Her Christmas Protector. Geri Krotow

I keep forgetting that I need to breathe shallowly.”

      “No, you need to take deep breaths so that you don’t get pneumonia.”

      “What, are you a medical professional, too? My tours to Iraq and Afghanistan had me mostly behind the scenes, providing intelligence.”

      He tried not to glare at her.

      Not that she wasn’t beautiful to watch. If he hadn’t known her before, he would have described her as a redheaded Sofia Vergara, although even slimmer. But he saw beyond her physical features to the sharp intelligence behind her eyes, the keen wit that had drawn him to her during his own nerd days. They’d been perfect as friends. Neither of them had particularly cared about hanging out with other teenagers, not when the talk revolved around the opposite sex, booze and, too often, drugs. They were both academics at heart. He’d studied biology with a vengeance, convinced he was going to discover a cure for cancer. The same cancer that had taken his little sister when she was a toddler and left his family forever changed.

      Zora had mirrored his studious nature. She was passionate to the point of obsession about anything that had to do with science, particularly astronomy and physics.

      “I didn’t go into medicine, in case you haven’t figured that out yet,” he said.

      “What made you change your mind? I thought you’d be a top research doctor by now.”

      “I didn’t have the brains for the chemistry. Organic chemistry was a killer. But I loved the lab work that parlayed into forensics. I majored in criminal justice.”

      She nodded.

      “That makes sense.”

      “What about you, Zora? You were going to be an astronomer like Jodie Foster’s character in Contact.” They’d watched the movie together one autumn night, forgoing their homecoming dance. He’d imagined being her best friend for life. More, if she’d let him.

      Instead, they had barely made it through senior year.

      “I wanted to go far away. The navy made sense to me. I found out about the academy at the last minute—I didn’t get in right away, remember? I was put on a wait list.”

      “You left two days after you found out. That’s what your mother told me.”

      “About that...I’m sorry, Bryce. We were kids, and I realize you probably don’t even remember much about it, but the way I left—it was chicken shit.”

      “Yes, it was. And no apology necessary. You’re right. We’re different people now. Certified grown-ups. That was a lifetime ago.”

      * * *

      Zora thought that living back in town for two years meant she’d dealt with all of her memories arriving in Silver Valley as a little girl. At first coming back home to where she’d found shelter after leaving the cult had stirred up all kinds of memories, and she’d been able to utilize her counseling classes and training to work through them. Even her memories of Bryce—she hadn’t needed to see him to exorcise his ghost from her mind.

      Yet since last night, it was as though he’d never left her life. As if they could go back to being friends again.

      “I’m taking too much of your time, Bryce. You’re free to go, you know.”

      “Showing me the door already?” His grin was easy but it didn’t reach his eyes, which looked wary.

      “I’m safe, Bryce. Buttercup is the best security system out there. And as you know, I’m armed.”

      “And on pain meds, nursing bruised ribs and sore muscles.”

      “There’s that.”

      “We’re going to place surveillance on your house starting when I leave today.”

      “That’s not necessary.”

      “Superintendent Todd and I beg to differ.”

      “You don’t think the shooter will come back here, do you?”

      “Actually, no, I don’t. If it was the man you saw at the game, he’ll be too afraid to get caught. He’ll see the patrol car—we’re not going to do anything covert here. And if he still wants to target female ministers, he’ll do anything to stay out of jail.”

      “I should have taken him out last night.”

      “At the game? Get real. You never saw a weapon.”

      “No, but you have to trust me—I saw him ready to pull it on me. But it was as if he was testing, to see...”

      “To see if you were for real.” Bryce ran his fingers over his chin. “I think we messed up with that op, Zora. It was too coincidental for the holiday festival to have an invocation that was publicly announced and advertised for the entire week before. We were too obvious.”

      “I agree. When I heard the local rock station announce the prayer and moment of silence was going to be dedicated to the two slain ministers, I hoped the killer was stupid.”

      “He—or she—obviously isn’t.”

      “No.”

      “I hate to put you on the spot again, Zora, but I’d really like to know what you were doing in the patrol car last night. Why you, why now?”

      “I’ve told you—I can’t tell you.”

      She hated not being able to open up to him, especially in light of how shabbily she’d treated him in the past. No matter what his words said, she felt his judgment with each glance he shot her.

      And she found her attraction to him was real and adult. Nothing like the schoolgirl crush she’d had on him throughout high school. Back then she’d buried it, not wanting anything to threaten their friendship. After the daily terror of living in a religious cult, she’d needed stability and calm, relationships without drama.

      Besides her adoptive parents, Bryce had been part of that safety net.

      “Fine. I’ll talk to Superintendent Holt about it. In the meantime, it looks as though we’ll be working together for a bit longer, until we nab the killer. And if you work with me, you have to accept that I’m not going to let you put yourself in harm’s way unnecessarily.”

      “And you need to know that while I may not have the same level of experience that you do, I have the training I need to handle myself. I won’t let you down, Bryce.”

      He got to his feet.

      “I’m sure you won’t. Rest up and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

      He walked to the bottom of the stairs and called for her mother.

      She hoped they’d catch the killer soon. Holding back her feelings for Bryce wasn’t going to be easy.

       Chapter 4

      “You did the right thing, Zora. It’s not your job to inform Detective Bryce Campbell or anyone about your background. If you feel a need to tell him about your past, that’s your call. I don’t see how it has any relevance to the current mission, however.” Claudia looked out over the farmland surrounding Zora’s home as she spoke. She’d come out to see Zora on a Sunday morning, underscoring Claudia’s dedication to her role as head of the Trail Hikers. Anna had excused herself to go for a walk around the property, giving them privacy. Zora was grateful for the patrol cars Bryce had ordered to specific points around her place, so that her mother could walk in peace.

      “I appreciate that you came to visit, Claudia. As you can see, I’m okay.”

      “You could have been killed! That’s not something I’ll ever take lightly.” Claudia’s eyes sparked with anger and concern as she faced Zora.

      She