My breath ran away, I didn’t know where, maybe to a different state. Al I knew was, it was gone.

Then there was a pounding on the door.

We both froze.

So much for the fabulous security system. There was someone right at my freaking door!

“Stel a!”

Shit! Eric!

The door handle rattled.

“Open the door! Are you okay?”

Oh, this couldn’t be happening.

Of al the super shitty luck!

Mace’s eyes narrowed on the door and stayed narrowed when they came back to me.

“Who the f**k is that?” he asked.

“Eric,” I answered.

Another angry flash then he swore, “Fuck.” He let me go and moved to the door.

There was more pounding as Mace looked out the peephole. I saw his body register something, his jaw got tight and he looked at me.

“You have got to be shitting me,” he said.

Okay, now I was confused.

“What?” I asked.

Mace shook his head and opened the door.

Eric stood outside and I noted somewhat dazedly that he looked good.

He was tal , about three inches shorter than Mace but stil tal . He had black hair with a fantastic wave to it that, if he let it grow long, it would be curly. Not girlie-curly but man-curly and hot. Instead, he wore it long-ish and it always looked just out of bed messy and, wel , hot. He had intense, black eyes and a lean, muscled body. As I mentioned, he was hot, definitely, but in my eyes, no one was hotter than Mace, even hotter than hot Eric.

Eric saw me first, his concerned face registered relief that I was standing and breathing. He started to take a step toward me but stopped and froze when his eyes hit Mace.

Juno lifted her head and woofed her greeting to Eric from the bed but clearly was too tuckered out from hanging out with the Rock Chicks at The Castle to give it in doggie person. She put her head back down on her paws but her body shook with her tail just to let Eric know she was total y welcome to him coming to her and saying hel o.

Eric didn’t have time for Juno just now. His gaze swung back to me then to Mace. Then he walked in, Mace threw the door to and when it caught the frame, Eric exploded,

“What the f**k is going on? ”

Juno woofed again, not entirely sure what to think about this unusual greeting.

“Eric,” I said quietly.

“Who’s this f**kin’ guy?” Eric asked, jerking his head to Mace.

“You know who I am.” Mace confused me further by saying.

saying.

“I do?” Eric’s tone was bel igerent.

“He does?” My tone was bewildered.

“You do,” Mace answered, his eyes never leaving Eric.

Eric turned to him and something changed in the room.

Something lead singers in rock bands wouldn’t get. Only hot guys who deal in the world of crime and punishment would get it. So I didn’t get it.

“Yeah, I do,” Eric replied, his tone now dangerous and I felt something not happy crawling along my skin at this admission. “What I wanna know is, what the f**k are you doin’ here?”

“I could ask you the same f**kin’ thing,” Mace returned.

This did not give me a warm fuzzy feeling. Most especial y because they both looked like they were about to rip each other’s head’s off and, outside the obvious, there was more to it, I just didn’t know what it was.

“Erm… boys?” I cal ed.

Eric tore his gaze from Mace and did a head-to-toe of me, his eyes snapping back to the bandage peeking from under my shorts.

Then his gaze cut back to Mace.

“So she did get hit,” Eric said to Mace.

What?

He knew I was shot?

What was going on?

“She got hit,” Mace replied.

“And you were there,” Eric went on.

Mace’s jaw got tight. “Yeah”

“Fuck! ” Eric exploded again. “Back off, Mason. I’ve got this covered.”

I watched, stil total y confused as Mace zoomed straight from barely control ing his anger to holding onto his anger by a thread and I knew this was not a good thing.

“You got what covered, exactly?” Mace asked.

“Stel a,” Eric responded.

“Why don’t you explain that to me?” Mace’s thread was unraveling.

“How ‘bout you explain to me why you think you deserve an explanation?” Eric shot back.

This could go on al night.

“Excuse me!” I yel ed. “I am in the room.”

“Quiet, Stel a,” Mace said to me without looking away from Eric.

Oh no.

He was not getting bossy on me again.

“Don’t tel me to be quiet. What’s going on?” I shouted.

“He’s a Fed,” Mace answered.

My breath, which had come back, decided to go on vacation again. My guess, Las Vegas.

My eyes slid to Eric.

“A Fed?” I breathed with the last remnants of breath I had.

I knew something was not right about him, he told me he worked construction.

Eric’s teeth were in a clench.

“That’s right,” he said between them, his eyes reluctantly leaving Mace and coming to me.

“You work for –” I started.

“Yeah,” Eric cut me off.

“He’s on assignment,” Mace shared.

A muscle in Eric’s jaw leaped.

“Assignment?” Now I was sounding stupid but there was no other way to be.

“Sidney Carter,” Eric bit off.

Oh my God. Eric was after Bad Guy Sid too.

Then it hit me, if Eric was after Sid, then he was with me because…

Effing hel .

I started to back up.

“Stel a.” Eric turned away from Mace and started toward me.

“Don’t f**kin’ get near her,” Mace warned.

Eric stopped and turned back to Mace. “Do we gotta take this outside?”

“Works for me,” Mace replied immediately.

“No!” I shouted and Juno woofed, sensing the degradation of the atmosphere and not pleased that Eric had decided against a more thorough welcome. Juno wasn’t used to being ignored. “You two aren’t taking anything outside. You’re going to tel me what’s going on.

Starting with you.” I nodded at Eric.

Eric turned back to me, took a step, caught my look, clenched his teeth again and stopped.

“I can’t say much,” he started then I reckon he got a load of my new look and went on, “Stel a, sweetheart, I’m sorry. I can’t say much.”

“Okay, just tel me what it has to do with me.” Eric glanced back at Mace then to me. “I’m guessin’ you know.”