“I know. I’m really happy with it. It’s just really shitty timing to redo the second story.”

  “Again, there’s never a good time to redo a floor,” he said. “It’s an inconvenience to everybody living in the house. If you don’t live there, haven’t moved in yet, then that’s a whole different story, but we’ve got furniture and all kinds of people and dogs traipsing up and down.”

  “Which reminds me, I didn’t put up the barrier at the top of the stairs,” she said, “and I’ve gotta do that. So the dogs don’t go up there before it dries.”

  “We can do that on our way back in,” he said, calling the dogs as they headed inside.

  She replaced the doggie gate, quickly washed up for the night, wishing that she’d had access to the upstairs bathroom tonight. She would get a shower in the morning hopefully. “I feel sticky,” she murmured.

  “I hear you,” he said, yawning, sleeping beside her on her temporary bed set up in the living room.

  “Go to sleep,” she whispered. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

  He closed his eyes, and she just waited, as he slipped into a deep sleep. With the dogs arrayed all around him on the bed and on the floor, she slowly drifted in and out of sleep herself. When she thought she heard a sound, she opened her eyes and slowly sat up. She looked at Graynor, but he was relaxed and calm, and, with that, she trusted that he would keep her safe, and she rolled over and went to sleep.

  Caleb woke early in the morning, rested. Although a little sore, he felt decent. He rolled over to check out what was happening and saw all three small dogs were on the bed beside Laysha. Graynor was stretched out and sound asleep between the two of them. Graynor was completely undisturbed by anything, and that was a good sign. Caleb looked at his watch to find it was seven in the morning. He smiled, reached over, gently pulled the hair off her face, dropped a kiss on her cheek, and went to put on coffee.

  Still just in his boxers, he stepped outside the back door. It was a beautiful morning, the air fresh, and he propped open the door. Graynor, now at his side, headed out, lifted a leg. The other small dogs joined Graynor as well; nobody seemed to be too bothered by anything outside.

  Inside, the coffee still dripping, he headed back to check on her. She was sound asleep, and he leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss, unable to keep from touching her. When she murmured something, he leaned over and asked, “What was that?”

  “I missed you,” she said, snuggling against his cheek.

  “I wasn’t gone for long,” he murmured.

  She opened her eyes, raised her arms, snagged him around his neck, and pulled him down beside her.

  He chuckled.

  “You were gone,” she said. “You were gone a lifetime.”

  He chuckled. “Only about fifteen minutes.”

  “Before that.”

  “No, still not a lifetime,” he said, “but over five years and, for that, I’m so damn sorry.”

  She nodded and nuzzled his neck gently.

  He could feel his body instantly responding. “You’re playing with fire.”

  “Any reason not to?” she asked. “I think we’re both consenting adults, and we gave a final send-off to your past yesterday.”

  “You make a good argument,” he said, settling in lower. He’d hoped to get to this point but hadn’t wanted to push her. They’d been so crazy busy, and he didn’t want their first time to be amid—or brought on by—some case of panic either. He nuzzled and gently kissed her lips and then her neck and on down.

  “I should have a shower,” she said, stretching beneath him.

  “Well, I’d say we could both have one together, but you know we really haven’t had enough activity to justify one,” he said. “Yet.”

  She chuckled. “Well, I’m sure we can fix that.” She wiggled beneath him.

  He groaned gently. “You know it’s been a long time for me,” he murmured.

  “No, it hasn’t,” she said.

  “Oh, definitely since before my accident,” he said.

  “Well, it’s been a long time for me too,” she said, squeezing him gently. “After the divorce, I just couldn’t even begin to go there.”

  “In that case, it sounds like perfect timing for both of us.” And he dropped his lips to hers and kissed her gently, almost an exploratory mission. But she was having nothing to do with that—that could wait for later. She pulled him down, hugging him harder and tighter against her.

  “We don’t have to rush,” he murmured.

  “Yeah, we do,” she said.

