Promises Unbroken: A Hot Paranormal Shifter Romance (Hidden Hills Shifter Book 5) Read Free

arrived at the store. She parked next to a cruiser, killed the engine, and jumped out.
    Not wanting to upset this fairly normal working relationship, Jackson followed her inside where flashing colored lights illuminated the entire interior. The crime scene unit was dusting for prints, but Jackson thought it best not to mention it was a waste of time.
    Selena strode up to a man who was speaking with a fellow officer. “Thanks, Chris.” The officer nodded and stepped over to the CSU techs. Selena turned to the older gentleman and placed a hand on his arm. “George, I’m very sorry this happened.”
    “Me, too, Selena.”
    She introduced him to George Kraft, the owner, and then explained the two of them would be handling his case. This was her first time taking the lead, and Jackson was curious how she’d handle the questions. To his delight she delved right in, asking the owner to go over the series of events. “Can you describe the men?”
    “As I told the other officer,” Mr. Kraft said. “They wore masks.”
    “Did they say anything?” she asked.
    “Told me to hand over the money, which I did, but not before I pressed the emergency button to notify you all. Before the first patrol car showed up, though, those two hightailed it out of here.”
    When she glanced over at Jackson, her brows rose. He’d been taking notes without her asking. Thankfully, she appeared pleased.
    “What kind of car were they driving?” she asked.
    “They were on scooters.”
    Jackson would have to give them some credit. Scooters were more mobile.
    “Could you tell by their voices how old they were?” she asked.
    Good girl. That was the next question he would have asked.
    “Sounded kind of young to me. At most, early twenties. Neither had much muscle on him.”
    Jackson made note of that. All the facts so far seemed to be consistent with the thieves being kids or guys in their early twenties.
    “I know you have surveillance cameras, but were they on?” she asked.
    “Sure were.” The owner stepped to the counter behind him, picked up a flash drive, and handed it to her. “Made you a copy of the video, but as I said, they wore masks.”
    She nodded then slipped the information into her top pocket. “This might help. How much money did they take?”
    The man’s face paled. “Over two hundred dollars. Thankfully, most folks pay by credit card nowadays.”
    Selena looked over at Jackson. “Anything else you want to add?”
    He was pleased she’d asked. “I think you’ve covered it.”
    He swore a hint of a smile lifted her lips. “If you remember anything else,” she said to the owner, “give me a call. We’ll be in touch when we know more.”
    Ms. Professional turned and strode out. He enjoyed how her curly ponytail bounced when she walked. And those hips and long legs made his mouth water. Jackson caught up to her as she reached the front door and held it open. He wondered if she planned to look at the video tonight or if he could convince her to stop at the Cove Bar for a drink. They were officially off duty at midnight, and it was past that now.
    “Care to celebrate our partnership with a drink?” He tried to keep his voice as light as possible. He didn’t care that she’d turned him down before—they were partners now—in more ways than one.
    She glanced at him as she climbed into the cruiser. “I… ah…”

Chapter Two

    S elena had been hesitant to accept Jackson’s invitation, just as she had so many times before, but she couldn’t keep putting off this unspoken desire any longer. Letting him know that she had no intention of becoming his mate was the only solution. “Sure.”
    “Great.” A grin flashed across his face, but she refused to address what that did to her insides.
    She hoped this wasn’t a mistake, but her urges had been growing exponentially stronger from the moment he slipped into the cruiser this evening. In all honesty, she expected him to take over the investigation, but instead,