“Everyone stop,” Rafe ordered. Even dressed in nothing but his slacks, there was an indefinable air of authority about the man. “Laura can ride with us. We’ll get dressed and get to the station house. We will sort this out.”

Laura nodded. It wouldn’t do any good to argue with him. It was far better to let him believe that she would be reasonable. Of course, she was being reasonable. Last night she’d been an idiot, thinking that they could try again.

Rafe tried to lean over and kiss her, but Laura pulled away.

Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “We’ll talk about that, too, bella.” Cam stared at her for a moment before they both walked back into the bedroom to get dressed.

Laura grabbed her purse the minute the door closed behind them.

“I’m ready, Logan.”

“Hey,” Brad said before Wolf put a hand on his shoulder.

“I would keep my mouth shut, G-Man. I wouldn’t want my fist to slip and take you out.”

Brad sat his ass back down.

“I promise, I’m going to be a good little girl and talk to the SAC,” Laura said. Apparently the special agent in charge was her old boss, Joseph Stone.

She stared at her cabin as Logan pulled away. She wondered how long it would be before she could sleep there without feeling their arms around her.

* * *

Cam heard the car pull away and cursed as he zipped up his slacks from the night before. He shoved the feminine curtains aside and watched the deputy’s Bronco pull out of the drive and fly down the road. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew the deputy wasn’t alone in that car.

Laura was gone, and it was Rafe’s fault.

“You knew the unit was coming in?” Cam finished getting dressed in a hurry, his hands closing buttons in angry, impatient motions. Rafe had known all along, and he hadn’t bothered to tell him.

“No, damn it. I got a call from Joe yesterday, but you can’t get decent cell service here. All I knew was that there was some new information. I didn’t know that he was coming here.” Cam sat down on the bed he’d shared with Laura last night. Rafe had been there, too, but Cam didn’t really want to think about that right now. “You told me we were coming out here to talk to her, to make sure she was safe.”

Rafe didn’t look up from tying his loafers. “Yes, that’s what we came out here to do.”

“You’re not telling me everything.” Cam could hear the hesitation in Rafe’s voice. There was something the bastard was keeping from him. Maybe he would have seen it before if he hadn’t been thinking with his dick.

“I was supposed to bring her back to DC for questioning and, if the SAC deemed it necessary, protective custody.” Cam got up, clenching his fists at his sides. “And you didn’t bother to tell me that we might have to drag her kicking and screaming back to the city where she was nearly killed? There’s a reason she was hiding. You know I didn’t want to tell the Bureau at all. I didn’t see that we had any reason to. She didn’t do anything wrong. If she feels safer in this tiny town, then what’s wrong with that?”

Rafe stood, his shoulders set for a fight. “What’s wrong with it?

First, she is not safe here. That lock on her door wouldn’t keep out a toddler. Second, as long as that asshole is out there killing and torturing women, there’s the possibility that he finds her. Do you think he’s happy that she got away? This killer is obsessive. He won’t be happy that she’s still alive. He’ll feel the need to tie up that loose end.”

Cam was sick of it. It was an excuse. An ugly suspicion was forming in the back of Cam’s mind. “Don’t feed me that profile crap.

This is about getting Laura back to DC where you think you have the advantage. If she goes into protective custody, where does that leave me? I’m not on the payroll anymore. I guess it gives you a lot of time with her.”

Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “What exactly are you accusing me of?”

“I think you know.”

“Are they going to hit each other?” A feminine voice spoke from just outside the bedroom door. Holly stood there with Wolf. There was a small loaf of bread in her hand and a worried look in her eyes.

Cam wasn’t sure when the bedroom door had come open, but he was pretty sure those two had heard more than he wanted them to. “I don’t have time to beat him up right now.”

“Like you could,” Rafe growled under his breath.

“Maybe you should put that on hold for a second. We have another problem,” Wolf said. “Holly just had a woman knock on her cabin door.”

Holly’s hair was up in a messy ponytail, and she gestured toward her own cabin as she spoke. “She said she was with a news station in Washington. I thought she was talking about the state and maybe they had heard how great our coffee was here. It’s really good. Everyone says so. There’s something about the way Stella…”

“Holly, stay on task, darlin’,” Wolf urged her.

