“Was it bad, sweetheart? Did they hurt you?” Wolf was studying her with a single-minded intensity.
She shook her head. “It was wonderful. I’m just thinking about what it meant. Why do I do that? Why can’t I just enjoy it? Why do I need a label on it?”
His lips curled slightly. There was a beard coming in across the skin of his jaw. He looked the slightest bit scruffy. It suited him.
“You’re not a good-time girl, Laura. You’re always going to want a home and a family. You’re always going to seek out stability.”
Was that what she was trying to do with them? Was she racing headlong into another disaster because she needed a family? She had a family. She had Holly and Nell, and even Henry. Henry stopped by Laura’s cabin at least twice a week, a toolbox in his hands. He did it because Nell loved her and Henry loved Nell. Damn it, she wanted that.
Wolf leaned forward, his elbows making contact with the table.
“Your brain is racing, but I wonder if you’re making the right connections. I want you to think about this, sweetheart. You didn’t rush into a relationship with the first man you saw. You waited. You want them. Those two men in there aren’t interchangeable for anyone who would put a ring on your finger, or you would have been dating all this time.”
“Maybe they just showed up at the right time.” She’d needed a while to get over what happened to her in DC. Hell, she wasn’t sure she would ever get over it, but last night had proven that at least she was ready to get physical again.
“Don’t fight this,” Wolf said with a sigh as though he knew his words would go unheeded. “You’re only going to cause more trouble for all three of you. Now, I came out for a reason.”
“Other than to scare the crap out of me?” He grinned. “That was a bonus.” His face lost its jovial expression. “The feds took over the Movie Motel last night. Men in suits rented out every room Gene had.” Laura felt a cold chill cross her skin. “Did Gene get them talking?”
Gene liked to talk to everyone who came to his place. The Movie Motel was the largest inn in town.
“They followed Rafe and Cam out here. According to one of the lead men, your boys were well aware that the team, as they called it, was on their way. I take it they didn’t bother to mention that they were bringing all their friends out here?” She tightened her grip on the coffee mug. There was only one real reason to bring the whole crew out here. She was pretty damn sure de Sade wasn’t working here in Colorado.
“Did they tell Gene if there had been a threat made against me personally?” It would explain a lot.
“No,” Wolf replied. “But they did ask for directions out to your place. Gene had never heard of you. Strange.” She couldn’t help a little snort. The feds were going to find Bliss a bit hard to manage until she’d gotten the word out that she was cooperating.
Was she cooperating?
Damn it. She couldn’t think straight. All she could think about was the fact that Rafe and Cam had lied to her. Again.
The sweet feeling she’d had looking at them together dissipated, replaced with a hole in the pit of her stomach.
“The minute my momma heard the news that the feds had descended, she and Mel took to the shelter. She’s sending out radio messages that anyone in town who wants protection from the coming invasion should come out to Mel’s place. On the plus side, she made pecan pie. I love pecan pie.”
Laura turned to Wolf. Her current dilemma was going to have consequences for everyone in town. Just as she had the thought, a Bronco with the logo for the Bliss County Sheriff’s Department rolled into her driveway. Logan Green slid out of his vehicle looking a bit cranky, but then he was always cranky these days. Laura was pretty sure what he was here about. If she let them, the feds would have everyone in town on edge.
“I’m sorry about it. I don’t know how long they’re going to be here. Maybe if I go to DC with them, things can go back to normal,” Laura said as she walked across the small room to throw open the door for Logan.
Whatever they wanted to do, they could do in DC. She didn’t have to upend the whole town.
“Don’t you even think about that,” Wolf said, getting up. His face was set in hard lines. “You are not leaving this town. We can’t protect you if you’re off in DC.”
Logan jogged up the steps, pulling the aviators off his face. “Wolf is right. I read that file this morning. You nearly got killed in DC. No place is safe anymore, but at least here you know everyone will watch out for you.”
Laura opened the screen door and allowed Logan in. His big frame filled the doorway. In the last several months he’d gone from lanky boy to muscular man. He’d put away his precious comic books and now spent a lot of time in the gym. And at bars, if the rumors were true.
“Are you here to bring me in?” Laura asked the deputy.
Logan settled his hat on his head. “It’s not like that. Nate’s got a whole bunch of men in his office who want to talk to you. He wouldn’t tell them where you live. He sent me out to see if you want to talk or if you would prefer to join Mel and Cassidy. No one is going to look for you there. You could hole up for a week or two, and this should blow over.”
“It’s not so bad,” Wolf offered. “Mel’s made that place quite comfortable.”
“I am not going to hole up in a shelter and hope they go away,” Laura said with a long sigh.
She’d dreaded this moment. It was so much worse because, once again, Rafe and Cam were involved in her utter humiliation. “It was really far too much to think I could hide forever. I’ll go talk to them.
Who’s the agent in charge?”
“A man named Joseph Stone.”
Wolf suddenly held up his right hand, making a fist.
“Is he going to punch someone?” Laura asked.
Wolf shushed her and started to move around the table. His voice was low. “Someone’s outside. They’re moving slow and quiet, but they’re not used to rural terrain. He’s making a bunch of noise, and he doesn’t even realize it.”
Logan’s face had gone stony, and he had his gun in hand. “I thought I was being followed. Damn. Back of the cabin?” Laura’s heart rate sped up. The whole world suddenly seemed far too quiet. Every little noise felt like a threat.
“You protect her,” Wolf said, his voice a mere whisper.
“You don’t have a gun.” Logan pushed her none too gently to the nearest corner and placed his big body in front of hers.
“Since when does a SEAL need a gun?” Wolf asked.
He opened the screen door and disappeared. As far as Laura could tell, he didn’t make a sound.
She stood there feeling like an idiot for hiding behind Logan, but she didn’t have a gun, and she was out of shape. Bliss had made her feel secure. She’d stopped practicing judo and given up on lifting weights. It was so much nicer to sit with her friends at Stella’s and have pie and think about summer. Laura blinked back tears. She’d gotten too used to Bliss. She’d forgotten how crappy the world could be, but now it was crashing in on her.
Suddenly, the door to her bedroom opened and Cam stepped out, a gun in his hand. He wore his boxer shorts and nothing else.
“Put it down,” Cam growled at Logan. The Glock in his hands was perfectly aimed at the deputy’s head.
“You put it down, motherfucker. I don’t see a badge on your chest.” Logan didn’t move an inch to put down his gun, and Laura could feel the tension tighten in the room. “I’m giving you to the count of three before I blow your fucking head off. You understand me?”