A_Wanted Man - Alana Matthews Read Free Page B

cage, an untamed and ferocious beast, anxious to devour.
    “Deputy Glass?”
    Callie had to search for a moment, but finally found her voice. “Thanks, Tucker. I’m on my way.”
    As she disconnected, she realized Nana was staring at her, concern in her eyes. “What’s the matter, hon? You okay?”
    Far from it, Callie thought, knowing it would take every bit of her strength to climb into her SUV and drive back to the station house.
    Because Deputy Harlan Cole wasn’t just a U.S. Marshal. He was a man she had long despised.
    He was also the love of her life.

Chapter Three
    Harlan had no idea what to expect when he walked into the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department.
    He was feeling humiliated and out of sorts after last night’s debacle, the side of his head still throbbing where Billy Boy Lyman had left a Glock-size bruise.
    When he came to, he’d found himself lying in the restroom doorway, the room swaying, his weapon long gone. But what hurt most was the blow to his pride. In the span of less than a minute, he had lost a prisoner, a gun and a sizable chunk of his reputation. All because he’d been stupid enough to lower his guard, and was just biased enough to assume that the girl behind the counter wasn’t a threat to him.
    Something he’d have to work on.
    Whatever the case, he didn’t doubt that these mistakes would haunt him for many months to come. And as he pulled into the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office parking structure, he had no idea what he was walking into.
    The locals would undoubtedly blame him for the death of one of their own, but the question was whether they’d take the professional route and hide their animosity, or—as was so often the case—treat him like a hostile intruder.
    The moment he stepped into the conference room, however, such concerns immediately vacated his mind. This could have been a war zone, with bullets flying, and Harlan wouldn’t have noticed.
    Of the six people sitting at the long table, only one of them—the lone woman in the room—commanded his attention, despite the fact that she refused to look him directly in the eye.
    It was none other than Callie Glass.
    Harlan’s internal alarm bells suddenly went off, and he knew he’d better sit down before he fell down. While he would’ve loved to have blamed his sudden disorientation on his head injury, that was only part of it. The sight of his old college flame sitting not ten feet away from him had thrown him completely off balance.
    Was he imagining things? Had the bump on his noggin brought on some cruel hallucination?
    No. She was real, all right. As real as a heartbeat. A little older but even more beautiful than he remembered—which, until this moment, he would’ve deemed an impossibility. He knew she was from Williamson, but he’d never imagined he’d find her here like this.
    Not now. Not today.
    “Deputy Cole, I’m Sheriff Mercer.”
    Harlan blinked, then swiveled his head to his left to find a sunbaked cowboy in a gray suit with a string tie rising from his chair, his hand extended.
    Harlan reached out and shook it, happy for the distraction. “Good to meet you, Sheriff. I wish it were under better circumstances.”
    “You sure you’re up to this? Looks like your boy did quite a job on you.”
    Harlan had hoped that the bruise wouldn’t be that noticeable—a symbol of his failure—but it didn’t much matter. He’d just have to learn to live with it for the next several days.
    “I’ll be fine, thanks. But if you don’t mind, I think I’ll sit down.”
    Mercer gestured to a chair. “By all means.”
    Harlan glanced at Callie, then pulled the chair out, as Mercer introduced the people around the table. The names and faces came at him too quickly to process, but when the sheriff got to the only one Harlan really cared about, she finally looked up at him, offering him a curt, professional smile.
    Her eyes weren’t smiling, however. Not even close. And her voice had a clipped,