“Oh, well, I started talking about how nice Bliss is, and how very few tourists have met grisly deaths. That part is totally exaggerated, but then she started asking about Laura. She said she’d heard I was her best friend and how did I feel about potentially being the target of a serial killer.”

Fuck. There was only one person that could be. “Skinny? Long, flat blonde hair?”

Holly frowned. “I’m ashamed to say I barely got past her boobs.

I’m not interested in females, but those boobs were…well, I couldn’t take my eyes off of them.”

Cam shuddered a little. “They’re fake. Yours are better.” Holly’s smile lit up the room. “Thank you.” Rafe’s mouth was a flat slash as he brushed by Wolf and Holly and walked straight to his partner. Brad still had the ice pack on his nose. He looked like an idiot. What had he been thinking, sneaking around the side of the cabin?

Rafe’s hands came down on either side of the table, and he looked at Brad the same way Cam had seen him look at a suspect. “What the hell is Jana Evans doing here? Who gave her the tip-off?” Eyes wide, Brad leaned back a little in his chair. “Now, Rafe, you know I can’t stand that bitch. She’s always on us, calling us incompetent fools. Why the hell would I give her a tip-off?”

“Someone is tipping her off. This was supposed to be a secret.” Yeah, even for him. Cam didn’t like any of it. He really didn’t like the fact that Jana Evans had shown up. That reporter was trouble. It had been her story that led to Laura’s kidnapping. He could still remember getting that note. It had been sent to the SAC, but he and Rafe had been called in. The note had explained that de Sade was angry. He was far smarter than anyone in law enforcement, and Laura Rosen would pay for the insult.

That note had been the beginning of the worst years of Cam’s life.

Now the trouble with de Sade was all starting over again.

Damn. He wanted to be in bed again. He wanted to be snuggled beside Laura in this quiet, safe place. He wished he’d never woken up.

He was wasting time. God, he was going to look like an idiot. His day-old clothing was wrinkled and hadn’t managed a shower or a shave, but he wasn’t going to let her face the unit alone. He was going to have to suck up his pride and ask for a favor. He looked at Wolf.

“Could I get a ride into town from you?” Cam sure as fuck wasn’t riding with Rafe.

Rafe sighed. “You’re going to play the wounded idiot aren’t you?

I told you I didn’t know they were coming. I didn’t cut you out of this. I convinced them to let you come in with me.”

“And I found her. Don’t pretend like you were doing me a favor.”

“I’m going, too. I have banana bread. Everyone likes banana bread,” Holly said. “From what it looks like, Laura hasn’t had any breakfast. So, I’m coming, too.”

“Ma’am,” Brad began in that whiny voice of his, “this is serious investigative work. Just stay in your cabin, and I’m sure there’s a secretary who can keep you informed.” Holly stared at him for a moment, then turned back to Wolf. “If he touches my banana bread, I’ll kick him in the balls. Can we go now?” Wolf nodded. “Come on, Cam. I’ll give you a ride in.” Rafe pulled on his arm. “Don’t do this. The last thing we need is to let this thing come between us. I never meant to leave you out. I would think last night proved that.”

Cam wanted to believe him. He did. The night before had been the best of his life, and part of that had been sharing Laura with Rafe.

Perhaps Rafe hadn’t lied to him, but he hadn’t been truthful, either. “I think you need to take a step back and decide, really decide, what’s more important to you, Laura or your career. I know where I stand on that. I’ll see you at the station. I understand that I’m not on the ‘team.’

I’m strictly there to provide support for Laura. And to keep that fucking reporter off her back.”

“I’ll get rid of her,” Rafe promised. “I know no one in this room is going to believe me, but my main concern is Laura. However, I believe the best way to keep her safe is to catch this killer. I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it because I know he’s going to come after her, and I’m going to get to him before he does it.”

“Would he come for her here?” Holly asked, a little tremor in her voice.

Wolf’s arm went around her. As far as Cam could tell, there was nothing in his stance but friendly concern. Wolf Meyer seemed to like to touch the women around him. As long as he kept those paws off his Laura from now on, Cam didn’t have a problem with it. Holly didn’t seem to have a man to watch out for her. In Cam’s mind, that meant every man who knew her should watch out for her.

“Laura’s going to be okay. We’re having a town hall this evening to discuss the situation. Stef called it.” Rafe groaned a little. “There’s no need to bring the town into this, Mr. Meyer. We’re working with the sheriff. He’ll keep you updated.”