Knowing it’d be heavy now, Dash stepped in to carry it for her. It wasn’t easy, but he avoided the wettest spots on the carpet.

“My snitch.”

Margo took up her cell phone, a pager and her purse. “News?”

Dash and Rowdy followed her down the hall.

“My snitch knows the guy who broke in on you. Like you said, he’s small-time.” Rowdy ran a hand over the back of his neck and sent Dash a look.

Dreading the inevitable, Dash set her bag by the carrier and faced Rowdy.

Margo had already turned toward him. “I’m not that fragile, Rowdy. Out with it.”

Dash knew she was far more fragile than she wanted to admit.

Rowdy realized it, too. He didn’t look very happy as he laid it out there. “The moron who broke in here has done his own snitching.” Mouth flattened, he added, “For the police department.”

The silence felt heavier than a wrecking ball.

“Well.” Margo pasted on a false smile. “That doesn’t really surprise me and yet...it does.”

More than ever, Dash wanted to remove her from the entire situation. “Do you know what cops he reported to?”

“Not yet but I’m working on it.”

“Logan or Reese will be able to find out.” Margo jerked up the cat carrier, then winced at the pain in her elbow.

Neither he nor Rowdy mentioned it.

“I’d planned to call Logan.” Rowdy watched her. “The cleaning crew is due here in a few hours. Logan said he wants to be here. I think he’s bringing a few uniformed cops with him, too, just in case he gets called away.”

Margo put a hand to her forehead.

Everything was as settled as it could be, so Dash took the carrier from her. “I’ll get Oliver in. Does he fight it?”

“No.” She went to her cat. “Poor kitty is so worn-out, he might just sleep the whole way there.”

Dash figured Margo was pretty worn-out, as well. Since getting rammed and dislocating her elbow, it had been one threat after another with little time to regroup.

They got Oliver into the carrier with little fuss. Dash and Margo stood to go. Dash held the carrier in one hand, her overnight bag in the other. “You ready, honey?”

Melancholy, she looked around the house one last time, and nodded. Her whole world had been turned upside down. The injury, the case, personal threats and the betrayal by her father...

Gently, Rowdy broke the silence. “I’m going to hang out until Logan gets here, just to be safe.”

Dash thanked him.

It surprised him when Rowdy drew Margo in for a bear hug—but it obviously surprised her more. She didn’t resist, but she remained unyielding, sort of stiff. Rowdy ignored her reaction. When he set her away from him, Margo was flushed.

“Well...”

Rowdy tipped up her chin. “You don’t have to be badass 24/7, you know. You can kick back and give yourself some breathing room.”

In a nervous gesture, she fussed with the curls on the back of her neck. “Yes, right.” A little desperate, she cleared her throat and turned to Dash for help.

He had to grin at her. The high color in her face was not from arousal. A week ago, he would have hated seeing Rowdy touch her, even in an avuncular way.

Now it just amused him. “I’ll see that she does just that.” She’d rest—when they weren’t burning up the sheets.

Either way, she’d get to focus on something other than the problems.

From what she’d hinted at earlier, he thought she just might want to focus on...him. He could hardly wait.

* * *

THE SUN WAS HIGH in the sky when Margo awoke and stretched out the kinks in her neck and legs. Her arm, which had been resting over the center console, remained sore enough that she took care in moving it. When Dash pulled the rental car down a long drive to what looked like a very private retreat, she sat up and looked around.

She remembered watching for a tail after they’d left her house...until he hit the highway. Everything after that was a blur. “Did I sleep the whole way?”

“You and Oliver both—and I’m happy to say neither of you barfed.”

She poked his shoulder. “I said Oliver gets carsick, not me.” She peeked into the backseat, where the carrier held her cat. Oliver had curled up, his head near his rump, and was sleeping peacefully. Poor baby.

Shielding her eyes, she studied the landscape as Dash pulled up alongside a curving drive that ended next to...

A cabin? She snorted. Though constructed of thick logs, the large, sprawling home was far from a fishing cabin. “This is it? You’re kidding, right?”

“Why?” He turned off the engine. “You don’t like it?”

