Dani watched as Patrick Mahoney walked through her apartment, jotting notes on a pad of paper. She couldn’t tell if he’d believed a word she’d told him. She couldn’t tell if he thought she was crazy.

The only thing she could tell was that he really did look like Shayne’s twin, which is to say tall and rangy and effortlessly sexy with that untamed wavy hair and see-all golden eyes. Except his weren’t nearly as warm as Shayne’s.

She tightened the belt on her coat and tried not to picture exactly what Patrick had seen when he’d knocked on the window of Shayne’s car. Tried not to think what might have happened if he hadn’t knocked on the window of Shayne’s car.

Seriously, she couldn’t believe she’d-

That he’d-

That they’d nearly-

Strangers. They were complete strangers, she reminded herself. Strangers who couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

Why was that, anyway? She had no idea, but whatever was happening between the two of them, it had to stop. Immediately. Mostly because she appeared to be in the middle of a breakdown. That, or someone was stalking her. Neither was exactly conducive to a well-rounded relationship.

Not that she was thinking about a relationship.

Oh, no. No, no, no. Because Shayne? He was a walking, talking heartbreaker if she’d ever seen one. And if she was stupid enough to even think about taking this to the next level, a level that she hadn’t been to in an embarrassingly long time, then she had no one to blame for that certain heartbreak than herself. Because once she slept with someone, she tended to get her heart involved, and…

Oh, hell, who was she kidding? She hadn’t slept with him, at least not yet, and already her heart felt involved. She couldn’t help it, Shayne Mahoney was a combination of some of her favorite things-sharp and quick-witted, willing to put himself on the line for whatever he believed in, not to mention an even more attractive willingness to help a perfect stranger.

Or in this case, a not-so-perfect stranger.

God. She pushed back her hair and wondered how much longer she could stay awake on her feet.

And wondered something else too, something she’d already voiced to Shayne. “What if it’s the same gun that I saw at Sky High?”

The two brothers, taking up all the spare room in her living room with their big, built bodies and undeniable presence, exchanged a long look.

Had she thought she couldn’t read Shayne’s thoughts? Because she knew exactly what he was thinking.

That she was as crazy as everyone said.

They spoke softly to each other, so softly she couldn’t hear the words, and then Shayne walked Patrick to her front door, and when she looked up again, Shayne was standing in front of her, hands in his pockets, hair still wet from the rain, expression unreadable. Through all of this, his proximity had always been able to affect her, and now was no exception. He still smelled good, delicious in fact, and though he wasn’t looking at her with his usual heat, it didn’t matter because he was looking at her with a gentle kindness.

Devastating, really. She wanted to put her hands on his incredibly soft shirt and feel his incredibly hard body beneath. Instead, she tried to joke. “Let me guess. He recommended you run far and fast from me, right?”

He didn’t respond to that, but pulled his hands out of his pockets and set them on her arms, stroking up and down over her coat. “You look beat.”

“A very true statement.” She resisted setting her head on his shoulder, barely. “So what did he say?”

“Who’d want to scare you, Dani?”

“Well…”

“You piss anyone off lately?”

“You have a lot of questions.”

“Are you going to answer any of them?”

She let out a shaky breath. “Are you asking me if I have any enemies?”

“Or friends that aren’t really friends.”

“So…you believe me,” she said, shocked to find her throat tight over that. “You believe that something is going on here.”

“Something, yes.”

“Okay.” She concentrated on breathing. Breathing was good. “Okay, now I’m really scared.”

“You should be. Enemies, Dani? Pissed-off family members? Scorned boyfriends? Jealous coworkers?”

Taking a step back so she could lean against the couch, she nodded.

“Which?”

She tried to smile and failed. “Well, would you believe all of the above?” When he arched a brow, she let out a short laugh. “I know, it sounds ridiculous. I mean, look at me.” She spread her hands. “I’m a mess. But it’s shockingly true.”

“Tell me.”

“I was promoted today-yesterday, now,” she corrected, looking at the clock, finding it well after midnight. “To head mammal keeper. It’s mostly just a title, with a joke of a pay increase, really. I’ll still be poor as dirt, but I get to make management decisions and I get the good schedule.”

“Anyone upset about that?”

