At Close Range (Ranger Ops Book 1) Read online

  His chest inflated as he gathered wind to speak, to somehow convince her to walk away with him.

  “Atalee, listen—”

  Her face twisted in a grimace of pain. “No, you listen, Shaw Woodward. You can’t just walk in here and tell me you love me minutes before I’m about to marry your friend. Hear those words? Your friend. What kind of man betrays a buddy like this?”

  “I don’t care about that. All I want is you.”

  She took another step away from him. He was losing her. Lifting the bouquet like a ward against evil spirits, she glared at him. “Get out of here and don’t come back, Shaw. I’m marrying Johnny. I love Johnny.”

  Jesus Christ, those words hurt.

  Shaw wasn’t known for giving up easy, though. In two steps he was with her, a hand planted on her lower back as he jerked her against him. Slamming his mouth over all that lipstick that another man was meant to kiss off her sweet, honeyed lips. For a moment, she stood still in his hold.

  Then she melted.

  Just a bit.

  It was enough for him to sweep his tongue through her mouth, gathering all the flavors he knew were it for him for the rest of his life.

  Till death did they part.

  Suddenly, she shoved her hands against him. Flower petals crushed against his suit jacket and tumbled to the floor as she stumbled back.

  “Damn you, Shaw! Leave!”

  He felt his jaw muscles bunch up and knew he was getting pissed. He leveled his gaze at her. “You sure you want that? Because you felt yourself melt into my kiss just as much as I did.”

  “Fuck you!” She came at him, bouquet flopping in her hand on smashed stems. She hit him square in the chest, but he didn’t even rock on his feet. She was an itty-bitty thing and he was six-two. Who knew seeing hatred on a woman’s face could bring a man to his knees?

  She was fucking killing him.

  “Get out of here! I never want to see you again.”

  He firmed his jaw and just stared at her for a heavy heartbeat. Her chest rose and fell with fury, but all he saw was the woman he wanted through thick and thin. It might be their first fight and later they’d laugh about it.

  “I don’t have feelings for you, Shaw, and I never will. Now go.” Her eyes narrowed to slits, and her words were venom darts, striking him one by lethal one.

  He brought a fist to his lips, pressing back any words that he might say to ruin her life even more than he already had. In the end, he gave a nod, sent her one last look that would have to suffice for the rest of his days and walked out.

  On the way to the front doors, he walked past his father, who caught him by the arm.

  The wedding march was playing, and he turned away from the sight of Atalee drifting up the aisle on her own father’s arm to meet her undeserving groom.

  “Did you talk to her?” his father asked quietly.

  He nodded. “Didn’t do any good.”

  Tossing one last look up the long aisle, he found Atalee looking back at him before she turned to Johnny and joined hands with him.

  Shaw walked out. Then he went straight to the Texas Rangers’ office and put in for a transfer, which he got three weeks later.

  GET WITHIN RANGE NOW