Like it? It was...stunning. Margo opened her door and stepped out to the dew-wet grass. A distinct chill blew off the mist-covered lake. Here on the land, the sun played peekaboo through the leaves of tall trees, but over the lake it shone bright, mixing with the mist in an ethereal way. She inhaled—and filled her lungs with crisp, fresh air.

Dash got out of the car and, arms folded on the roof, looked at her. “It’s always a little cooler here because of the shade and the water.”

She shivered, but didn’t want to pull on her coat. Moving forward, she ignored the house for the moment and instead looked at the large, peaceful lake. It wasn’t that far from the house, the land leading to it almost flat with only the gentlest of slopes. Spring was in the air with wildflowers just starting to bloom all along the shore.

She saw no other houses, no other people. No sounds of traffic or conversation intruded, only the honking of geese, the trill of myriad birds, the chirping of insects. Even as she watched, a large fish did an impressive jump, splashing down again and sending ripples across the glassy surface of the lake, forcing the mist to part.

Tension seemed to seep away, when she hadn’t even realized she was so tense.

Stepping up behind her, Dash put his arms around her. “I love seeing you like this.”

He mentioned love so often that she barely noticed anymore. “It’s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.” He kissed the side of her neck, his mouth damp, hot. The familiar rise of his interest nudged against her backside. It was incredibly nice to be wanted so much.

Smiling, Margo stepped out of reach. “Let’s get Oliver inside and settled. Then I want that shower.” A thought occurred. “You do have hot water, right?”

“The house stays fully functional, even when I’m not here. I stocked up on basic groceries, canned goods and frozen meats, condiments...everything needed.” He smoothed back her hair, checking her forehead where the stitches had been removed, then pressing a tender kiss there. “The whole point of a lake house is being able to escape at the drop of a hat.”

In so many ways, he touched her heart, made her feel special and...loved. But she was afraid to think along those lines right now. Nothing in their relationship had been normal. She knew Dash was one of “those guys,” the men who wanted to protect and care for others. He was alpha with a capital A, a natural-born leader. What had started out purely sexual had become so much more because of the threats against her.

Without those threats, would they have had a blazing affair...and then ended things? Dash was thirty years old...and single. That had to mean he enjoyed the bachelor life, and God knew he played the field. So why should she assume she was special to him?

Better to give it some time, to see where things went once the danger had ended.

If it ever did.

She remembered that their one and only time of actually consummating their attraction, they’d forgotten to use protection. Worries added up, too many to deal with at the moment.

To give her mind something else to focus on, she surveyed the house. It seemed to go on forever. Undisturbed trees grew up around it. A stone walkway led from the gravel drive to a side door. Green metal sheeting served for the roof while large, rounded stones climbed a very tall fireplace.

Dash unlocked the door, then pushed it open. “Go on in. I’ll get Oliver and our stuff. The house has air and heat, but for today I’ll build a fire to warm things up.”

Curiosity kept her from arguing. She wandered in. The air smelled a little musty and a chill hung in the air. She wrapped her arms around herself.

The interior was even more impressive than the outside.

Natural wood...everywhere. The planks on the floor had been polished to a high shine. Lighter wood drew her attention to a cathedral ceiling broken only by multiple skylights and a few beams holding ceiling fans. A spacious, modern kitchen sat to the left and ran into an eating area and then a large sitting area, situated around that massive stone fireplace.

Dash came in behind her. “Main bathroom is the center door. There’s a tub and shower. Bedrooms are on either side. There’s a third loft bedroom up the stairs, with a shower. That’s the one I like to use. The skylights up there make you feel like you’re sleeping in the stars.”

Because kindling had already been laid on the grate, Dash gave her Oliver’s carrier, then went to the fireplace. In less than a minute, he had a fire started. “Be right back,” he said as he went out the door again.

Margo freed Oliver and sat with him by the fire, soothing him so he would understand the new surroundings. He allowed that only a moment before he went to explore. She trailed him, making certain he wasn’t afraid.

Once Dash brought in his bed and food dishes, she took care of setting them up near the fireplace. Oliver ate as if he hadn’t been fed in days instead of hours, proof that his upset had waned.