almost like all he wanted to do was make sure I
saw
him.”
    For a long time, Law was quiet, his face grim, eyes staring off into the distance. Finally, he looked back at her. “You know this could just be some kid trying to freak you out, right?”
    “Please.” Nia sneered.
    He shrugged. “I don’t entirely believe it either, but I don’t dismiss any possibility. Speaking of which … any chance it could be an ex-boyfriend? Ex-husband?”
    “There are no ex-husbands and the possibility of it being an ex-boyfriend is so slim, it might as well not exist.” She eased away from him, pushing a hand through her hair as she stood and started to pace. “Look, Law, I appreciate you not just laughing the idea away, but I already know who this is—there’s only one thing that makes sense to me. It’s the bastard who killed my cousin … and it wasn’t Joe Carson.”
    Golden eyes shouldn’t burn that hot, he thought. Molten gold. Fiery. Full of fury, despite the fear.
    Rising from the bed, he cupped her cheek in his hand and rubbed a thumb over the curve of her lip.
    “I’m really starting to suspect you’re right,” he said, his gut going tight with both fear and rage. As he stared at her face, images of the girl who’d been killed, dumped on his land like so much garbage—her cousin, her family—flashed through his mind. That could be her.
    If the killer wasn’t Joe, if he wasn’t dead, then he was out looking to terrify her.
    Nia’s brows drooped low over her eyes. “You … wait. What, you believe me?”
    He stroked a hand through her hair, curled it over the back of her neck. “Nia, you don’t strike me as a woman who is going to jump at imaginary shadows.” He smirked and added, “I might. But I’m a paranoid bastard. If you’re positive it’s not an ex, and you’re probably right it’s not some kid looking to freak you out … what else is the logical conclusion?”
    “You know, not too many people would come to the logical conclusion that the killer isn’t the dead guy everybody thought.”
    The suspicion in her eyes, for some reason, appealed to him. Grinning, he dipped his head and nipped her lower lip. Against her mouth, he murmured, “Well, I don’t tend to think like most people, maybe.”
    Then, because her mouth was still so handy, and because she tasted so fucking good, he kissed her.
    She opened for him with a sigh,