“The only other person eligible was Reena, and she’s a close friend. We got hired at the same time, so the promotion could have gone either way, but she’s happy for me.”

Crossing his arms, he sent her a get-real look.

“She is,” she insisted.

“She can be happy for you and still really pissed off about it.”

“Pissed off enough to kill someone? Enough to break into my place? To plant a gun on me? Seriously, this is ridiculous. What happened tonight has nothing to do with my work.”

“Okay, so what about family?”

“You know my mother. She’s a stuck-up, narcissistic snob, but she’s not a gun owner. And she’s not a murderer.”

“Siblings? Stepsiblings?”

“I-” She closed her mouth. Tony’s and Eliza’s faces flashed across her mind.

“What?” Shayne murmured, watching her carefully, an unsettling thing because the look in his yes implied he cared. A lot. “What are you thinking?”

That she was going to have a hell of a time resisting him, that’s what. “I think my stepsiblings would like me to vanish, but they like their cushy trust funds too much to actually off me.” She tried to smile, but didn’t feel especially amused.

“Dani-”

“The point is, none of this makes any sense. My job, while lovely to me, is actually really very boring to most. I observe mammals, write reports on their behavior. I feed them and clean up after them. Not exactly glamorous work, you know? I haven’t made any enemies, and though my family is richer than God, there’s no reason for any of them to hurt me. The end.”

“Ex-boyfriends? Current boyfriends?”

She looked away.

“Dani.”

She was too busy with work to have a real life. Okay, that wasn’t exactly the truth either. She was too busy being independent to let anyone in. “It’s been a while.”

“How long a while?”

She winced. Could this get any more humiliating? “Months.”

“Months.”

She closed her eyes. “Okay, a year.”

“A year?”

“And a half.”

Silence. She felt her face grow hot, and finally opened her eyes.

He didn’t look horrified or disgusted. Just patient, and understanding. “Nothing more current?” he said without judgment. “Nothing at all?”

She hugged herself. “If I had something more current going on, I wouldn’t have kissed you in the closet.”

“Which begs the question…” He shifted closer, put his hand on her jaw, and lifted her face to his. “After all that time of going without, why did you kiss me in the closet?”

She opened her mouth, and then shut it again. It was a good question, a fair question. But how to explain that she’d kissed him in the closet to kick-start herself, and that mission had been accomplished. What she hadn’t realized was that she’d want another kiss.

And another.

And despite his interest, she knew enough to know she couldn’t possibly keep it. Kissing him again, or even explaining the kiss would be like opening a big, fat can of worms.

“Just an impulse?” he inquired.

His hand was still on her jaw, and she liked his touch, too much. So much. How in the world did people do this, open up and let someone in, and then casually walk away after one encounter? She needed to work on that. “I dared myself.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “Okay, then. That clears everything up. Thanks.”

“Shayne-”

“Never mind. I get it. We’re…”

“On different playing fields.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you’re a ten, and-”

“Not that again.”

“What did your brother say exactly?” she asked.

He arched a brow. “Subject change?”

“Subject change.”

He sighed. “He said that just because there’s no sign of a break-in doesn’t mean someone wasn’t here.”

“So he believes me too?”

The answer was in his eyes. “Oh. I see.” She turned her back to him because she didn’t want him to see her disappointment. “He doesn’t.” She leaned on the couch. “So what about the gun? Did I plant that myself then?”

“He’s going to see who it’s registered to.”

“And in the meantime?”

“Sleep.” He was right behind her. Not quite touching, but she could feel his body heat. “You look like you could use it.”

She had to close her eyes and work on controlling her voice so that it didn’t shake like the rest of her was. “Thanks. Thanks for being here for me tonight, and thanks for calling your brother. I appreciate it. I’ll be fine, though. You can go.”

“You’re going to sleep here?”

“No, actually. I think I’ll go to work and sleep there. I’ve done that before,” she said, hoping to ward off his protest. “A lot. I’m very comfortable there.”

His hands slid to her hips and turned her around to face him. “How about somewhere you won’t be alone?”

“I have the animals.”

“I was thinking of the human persuasion. Preferably female.”

“I could call Reena,” she said. “But it’s nearly one in the morning. Maybe I could just go knock on Alan’s door.”