Damsel in Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 1) by Olivia Jaymes

confessed. “I can’t stop thinking about Roger Gaines. I don’t know how detectives do this kind of a job. I’d never sleep again.”
    “I don’t usually get this personally involved in a case. Most cases don’t have this many unanswered questions also. Most of them are pretty cut and dried.”
    Jason wasn’t being completely honest. There had been one case before this that had become personal as hell. It had almost killed him. And it affected his sleep. He still had nightmares, although not as often. It was a small price to pay to be alive.
    “There’s a decent steakhouse off the highway. How does that sound?”
    Changing the subject seemed like a good idea. He liked Brinley but he wasn’t in the mood for a confessional of any sort. There was something innocent and sweet about her that he didn’t want to sully with the sordid details.
    He didn’t want her to know just how fucked up he really was.
    *
    By the time Brinley and Jason returned to Tremont the sun was down and she was yawning. It had been a very long twenty-four hours and so much had happened in that short span of time. Her entire life had been turned inside out.
    Jason was right. She needed a good night’s sleep.
    “We’ll be home in less than five minutes,” Jason said when she yawned again. “How about we get on the road about ten in the morning? You can sleep in. That will get us to Billings about lunchtime.”
    Brinley nodded, shifting in her seat. She’d been sitting too long and her lower back ached. A long bike ride would take care of it and loosen up her muscles but that wasn’t going to happen at this time of night. The only thing she was good for was crawling between the sheets and spending the next ten to twelve hours unconscious.
    “What the hell?” Jason hissed, the truck accelerating sharply now that he’d turned onto their street. Brinley grabbed the door handle in alarm as the engine growled, throwing her back in her seat.
    “What’s wrong?”
    But she could see it now even as Jason was muttering under his breath. Red and blue lights flashed on two police cars in her driveway. A crowd of people were gathered on her lawn including her neighbor Fran, Fran’s husband Richard, and Detective Westin Anderson with Huck alongside.
    The blood pounding in her ears, she practically jumped from the truck before Jason even had it in park. Slamming the truck door closed she jogged toward her house, frantically scanning it for damage, fire or otherwise.
    “Easy there.” Of course Jason had easily caught up to her. His hand wrapped around her upper arm, bringing her to an abrupt halt on trembling legs. “Let’s talk to West first.”
    “I want inside my house. I need to see what’s happened.”
    She jerked her arm free only to have West block her path as she made a beeline for her front door. Huck enthusiastically greeted Jason who scratched the canine behind the ears, much to the dog’s delight.
    “Ms. Snow, I’m glad you’re home.”
    The detective held up his hand in a halting motion that made her pause but her gaze was firmly on the house behind him. It was hard to see in the dim light but it appeared to be undamaged.
    “What happened, West?”
    Jason was beside her again. This time he draped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her close to his strong frame. Not in a romantic way, but more of a reassurance that if something bad had transpired he would be there. His fingers squeezed her shoulder as if he comforted semi-hysterical women every day.
    Maybe he did but she wasn’t planning to make a scene. Yet, anyway.
    West waved his flashlight toward the front porch. “Looks like an attempted break-in. The neighbor was outside and saw a flashlight through the windows. His dogs made a ruckus and while he was going for his shotgun the burglar ran off between the houses. I’ve got men out on foot looking for him but I’m guessing he’s long gone. Probably had a car parked a block or two away. Ms. Snow, you’ll need