Read Own the Night for Free Online

gaze staying on her as he moved to a well-used coffeepot sitting on a metal filing cabinet. “I should’ve offered you something to drink. Water, coffee?”
    What she needed was a good belt of Scotch. She wondered if he had a bottle stashed in his desk, because she sure didn’t have cash to buy herself a drink. “Water,” she said, nodding. “I could use some water.”
    She stared down at her watch. It was too late in New York to call her bank and have money wired. Pam had left yesterday for Europe, so she’d be no help. But it would be all right. Yes, it was an emergency, but Alana was good in emergencies. She had her reservation at the Sundance, which took care of a room and meals. They had her credit card information as a guarantee, since Alana had known she’d be late, after having missed her flight last night....
    “Here you go.”
    The nearness of his voice startled her. She looked up and found him standing next to her, a bottle of water in his hand. He was really tall, well over six feet. She’d noticed when she first entered the office, which was something, considering her state of mind. She managed a smile and accepted the water, trying out one of those deep breathing tricks Pam was always hounding her about. The one that was supposed to calm her body. “Thank you.”
    He swung back around his desk, and she quickly inspected his ass as he pulled out his chair. Impressive. Before he caught her ogling him, she concentrated on uncapping the bottle, then tilting it to her lips. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was until she’d gulped down half the contents.
    She used her fingertip to dab at the corner of her damp mouth, then met his eyes. Wow, the man was intense. The way he studied her was beginning to make her nervous. It seemed out of place. She’d have expected that intensity in Manhattan, but not ten miles north of nowhere.
    His phone rang and he finally looked away, to answer the call. “Sheriff Calder,” he said into the receiver, his gaze coming back to her, briefly skimming the front of her blouse and then resting on something over her left shoulder. “Anything?” he asked the caller. “Right.” His brows puckered in a slight frown as he listened, and then he leaned way back in his chair, his hand behind his head, making his biceps bunch again.
    Alana didn’t care if he knew she was staring at him. Once she told him what she did for a living he’d understand that her interest was purely professional. Anyway, a man like him had to be used to the stares. So far, with his strong, square jaw and sexy eyes, his wide shoulders, broad chest and flat belly, she hadn’t found a single flaw. The search was the only thing that was keeping her halfway sane.
    It was a bit annoying, really. Unnerving, too, because he wasn’t even her type. He lacked the polished sophistication that normally attracted her. Or if a man could get a reservation at Per Se on a Saturday night, that went a long way in piquing her interest.
    All that crap aside, she’d do the sexy sheriff in a New York minute.
    “What about Gunderson?” he asked the caller, and her gaze shot up to his face. He was watching her again, his eyes probing hers. “Okay. Check back.”
    “Was that about me?” she asked before he replaced the receiver. “Was anything recovered?”
    He shook his head. “That was Deputy Tisdale who called earlier. He’s been talking to the boys who were standing outside the Watering Hole. None of them saw anything.”
    She slumped back. At least Sheriff Calder took this seriously enough to have his deputy on the scene. “That seems impossible. How many people are walking around town rolling a big suitcase behind them?”
    He raised his eyebrows, his dubious expression and head tilt difficult to interpret. It couldn’t be that he didn’t believe her.... Could it?
    Alana straightened. “You can’t possibly think I’m making this up.”
    “Didn’t say that.”
    “Why?” She threw up her hands. “Why