  He gently kissed her back.

  She continued, “The fact that we might have a little bit longer to play later will just make it that much nicer afterward.”

  “Well, I’m not going anywhere,” he said, “not for a long time.”

  She smiled, opened her eyes, and said, “Promise?”

  “Absolutely,” he said. “I figured I’d stay here with you until I could find a place of my own.”

  “Or you could just stay here with me,” she said.

  He looked at her and asked, “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

  “You mean, a live-in guest? Why not?” she asked. “We’re heading that way now.”

  “But I don’t want to push it,” he said, protesting.

  “I do,” she said in all seriousness. “I feel like we’ve lost so much time already.”

  He nodded, slowly kissed her gently, and said, “In that case, we’ll keep the idea on the table and discuss the pros and cons as we go.”

  “Sounds good to me,” she said. And then she wiggled yet again beneath him. “Not that I meant to distract you, but where were we?”

  He gave a burst of laughter and kissed her deeply, feeling their passion rise between them. It had always been there, had always simmered beneath the surface. For whatever damn reason he’d been so blind to what was always in front of him. It was incredibly upsetting now to see what could have been, and, at the same time, he was just grateful that finally they had come to the awareness of where they really belong.

  When she slipped a hand inside his boxers, he shuddered in her palm. “Oh, my God,” he whispered, trying to control his breathing. His forehead rested against hers, his eyes closed, as she gently explored him.

  “Yeah, that’s how I feel,” she said.

  “It’s just been …” And he froze.

  “I know. I know. I know,” she said, and she kissed him passionately, and he felt everything inside him firing way quicker than he wanted to.

  He whispered, “I can’t slow this down.”

  “Don’t,” she said. “I have no intention of it.” And she opened her thighs wide, and he wrapped them up high around his hips. He groaned and said, “We’re wearing too many clothes for this.”

  “Well then, you haven’t really been paying attention,” she murmured on a giggle, and he realized his boxers were around his ankles. He looked at her aghast. And then he chuckled. “You’re good at that.”

  “No,” she said. “I just distracted you at the same time.”

  And she sat up ever-so-slightly and pulled her T-shirt over her head.

  He took care of the tiny cotton panties with his big hands, only to rip them. He looked at her and said, “Oops.”

  “Not a problem,” she said, sliding beneath him, wrapping her legs around him again. “I’ve got lots more.”

  He grinned, and it wasn’t anything he could control when she reached up and pulled him to her again, kissing him passionately. Their tongues gently wound together, as he held her tight against him, not wanting the moment to end, but knowing that he had no choice but to ride the cascade of emotions as they drove them forward, faster and faster. When he finally entered her, it was almost like a homecoming. He stopped for a moment to breathe.

  “You feel so damn good,” he murmured.

  “More than good,” she said, panting beneath him. “It feels right.”

  He agreed. And he plunged deep and then again and again and again. When she came apart in his arms, he never had any feeling quite the same, and he followed her over the edge, almost immediately knowing that she held him safe while he collapsed beside her.

  Chapter 16

  “Well,” Laysha murmured, “that was worth waiting for.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Caleb said, still gasping for breath. “And a hell of a way to start the morning.”

  “Now a shower would be perfect,” she said and gave him a cheeky grin. “You coming?”

  “I’ll be up in a minute,” he said, and she bounced to her feet, more energized than she’d felt in days. She raced up the stairs, glad to find the floor completely dry, and ran into her shower, hoping he’d join her. When he didn’t, she quickly dressed, masking her disappointment, but realizing it didn’t really matter. They had lots of time. Making her way downstairs, she realized the house was empty. She frowned, stepped outside, faced a stranger, who held a gun on Caleb.

  He had his boxers back on, and that was it. He gave her a warning look.

  Ignoring that, she looked at the intruder and glowered. “Wow,” she said, “seems like we’re just full of these assholes who don’t know they should knock.”

