Criminal Promises by Nikki Duncan

top secret mission. I deserve to
know.”
    “I intend to keep my job,
which means I’m not telling you.” He spun on his heel and headed to
the kitchen door. He paused and grinned back at her. “By the way, I
love the bag.”
    Mouth agape, she watched him shut the door.
What had just happened?
    She wouldn’t cost him his job, but a killer
had walked in and out of her home as cool as a privileged cucumber.
Maggie and her family were at risk every moment Adalia was free.
With or without Harte in the house, she was not equipped for
emotional warfare with a killer.
    Or the sexy detective awakening her
desires.
     
     
    Listening to the pounding rain, which had
threatened for the last week, Maggie stretched out beside Jared on
his bed. Dressed in one of Mike’s shirts with his eyes drooping as
sleep dragged him under, Jared curled at her side. The hint of a
smile quirked his lips, but still not a full smile. That was
something she hadn’t seen since Mike’s death.
    She sighed as she looked at the picture on
Jared’s wall Mike had painstakingly painted. It was a strange and
colorful glow-in-the-dark view of the arctic tip as it should have
looked three thousand years ago. He’d even included symbols around
the edges, hiding them within the images while claiming they were a
legend—like on a man. Breathtaking in its detail, it was the last
thing he’d done for Jared. Maggie worried it rooted him in his
grief, or maybe she did it by keeping him too close.
    Jared snuggled deeper into her, his thin
fingers fidgeting a shirt button in sleep. He had no idea danger
had crossed their doorstep. She would make sure it stayed that
way.
    Tomorrow she was taking the kids to stay with
her parents, out of harm’s way until things settled down. She
wasn’t sure if it was a good decision or bad—the three of them
hadn’t been apart for the last year—so she’d taken tonight to
assure Jared the visit would be like old times. The assurance had
been more for her sake.
    A cry from the nursery sounded on the
cordless monitor. Her feet hadn’t hit the floor before Emma stopped
crying. She still wanted to check before going to the office to
work out an HTML issue she was having.
    She stepped on a Transformer on the way out
of Jared’s room and muttered about the new hole in her foot. She’d
clean the room properly while he was gone. He’d done a pretty good
job, but it still needed some help. Books needed to be re-sorted,
marker lids needed to be matched properly, and toys were just
shoved onto shelves and into the toy box. They needed
straightening. She’d find similar disarray in his drawers and
closet.
    A thud and soft curse from Emma’s room
snapped her head up. Harte was in his room. Who was in Emma’s?
    Harte had assured her the kids were safe, but
no one had thought Adalia would walk through her front door either.
Anxiety dancing along her nape, she pushed the nursery door
open.
    One step into the room, she jerked to a
stop.
    The badass detective had removed his shirt
and exchanged his jeans for a pair of loose-fitting, drawstring
pants that hung low on his hips. His broad back was tan and smooth.
She’d had her hands on that back when he’d kissed her. Each
chiseled muscle rippled as he swayed with Emma.
    “Come on, sweetie.” His
normally rough and husky voice sounded smooth as cream as he
soothed her fretful infant. “Don’t fuss. Mommy will come as soon as
she finishes with Jare.”
    Emma continued to fuss. Harte continued to
talk. Maggie continued to stare, and smile at the tenderness he
showed her daughter. Her belly quivered at Harte’s sexy, softer
side. A man that good with kids deserved his own.
    “Now, Ems, if you don’t
stop crying, I’m going to have to take drastic measures.” He
stopped swaying and looked down at Emma. “I’ll have to sing. I
don’t think you’ll like that.”
    Maggie tried to suck back the sudden laugh.
Maybe if he’d said it in something other than a syrupy, singsong
voice it