insides. They’d only sat on the story this long to give Hannah time to remember more before they went public. But the women of Wyoming were sitting ducks with no idea what might be lurking out there to snuff out their lives. They didn’t know what to look for or how to protect themselves.

He closed his eyes. “Okay. It runs.”

He heard Hannah release a slow, shaky breath. Opening his eyes, he found her watching him with eyes bright with tears.

“I should probably schedule a press conference once the story breaks,” Tanner added, a hint of weary resignation tinting his voice. “Want to be part of it?”

“Hold on a sec.” Riley covered the mouthpiece. “Is the reporter going to say anything about where you’re staying?” he asked Hannah.

“No,” she answered. “The idea for this story was to get the killer’s attention and get him thinking about me again, instead of going on the hunt for another woman.”

He saw the fear lurking like a vulture behind her eyes, but the brave determination in her voice inspired his admiration. He might be mad as hell that she’d put her life on the line, but he had gained a new respect for her courage.

“Keep me out of it,” he told Tanner. Having him there might provide the killer with a clue where to look for Hannah.

“Okay,” Tanner agreed. “I’ll see if I can get an early look at what the paper’s going to run with. If I can, want me to fax you a copy?”

“Fax it to the police department.” He gave Jim Tanner the station’s fax number. “Joe will get it to me.”

He rang off, shoving his phone in his pocket. “Tanner thinks it should run,” he told Hannah.

“What do you think?” she asked.

He released a long, slow breath, trying to answer with his head instead of his gut. “I think the women of Wyoming should know there’s someone out there pretending to be a cop, pulling them over, abducting and killing them.”

The corners of her lip twitched briefly, though the relief didn’t quite make it to her eyes. “I’m sorry I blindsided you with it.”

“I’d have been more blindsided if I’d opened the paper in the morning and found you on page one,” he admitted. “I appreciate the heads-up.”

Uncertainty flitted across her face, but he didn’t know how to reassure her. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to. The danger surrounding her was about to grow exponentially thanks to one small newspaper story, and he found himself wanting to retreat, to save himself from the torment he knew might be coming.

What if he couldn’t keep her safe?

He was already half a man, thanks to losing Emily. If something happened to Hannah, would there be anything left?

“I need to go lock up for the night. We’ll talk in the morning.” He rose to go.

Behind him, he heard her take a quick breath, as if she had something to say. But he didn’t turn back to look at her, and she didn’t speak, so he closed the door behind him and went out to wait for Jack.

THE WOMAN STARING AT HANNAH in the mirror looked like crap. Purple shadows bruised the skin beneath her eyes, dark against her pale cheeks. Her body still buzzed with unsatisfied hunger, but her heart felt as hard and cold as a rock.

Riley had left the bedroom only moments ago, but he’d distanced himself from her long before he closed the door. She’d watched it happen, saw his expression shutter and the light in his eyes blink out.

He’d had too much pain in his life already. And she’d just asked him to take a chance on a whole lot more.

No wonder he’d walked away.

It was bittersweet, knowing that Riley really did care about her. Maybe not enough to build a relationship on, but she supposed it was something she could take home with her, like a secret souvenir, to bring out now and then to remember what it was like to be wrapped up tight in Riley’s arms.

But would that be enough? Could she go home, never to return, and be content with nothing but a memory?

WHEN JACK CAME BACK FROM the stable, Riley was waiting for him. Jack didn’t even have time to say hello before Riley pushed him against the door.

“You went behind my back and called a reporter in.”

Jack’s expression went from puzzled to guilty. “Hannah told you.”

“No, but you should have.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry. But someone needed to do something, and you were about to pack Hannah off to Alabama rather than listen to what she was trying to tell you. She wanted to talk to Mark.”

“Because she feels guilty about being the one who got away. You know how that feels, Jack.”

Jack blanched, and Riley felt a little ashamed of himself. But it was the truth, however harsh. One of the things that tied him and Jack together, now that Emily was gone, was good old-fashioned guilt.

He was a cop, Jack was a rodeo cowboy. They were the ones with dangerous lives, not Emily, who’d been the nurturer. The healer. And yet, she’d been the one to go too early. Either one of them would have traded places with her in a heartbeat.

Jack gave Riley a little push out of his way. “I know something else, Riley. I know what it feels like to need to make things right.” He crossed to the kitchen sink, fiddled with the cups drying on the rack, and finally just rested his hands on the counter, his head dropping to his chest. “Hannah’s time here is almost over, and she feels she hasn’t done anything to get you any closer to catching that bastard. It’s been eating her up.”

“You think I didn’t notice?” Riley challenged, growing angrier by the second.

Jack turned slowly to look at him. “Did you? Sometimes I think the only thing you see these days is your own pain.”

Riley flexed his fingers, longing to drive his fist into the stubborn set of Jack’s square jaw. He forced himself to stay where he was, needing distance to get a grip on himself.

“It’s not me you’re angry at,” Jack added.

“Wrong,” Riley snapped. “It’s not just that you set up the meeting, though that’s bad enough. It’s that you didn’t have the guts to be a man and tell me about it.”

“You would have stopped it.”

“That’s an excuse for lying?”

“I did what I thought I had to do,” Jack answered. “For Hannah-and for Emily.”

A thread of dark pain turned Riley’s anger into weary resignation. “I trusted you with Hannah’s safety and you put her in danger. How am I supposed to trust you after that?”

Jack looked as if Riley had slapped him. “I guess you can’t.” He turned on his heel and headed out of the kitchen.

Riley followed him into the den. “I have enough to deal with, just keeping Hannah safe, and what the two of you did is only going to make things harder.” He realized Jack was starting to pack his bag. “Going somewhere?”

“I don’t stay where I’m not wanted.”

Riley sighed. “Where would you go?”

Jack glared at him over his shoulder. “I didn’t come here to mooch. I came here because this was Emily’s home. I have enough money to rent a motel room for a few days.”

“Then what?”

“That’s my business.” Jack stuffed the last pair of jeans into his bag and started past Riley.

“Jack-” Riley went after him, catching his arm at the door. Down the hallway, the door to Hannah’s room opened, and she stepped halfway into the hall, her eyes meeting his.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

Jack set his bag on the floor and walked toward her. “I’m heading out.”

Hannah looked down at the bag, her brow wrinkling with dismay. “You’re leaving?”

“Just like a tumbleweed, sweetheart.” Jack patted her cheek. “It’s been great meeting you, Hannah Cooper. If I’m ever in Alabama, I’ll look you up.”

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