  When the older man—somewhere in his late forties, fifties—smiled at her, she saw the cruelty in his gaze and absolutely nothing nice about him. “So are you the boss Huevo then?”

  His eyebrows lifted, and slowly he nodded.

  “Good,” she said, in a calm voice. Walking closer, as he kept nudging the gun against Caleb’s head, she taunted him. “At least you came to do the job yourself, instead of sending another lackey.”

  “He talked, did he?”

  “But you knew he would,” she murmured, glaring at him. His eyes were dead, as if he’d lost any vestige of humanity. “Why would you even think to feed men to the dogs?”

  “It’s cheaper than dog food,” he sneered. “And that’s all they are. They’re no better than the dogs that ate them.”

  “Is that what you want for yourself?”

  “Whatever,” he said. “It’s not exactly a hardship. You’ll die one way or the other,” he said. “And it makes a great tool for a fear tactic, doesn’t it?”

  “Just for cowards.” She studied Caleb, seeing that urgent warning in his gaze, not sure what he was worried about. Sure, he knew Laysha well enough to know she’d let her words rip. She just didn’t know what else worried him at the moment. She remembered her request to bring down the .22 last night but had no idea if he actually had. They’d been a little sidetracked by everything else that had gone on. She’d looked at Huevo’s handgun and looked at the asshole and said, “So you didn’t kill us outright. What’s your big plan now?”

  “Well, I need to know what you guys know,” he said, “to see how far the damage runs.”

  “What the damage is?” she said. “I mean, I already texted the detectives that the compound was empty, and they should be getting their asses over there right now.”

  He stared at her in shock, jerking the gun.

  Somehow she knew Huevo wasn’t jerking the gun before firing off a shot. He exhibited more control than that. She figured he was tempted to aim at her, but his common sense took over, knowing Caleb was the bigger threat. She avoided looking at Caleb because, by now, he knew she was purposely poking the bear here, hoping Huevo would point his gun, his only gun, at her. She knew Caleb would attack at that point.

  “You did what?”

  She shrugged. “Well, it’s not like your men can mount any real resistance there, can they? Not without you present. Your guys are pretty shitty at defending the place.”

  He glared at her. “You don’t know anything about me,” he said.

  “I know you’re wasting time here,” she snapped. “While you’re here, your men are dealing with the cops.”

  “Goddammit,” he snapped, raising the handgun in her direction.

  Immediately Caleb grabbed the gunman’s wrist in a vise grip that brought the gunman to his knees, screaming.

  She pivoted, hopefully in the right direction to avoid any bullet, and almost thought she heard bones breaking, as Caleb crushed the gunman’s hand.

  She stepped closer, and, with all her might, she punched Huevo hard in the nose. He cried out again, as he sat down from the force of her blow, his nose now spewing blood. She glared at him. “You’re such a fucking asshole,” she said. “How could you do that to the dogs?”

  He stared at her in bewilderment.

  “He doesn’t understand,” Caleb said, as he twisted the crushed fist behind the gunman’s back and pinned him to the floor. “He thought you’d be concerned about the people.”

  “Well, I am to a certain extent,” she said, “but I’m also really pissed that he would turn those animals into that, and now they have to be put down.” She looked at Caleb. “You got this guy?” He nodded. She stalked into the kitchen, grabbed zap straps, came back, and they quickly tied his wrists and ankles. “You know what?” she said to Huevo. “You’re nothing without the dogs and without that gun.”

  “You’re nothing but a bitch,” he said. “When I get out of here, I’ll make sure I feed you to the dogs.”

  “Well, you would if you could, but that ain’t going to happen,” she said.

  He just sneered at her.

  She turned toward Caleb. “Why don’t we just kill him now?” she asked.

  Huevo gasped, surprised again.

  She rounded on him. “All talk and bluster, no action. A bully playing army.”

  Caleb looked up at her with a knowing smirk and said, “I understand the sentiment. Believe me, I do. But we have to follow the law.”

  “He broke into my house, and he held us at gunpoint.”

