“That’s good to know,” he replied, his voice low and sounding tired but definitely not asleep.

sounding tired but definitely not asleep.

I jerked up on my elbow. “I thought you were asleep!”

“Nope.”

Shit.

I settled back down.

“I real y do think you’re a jerk,” I said, though even I could tel I didn’t mean one word of it.

“For not being asleep?” Now he sounded both tired and amused.

“Wel … yeah.”

“I wasn’t asleep when you sang ‘Because the Night’

either.”

Holy cow.

I jerked up on my elbow again. “Please tel me you’re kidding.”

“Nope,” he said again.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I rol ed away, he rol ed with me, caught me around the waist and pul ed me back into his body.

“Now, I have to leave,” I said.

“Why?”

“It’s embarrassing. My singing sucks.”

“It sounded good to me.”

“That’s because you like me.”

He kissed my neck.

Then he settled behind me and said, “Yeah.” Chapter 15

My Day with the Boys

I heard Hank’s phone ringing, he muttered an oath and leaned over me to pick up his cel from the nightstand.

“Yeah?” he answered, his voice husky with sleep.

My eyes flickered open, it was stil real y dark.

My eyes shut again and I curled into Hank. Shamus pressed into my back.

“Where?” Hank asked.

He seemed resigned, not tense. Since he wasn’t tense, I figured my world was not about to come crashing down so I didn’t get tense.

Then he said, “Got to take care of somethin’ at home, then I’l be there.” Another pause, then, “Yeah.” Then I heard the beep of him disconnecting the cal .

“Whisky?” I whispered.

There were more beeps. Hank was making a cal .

“Just a minute, sweetheart,” he answered then he talked into the phone. “Jack? Hank. I need to go out and I need protection for Roxie.”

He stopped talking. I got up on my elbow and pul ed my hair out of my face. Shamus gave an enormous doggie groan of protest.

“Fuck,” Hank said then paused. “Yeah. I’l take her there.

Twenty minutes, tops.”

Another beep as he disconnected.

“What’s going on?” I asked, looking at his shadow in the darkness.

He moved, the light came on and I blinked. Shamus jerked to his bel y and surveyed the scene, preparing for al doggie possibilities open to him; early walk, early breakfast or some sort of pets and cuddles.

“There’s been a homicide and it’s connected to a case I’m on,” Hank told me. “I’ve got to go to the scene. I need to take you to Lee’s offices. You can go back to sleep there.

I’l pick you up later.”

I blinked again, but not because the light burned my eyes.

Lee’s offices?

No way in hel .

“I can go to Uncle Tex’s,” I suggested.

He shook his head, pul ed away, got out of bed and walked to the dresser.

“Please don’t argue, I want to be sure you’re safe and Lee’s boys can keep you safe. Get some stuff together. A change of clothes, whatever you need for the morning. We have to leave now.”

Was he serious?

“Now” wasn’t an option for me. He knew I was high maintenance. He’d said twenty minutes, some of that was travel time. I needed to choose an outfit, I needed hair stuff, body stuff, makeup. I needed twenty minutes just for the outfit.

“Now?” I asked.

He pul ed on some white boxer shorts, came back to the bed and tugged me out of it.

When he was standing in front of me, he bent and kissed my nose.

“Now,” he answered.

Shit.

* * * * *

Hank carried his workout bag that he’d emptied for me to pack and held my hand as we walked up some steps to some offices. I had the handle of Shamus’s leash in my other hand. Shamus was beside himself with glee, his doggie body trembling with it. He was on an adventure.

I was beside myself with despair. I couldn’t be left alone without protection.

I’d come without a fight mainly because I’d caused enough worry and mayhem. I didn’t need to have a big argument with Hank when he needed to go to work.

Furthermore, he was right. Uncle Tex was huge and tough but Lee’s boys could be commissioned to keep the Pope safe.

Not to mention, Hank had said “please”.

We walked into some offices. The lights were out in the room we entered, but there was an inside door open, a light from the hal way there lit the space and I could tel it was a reception area.

Hank and I walked down the hal , it had several doors leading off of it.

A man came out of a room halfway down the hal , but stood in the open doorway. He was built like a truck but perhaps slightly more solid.

“Safe room’s open and ready,” he said to Hank then his eyes came to me briefly, then he went back into the room and the door closed behind him.

Not much of a welcome.

Hank took me toward the end of the hal and into a room.

It was sparsely furnished and not decorated. A double bed, a reclining chair, a TV and a bookshelf ful of books and DVDs. Another door led off of it.

I let go of Shamus’s lead and he got busy exploring his new space.

Hank dumped the bag in the chair.

“Sleep,” he said after he turned to me. “I’l be back before you wake up.”

“Okay,” I replied. He was busy, he had things to do, important things that involved crime and justice. I reminded myself that now was not the time to cause a fuss.

He walked up to me. I noticed his eyes were lazy and I held my breath. His hand came to the side of my neck and he gave me a light kiss.

Then he was gone.

I took off my jacket under which I was wearing a pair of jeans and my lilac nightie. I took off my shoes, the jeans, turned off the light and got into the bed. Shamus got in with me, walked around on the bed for awhile, getting the lay of the land, settled on his side, his back pressed to my side and we both fel asleep.

* * * * *

Shamus jerked and jumped off the bed. I rol ed over to see what he was up to but he was already halfway across the room.

I looked toward the doorway and a man was standing there.

For a second, I stared at him, confused, because I didn’t know what was going on.

Then I remembered.

Even so, I continued to stare at the man.