Rafe looked around. Where had Laura gone? Two women whispered outside a curtained-off section on the second floor of the store that seemed to sell everything from souvenirs to groceries to fishing equipment. Rafe could see them from the ground floor. They were Laura’s friends, the redhead and the one who previously couldn’t speak. She didn’t seem to have that trouble now. Charm hadn’t worked on them. Maybe it was time to take a play from Cam’s book and be a bit of a bully.

Rafe couldn’t let Laura go. If she slipped out the back, he might not be able to find her again. Rafe needed to know she was safe. The sick feeling he’d had in his stomach every day since she’d walked out was back. He’d gotten so used to it, it had felt normal, only going away when he’d set eyes on her.

“Do you think I should make more cookies, Special Agent?” Teeny asked. “Your partner looks like a man who likes to eat.” Cam was still in the bathroom putting on his undercover wear.

Cam would probably be thrilled to do the whole assignment in jeans and a snarky shirt. “Cam can put away more food than an elephant, but he’s not the only one.”

Wolf Meyer looked up, his face a mask of innocence. All six of the cookies were gone. “They were awfully good.” Rafe turned away as Teeny began to nag the big guy about sharing.

He clenched his fists at the base of the stairs and made his decision. Laura wasn’t getting away. He felt a little rush of rage. All this time he’d blamed himself for her running, but wasn’t she to blame, too? He’d fucked up. He knew that. He’d fucked up, and she’d paid the price, but she was the one who left without a word. She was the one who had punished him and Cam for five long years. She was the one who hadn’t wanted to listen to explanations or apologies.

He wasn’t letting her go.

Rafe took the steps two at a time, never letting his eyes leave those women. They turned as though sensing something was stalking them. Two pairs of eyes widened. They were shocked and not a little frightened. Rafe could tell that easily. Neither one moved, however.

They stood their ground. The redhead even firmed her stance as though guarding something precious.

“Special Agent Kincaid,” the redhead said in a too-loud voice.

Holly, he remembered. Her name was Holly, and she’d just given Laura away. Laura was obviously behind the curtain, and her friend wanted to warn her of encroaching danger. Nice. He didn’t mind that at all.

“Holly, I was looking for Laura.” It was a leading question. He wondered if Holly would attempt to lie to him.

Guileless green eyes looked up at him. No lies in those eyes.

“She’s changing. I think she would appreciate it if you gave her a moment. She wasn’t expecting people from her past to show up here today.”

She’d placed careful emphasis on the word “past.”

“Yes, I doubt she ever expected to see me again,” Rafe murmured.

He wondered if she was changing clothes. He wanted to see her again.

She’d changed. She was softer, more round. She was a little older, but it looked good on her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Damn, he needed to get his head back in the game. He couldn’t think about sex. He needed to stay in control or he would lose her.

Nell, whose voice had disappeared again, patted her friend on the back, and they seemed to have a whole conversation with a series of looks and gestures. Finally, Holly turned back.

“She wants to know why you’re here.”

That was a question he needed to answer carefully. Especially since he knew Laura was behind that curtain, probably listening.

What did he say? Well, he’d told Cam they needed to be aggressive.

“I needed to find her because I love her. I’ve loved her since the day I met her, and I have missed her every day she’s been gone.” Let her stew on that for a while. Or, perhaps, she would come barging out of her hidey hole, and they could have the fight they’d needed to have for five fucking years. Yeah, he was looking forward to that. He had the distinct feeling that they wouldn’t get anywhere until they had that fight.

The curtain opened, and Laura stepped out, dressed now in tight jeans that accentuated her new curves and a plaid shirt that opened low enough to show off the slope of her breasts. Her hair had been pulled back in a ponytail. She looked so different. Her beauty had always been soul deep, but there was a strength in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. It was apparent that she’d been crying.

Fuck, that hurt.

“It’s good to see you, too, Special Agent Kincaid.” She stepped into her heels. They were the only thing left from the outfit she’d been wearing.

The words were said with a flat cadence that told him she simply didn’t care enough to lie. She was fooling herself. It was obvious to Rafe that she still had some sort of feelings for them, whether good or bad. She’d been crying. There was still something there. He wanted to take her in his arms, but it wasn’t the time or the place.

