Something in Eric’s eyes flashed and I didn’t like it, mainly because his face got tight along with the flash and he looked supremely pissed off.

“What?” I used the hated word again but Eric stayed silent then, as humiliating as it was in outing how shal ow my relationship with Mace had been, I shared, “I didn’t even know Mace had a sister much less that she was murdered.” I knew this, too, surprised Eric. The anger went out of his face and he shook his head. Then his face went soft again.

“Figure I had you, warm and wil ing in my bed, I wouldn’t talk about my sister’s kidnapping and murder either.” My breath felt like exploring the coast of Maine and I felt my eyes go huge.

“Kidnapping?” I breathed.

“Oh f**k,” Eric muttered before he looked at my knees.

My hand went to his face and I turned him to look at me.

“What the f**k happened to Mace’s sister?” Eric watched me then he did it some more then he sighed and it was heavy.

“I’m gonna let Mason tel you this story.”

“Mace and I are done,” I replied quickly.

His mouth formed a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

When he spoke, his voice was sweet but weirdly sad.

“Sweetheart, as much as it kil s me to admit it, you aren’t done. And it’s his story to tel .” I opened my mouth to speak but he shook his head. “It’s his to tel , Stel a. It isn’t pretty and if he didn’t share it with you, he didn’t for a reason. But I got no doubt he’d planned to get around to it eventual y, the time’s got to be right for that kind of shit. The time isn’t right when you find a good woman. You don’t want to lay your shit on her up front and freak her out.”

This made sense.

And any story that involved a jerky ass**le of a father and a kidnapped and murdered sister was definitely shit you didn’t want to lay on anyone, good woman or not.

I was already freaked out and I didn’t know what the ef happened!

What I did know was that I would have known because Mace was going to tel me that morning.

I closed my eyes and turned my head away from Eric.

“I’m such an idiot,” I whispered.

Eric moved, stretching to lie by me ful out on the couch.

His arms moved around me to pul me ful frontal, his legs tangled with mine and I pressed my face into his chest.

After a few minutes of holding me, Eric asked, “You want me to take you back to him?”

I did.

I definitely did.

And I definitely knew that I’d been wrong about Eric.

He was a good guy.

A good guy I was using and another good guy I’d never have because I was thinking I was exactly as stupid as Preston Mason thought I was.

I answered, “Mace and I are over.”

Eric’s arms got tighter and his voice got lower and I could swear I heard a hint of anger when he asked, “What did Preston Mason do to you in that car?”

“Nothing.”

“Bul shit.”

I tipped my head back to look at him. “Seriously, Eric,” I lied through my teeth. “Nothing. We just talked.” At least that last part wasn’t a lie.

He wasn’t buying it. “Preston Mason doesn’t make a move without an ulterior motive. He didn’t kidnap you from a gig to have a chat.”

“I’m not saying it was a pleasant chat, I’m just saying he didn’t do anything to me.”

Eric’s brows drew together. “Stel a, you’re keepin’

something from me.”

“No, I’m not. You know I didn’t want to be back together with Mace. I just decided to make it clear,” I lied.

Yes, I lied.

Yes, again.

And no, I didn’t mind going to hel . It couldn’t be much worse than my life was at that very moment.

Eric watched me again. It did, of course, occur to me that he was a federal agent and likely could read the body language and facial expressions of much more accomplished liars than myself but at that moment I was too tired to care.

“I need to sleep,” I told him.

“You need to eat then you need to sleep,” Eric returned.

“I’m not hungry.”

He pushed up, rol ed over me, got to his feet and then pul ed me to mine.

“Then you get a bowl of cereal,” he decided.

“Eric.”

“No argument.S">“NoGy His voice was firm, so was his grip on my hand which led me straight to the kitchen.

* * * * *

Eric

Eric forced a bowl of cereal on Stel a.

Then he sat on the couch and watched a movie with her which she fel asleep halfway through.

Then he carried her to his bed, pul ed a blanket over her stil -clothed body, left the room, closed the door and walked into the living room.

He made a couple of cal s and got the number he needed.

Then he dialed Lee Nightingale’s cel .

“Yeah?” Nightingale answered.

“It’s Special Agent Turner.”

Lee’s voice went on alert. “Stel a?”

“She’s fine,” Eric responded. “You stil got that boy wonder at your computers?”

Lee didn’t reply.

“You do, you get him to work on Preston Mason and whatever the f**k he’s holding over Stel a. Something happened in that car. She’s not talkin’. There’s gotta be a link.”

“We’re already on it,” Lee responded.

“She doesn’t know about Caitlin Mason,” Eric went on.

“I know,” Lee replied. “You said ‘doesn’t’, you didn’t share?”

“Not my place.”

Silence then realizing from Eric’s words the lay of the land, Lee went on, “Mace wants the papers kept from her.” Eric thought about the papers the last two days, rehashing every last, juicy, devastating detail of Caitlin Mason’s kidnapping and murder and Kai Mason’s involvement as part-martyr, part-hero. Worse, his now very public relationship (making out onstage with a local rock star, for f**k’s sake) was quickly becoming legend. Stel a was cast in the dual role as balm to soothe the wounded soul alongside damsel in distress. A dual role that would only be intensified after her version of “And So It Goes” (Eric didn’t see it, the agent he’d assigned to watch her had reported to him about it, in detail) and her post-gig kidnapping complete with the Nightingale Men publicly (and therefore open to cel phone cameras) engaged in pretty f**king brutal physical skirmishes in an effort at her protection.