  “And I’ve already called Ansel.”

  “Perfect,” she said. “Hopefully he can clean up the rest of the garbage around the compound too.”

  At that, they stood the gunman up and walked him out to the front yard. His feet may have been tethered, but he could take baby steps still. Caleb pointed Huevo’s own gun at him, prodding him along.

  A series of gunfire erupted, and Caleb threw Laysha to the ground. Just seconds later, the gunman fell to the ground beside them.

  She whispered to Caleb, “Now what?”

  “I’m not sure, but a guy like that must have an awful lot of enemies.”

  Laysha lifted her head, seeing a woman standing there, her rifle at her side.

  The woman stared at Caleb, raising up on one elbow, holding a gun, pointed at the ground. “You can shoot me if you want, but he took my daughter from me, and he fed her to his damn dogs. My precious child didn’t deserve to die. And Huevo didn’t deserve to live. I followed him here, knowing it was my one chance.”

  “And who are you?”

  “I was his latest acquisition, not for sex but to look after the dogs, knowing that I would be fed to them next. Huevo didn’t deserve to live.” At that, she melted into the background.

  Caleb looked at Laysha, stood, offering her a hand up.

  “She deserves her freedom,” Laysha said. “I didn’t see anything. Did you?”

  He snorted. “I can’t identify her, and, if she gets the hell out of here, neither will Ansel.”

  They heard sirens in the distance. Laysha walked over, looked down at the gunman. “I know they have to destroy those dogs, and I’m so sorry about that,” she said, “but I’m really glad this asshole won’t do evil to any more dogs or to anybody else.”

  Caleb wrapped her up in his arms, even as the detective approached, and asked, “What the hell now?” He stopped and stared. “Wow.”

  “I know,” Caleb said. They told him about the woman and what she’d said.

  Even the detective winced at that. “Well, I don’t know who she is, and I know that what she did was wrong, but personally I won’t put too much effort into trying to find her. If she’s smart, she’ll cross the border and disappear into Mexico,” he said quietly. “She has already suffered enough. A guy like this? Well, we didn’t want him in the legal system anyway.”

  “Maybe not,” Caleb said, “but we couldn’t have done what she did.”

  “I know. And, to that end, we’ll look at how we can take care of the rest of the compound. We’re working with the Mexican police on this. His property crosses the border.”

  “Good, a lot of people died on that property.”

  “The prisoner is talking,” he said. “He won’t get free himself, but he’s doing what he can to make up for whatever he did.”

  “I think an awful lot of people were taken down the wrong path because of this asshole,” she whispered, kicking the dead body. Just to be sure …

  Ansel grabbed his cell phone and pushed one of his speed-dial numbers. “Get the coroner out here and forensics too.” Off the phone now, he approached them. “I’ve gotta wait here for the team. I’ll need your statements. Otherwise go about your day.” And Ansel walked off to his vehicle, sitting inside, the door propped open, back on his phone again.

  Caleb turned, a fierce frown on his face.

  Laysha knew what coming.

  “Don’t you ever do that again.”

  Had she not known him so well, she would have been scared, his delivery low and lethal. “You weren’t surprised. You knew what I was doing.”

  “Never again, Laysha,” he said, louder, deeper.

  “No.”

  “Laysha!”

  “No, Caleb,” she repeated, stepping closer to him, softening her voice. “I will always protect you and my dogs—and my home. You know that. And I know you will always protect me—and my dogs and my home—while protecting yourself as well. So we are all protected.” She waited, watched, wondered if he would still be mad.

  “I could have lost you,” he murmured.

  “And I wouldn’t want to be here if I lost you.”

  He reached up a hand, caressed her cheek, and then his phone rang. She raised her eyebrows as he pulled it out and said, “It’s the vet.”

  She smiled. “And?”

  He put it on Speakerphone. The vet’s voice was jubilant. “Beowulf had a great night,” he said, “and he’s looking forward to coming home.”