“We need to find someplace where we can talk. Cam and I need to go over a few things with you,” he said.

Laura glanced down at her watch. “Sorry, I have a lot to do today.

All week, actually. I have a friend who’s getting married on Saturday, and I’m in the wedding party. Tonight is the Big Game Dinner. That’s serious in these parts. So, if you want to talk, you’re going to have to do it at my place while I get ready.” With that, she dismissed him. She gave her friends hugs and then walked right past him.

Rafe felt his blood pressure rise as she walked away. He caught up to her in two long strides and grabbed her by the elbow.

“I came all this way, searched for years to find you, and you can’t give me an hour to explain things to you?”

“I think you made everything clear to me back in DC. I understand that something has come up with the case, but I have a life here now. I have a job.”

He knew about her job. Once he’d figured out what name she was using, he’d found out everything he could about her. It had been very surprising to discover that one of the most driven, ambitious women he’d ever known worked at a place called the Stop ‘n’ Shop. “Yes, you’re working at a gas station. I’m sure that degree in psychology comes in handy when you’re using a cash register.” She flushed, but stood her ground. “I make no apologies for my life, Rafe. I do a damn good job. I like the people here. If you have a problem with it, the highway can take you anywhere you want to go. I suggest you use it.”

“That would be easy for you, wouldn’t it, bella ?”

“Nothing about this is easy for me, Rafe.” At least she’d stopped calling him Special Agent. “I’m not going anywhere until we talk, and I don’t mean about the case. I don’t care that you’re involved with that man downstairs. I want an explanation of why you walked out on me.”

“On us.” Cam stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up. He appeared to have utterly dumped his coat, and Rafe prayed he hadn’t actually tossed it out. The T-shirt Cam had been given was just the tiniest bit too small. “You walked out on us.” Rafe saw Laura soften for the tiniest moment, and then her stubbornness set back in. “I was fired, Rafe. As I didn’t have a real relationship with anyone outside of work, I didn’t think I had to leave a forwarding address. And you should get your hand off me, you’re hurting me.”

“Hey!” Holly said.

“Put the fishing pole down, Holly.” Laura sighed as she looked over Rafe’s shoulder.

Rafe turned to see the redhead with a fishing pole in her hand, apparently ready to defend her friend. Rafe released Laura’s arm.

“I don’t think that would have done a lot of damage.” Laura smiled at the two women who had been coming to her rescue.

Holly shrugged as she reset the fishing pole. “Next time you get assaulted, make sure it happens deeper in sporting goods. Then I could have picked up a hockey stick or a baseball bat.”

“There won’t be a next time,” Laura promised. “I’ll see you two tonight. Holly, you’re going, right?”

“Oh, yes, Stella’s is serving dessert. And Hal has come up with something called venison tapas. I have no idea what it means, but Zane made the sheriff promise to give it a try.” Holly pointed a thumb back towards Nell. “Nell and Henry are protesting.”

“Excellent. See you there.” Laura started down the stairs.

“Laura, we’re not done here.” He wasn’t about to come all this way only to be dismissed.

“I told you, I’m going home to change. I’ll be at the Big Game Dinner this evening. It’s going to be on the fairgrounds. We can talk there.”

“If you run, I’ll come after you.”

She stopped halfway down the stairs and turned those blue eyes on him. “Why would I run? This is my home.”

“You left your last home.”

“DC was never my home. It was just a stop on the way to Bliss.

This is my home, Rafe, and nothing and no one is going to get me to leave it.” She stepped down the stairs and nodded at Cam before she walked out.

Cam turned as if to go after her. Rafe raced to stop him.

“We can’t just let her go,” Cam complained.

“She isn’t going anywhere.” Rafe understood Cam’s urgency.

Now that he was close to her again, the idea of letting her out of his sight rankled. “I have it on the highest authority that this is her home.” Cam smiled, his face opening in a way Rafe hadn’t seen in a very long time. It made him look years younger. “Well, you’ve got to admit, it is kind of cool.”

“I don’t have to admit anything.”

Cam slapped him on the back. He didn’t seem at all upset with his too-tight T-shirt or the woman who spoke through interpretive dance.