“Move! Now!” Duke shouted and started shoving harder.

We moved. We didn’t want to, but we moved.

We knew the dril and we’d wasted enough time.

They herded us into Explorers and we went to The Castle.

* * * * *

“Chiquita, get away from the window,” Eddie ordered. I turned away from watching Stel a and Mace drive away in an Explorer and looked at Eddie.

His feet were bare, his chest was bare, his belt was undone and so were two buttons of his faded jeans.

As usual, Eddie looked f**king hot (definitely worth the f-word).

And, also, Eddie was obviously ready to go to bed.

Even after our adventurous night including rock ‘n’ rol in the face of certain danger, that danger coming at one of us in the form of gunfire and the Rock Chicks’ fast getaway in bul etproof SUVs, Eddie was already wound down.

This was because Eddie was a cop. Eddie’s job was dangerous, not to mention he’d survived five Rock Chick/Hot Bunch Courtships, including our own. This was just another night for Eddie.

“Is Mace okay?” I asked, dropping the curtain I had pul ed back from the window.

I asked because Mace could be a little intense and we hadn’t had time to debrief downstairs. Eddie came in before Mace and took me directly upstairs. He looked exhausted so I didn’t argue even though I wanted to know what happened, as in, really wanted to know.

If Mace made it to the man who shot at Stel a before someone talked him down from going berserk, Stel a and the rest of us would be visiting Mace at the local penitentiary for as long as they put people away for manslaughter.

I was taking it as a good sign that he was driving off with Stel a in an Explorer.

Though, they could be driving to Mexico as fugitives from the law for al I knew.

“Yeah. Lee control ed it before we had to lock him down,” Eddie replied, finishing with the buttons on his jeans.

Wel , that was a relief.

I walked toward him, picked up the t-shirt he’d discarded, tossed it on the bed and started to undress.

“I can’t believe they opened fire in a crowded club,” I said, pul ing off my tee.

“Sid’s crazy,” Eddie replied, his voice like a verbal shrug but there was an edge to it.

No doubt about that, Sidney Carter was definitely crazy.

No doubt about that, Sidney Carter was definitely crazy.

And maybe Eddie wasn’t wound down. Maybe Eddie just wanted to think about this later, as in, while tel ing crazy stories to our grandchildren when we were retired and living in Arizona.

I sat on the bed and yanked off my boots.

“You okay?” Eddie asked and I looked up at him.

Then I quit breathing.

He was standing there total y naked, arms crossed on his chest, eyes on me.

Eddie had no problem with nudity.

Also, it should be said, I had no problem with Eddie’s nudity.

I shrugged off thoughts of how little problem I had with Eddie’s nudity and nodded.

I was okay.

I’d learned a long time ago that if you were stil walking and breathing, it was best just to get on with it.

I got up, pul ing off my jeans then taking off my bra as Eddie got into bed. I grabbed his t-shirt and was about to tug it on when Eddie stopped me by saying, “Don’t think so.”

My arms through the sleeves of his tee but not yet having pul ed it over my head, my eyes moved to him.

“What?” I asked.

“Drop the shirt, mi amor, ” Eddie demanded in a soft voice, his eyes, I could see from the length of the bed, were liquid.

My bel y melted.

I dropped the shirt.

Then I put hands and knees to the bed and crawled toward him, his body between my limbs. I watched his face as he watched my progress, a smile playing about his mouth as I made my way up his length. When we were face-to-face, I stopped and lowered myself ful on him.

His arms wrapped around me, one hand going into my panties at my behind.

“You okay with staying here?” I asked and watched Eddie’s liquid black eyes start glittering.

Eddie hated Marcus. Marcus hated Eddie. Our current arrangement was not an optimal situation. Both men put up with each other for the sake of Daisy and my friendship.

This was a tentative truce, very tentative.

Before he met me and before I met Daisy, Eddie had spent some time trying to bring Marcus down. Marcus was not clean, not by a long shot. Somewhere along the line, Eddie had pul ed back from his pursuit of Marcus and Marcus, Eddie told me, had pul ed out of some of his more vil ainous ventures. Marcus wasn’t ready to go clean and Eddie wasn’t ready to give up.

If Marcus slipped up, Eddie would nail him.

Eddie and I being houseguests of the Sloans went against Eddie’s grain.

In a big way.

Not to mention, Eddie told me last night that the Denver Police Department told him they also frowned on our current arrangement. This meant Eddie wasn’t going to win Detective of the Year. Since Eddie frequently went his own way, he’d likely never even be nominated (not that they actual y had a Detective of the Year award). I knew Eddie was okay with that, he wasn’t big on politics and working the system, he preferred to focus on the job or, at least, his way of doing it.

Eyes stil glittering, Eddie answered, “Wil in’ to do just about anything to see you safe.”

I knew what he said was true. He’d proved it more than once.

This earned him a smile and when he saw my smile, as always, his eyes went soft. This was because Eddie liked my smile, like, a lot.

I felt warmth spread in my bel y, this time it was a different kind and I dropped my head and nuzzled my face into his throat.

Eddie did an ab crunch, lifting us both, he yanked the covers from between our bodies and I swung my legs around to help him. Then he laid back, me stil ful on top of him, and he flicked the covers over us.

His hand went back into my panties, this time with intent and his other arm wrapped tight around me.

My face stil in his throat, I whispered, “Tel me about Mace.”

His hand stopped.

“Not a good idea, cariña.”

He sounded serious so I snuggled in closer and kissed his neck to soften him up (and because I liked to kiss his neck, he smel ed good everywhere but especial y his neck).

I had to soften him up because, for whatever reason, al the Rock Chicks had an alternate Hot Bunch guy. Indy’s was Eddie. Roxie’s was Vance. Jules’s was Luke. Ava’s was Lee.

Mine was Mace.

Mace and I had a connection. A connection Eddie didn’t like but he no longer tried to stand in the way. I knew that Mace had witnessed his sister’s murder. Our connection started when Mace saved me from getting murdered in the same way.