Page 39 of Sergeant's Christmas Siege

“Now that you’re here,” Isaac said smoothly, still smiling, “we need to talk strategy.” He raised his brows in Kate’s direction. “Do you know the status of the Troopers’ investigation?”

“I know that it’s an active investigation,” Kate replied in that calm way that was clearly meant to slap down anyone who came at her. And very likely did the trick, most times. “I’m not here to interfere with that, or them, in any way. I need that to be clear right now, or there’s no point going forward.”

Templeton found himself grinning.

“If you’re not here to help figure out what’s going on, then why are you here?” Jonas asked from across the room. He stood still. Too still, as always. He was a man who chose his words carefully, wasted few of them, and was perfectly happy to sit in silence otherwise. And the force of his attention was enough to make the unwary trip over their own two feet.

Templeton thought he saw Kate stiffen slightly, but she didn’t back down. “I don’t know what kind of bargain you all had to make to go from serving your country to serving your own interests,” she said.

“That’s not what we do,” Isaac retorted, even as the tension level in the room ratcheted up.

Templeton, maybe because he was used to the kind of spice Kate liked to throw around, or maybe because he’dtasted her and knew exactly what it took to make his cool, prickly trooper melt, only laughed.

“Oh, do you work for free?” Kate asked sweetly.

“We’re a business,” Isaac said. And his smile was edgy, if you knew where to look. “Businesses rarely work pro bono.”

“Call it whatever you like,” Kate replied, and her chin tilted up a few notches. “I took a vow to serve, with honor, the people of the state of Alaska. I’m not going to do anything that compromises that vow.”

Jonas seemed to turn to stone to match the fireplace behind him. Blue scowled. And even Bethan, who had so far maintained pretty much of a poker face in all scenarios, looked like she was thinking of breaking enough to frown herself.

“Settle down, Trooper,” Templeton drawled. “Everyone in this room is committed and honorable. You’re the only one making cracks about other people’s promises.”

And to his surprise, Kate inclined her head.

“You’re right,” she said in the same cool way. She folded her arms over her chest and then looked around to meet everyone’s gaze for a moment. “I apologize.”

Capable, kissable, and able to admit when she was wrong? Templeton thought he might have died and gone to the heaven he’d never believed in. Not for a man like him. Even when Isaac started talking, laying out possibilities, he couldn’t seem to stop looking at Kate like she was his next meal. And dessert.

And a delicious hereafter.

This was nothing but a temporary holiday thing that would help him focus on the task at hand, he reminded himself. Or she would break his rules, and he couldn’t have that.

“Oz went through your closed cases,” Isaac was telling Kate. “He broke them down into three groups. Cases he thought were unlikely to produce this kind of reaction, cases he thought were either likely or at leastpossible, and then another set of cases that just got to him, one way or another.”

“Got to him?” Kate asked crisply, as if she hadn’t been chastised. As if she hadn’t apologized.

Again, it made Templeton want to get his hands all over her. And while he was at it, taste her again. And this time, everywhere he wanted to taste her. Not only her wide, generous mouth.

Once he did, once he glutted himself on her, he’d be able to stop all of this obsessing. He was sure of it.

Isaac gave the impression of shrugging without actually doing it. “Things he thought were weird or that tweaked him a little. He would be able to tell you why.”

“I understand. Gut feeling.”

“Do you discount gut feelings, Officer?” Jonas asked, his gaze hooded.

Kate’s smile was 100percent police. “I wouldn’t be much good at my job if I did.”

Jonas nodded, as if that was settled. And maybe more than Kate’s thoughts on gut feelings.

“We think it would be enormously helpful if you sat down with these lists and went through them to see what pops up for you,” Isaac continued. “Then let’s see what kind of overlap we have between Oz’s lists and your lists.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Kate said.

“Templeton can show you where to set up.” Isaac nodded at everyone else. “Let’s get to it.”

Templeton stayed where he was as the rest of the team went off to get to work. Only when everyone was gone did he get up, taking his sweet time and watching Kate’s face while he did it.

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