“Told Wil ie, cal ed Lee and Darius. Word goes out tonight that you belong to me. Anyone f**ks with you, they f**k with me, the DPD, al the boys at Nightingale Investigations and Darius Tucker. I’m cal in’ in al my markers. I’m not takin’ any more chances with this shit. Now you got an army of protection, whether you want it or not.” I kept staring at him as that strange sensation took hold of my bel y in a vice-like grip.

“But…” I whispered, “why?”

It was then he walked to me, put his hands to my neck and gently pul ed me toward him until our bodies were touching. He looked down at me and his eyes changed.

The warm, tender look was there but so was something else. Something I couldn’t read.

“Because you make a f**king great chocolate sheet cake.”

Chapter Thirteen

Out, Coffee and Breakfast

I woke up, alone, in Eddie’s bed.

I pul ed myself up and looked at his side of the bed. He’d gone to bed with me, held me ful -frontal, his arms tight around me, until I fel asleep. Now he was gone, the only thing on his side was a note on the pil ow, next to it, a new toothbrush in its wrapper.

I grabbed the note.

Out, coffee and breakfast, was al it said.

I got out of bed and went to Eddie’s bathroom. It had a claw-footed tub, a pedestal sink and new tile but needed to be painted. I searched in the medicine cabinet and found his toothpaste, brushed my teeth and washed away the scary remnants of my makeup with hand soap. My face immediately cried out for moisturizer. It was going to have to wait.

I went into the kitchen to grab my phone and cal Mom and heard my phone beeping inside my bag. I dragged my cel out of my purse and saw I had three texts and four phone messages.

I stared at the phone. I’d never been that popular.

Text one was Indy: Text back, let me know you’re okay.

Text two; Tod and Stevie: This is Tod and Stevie, thanks for an exciting evening. Come over for cocktails, leave all gunmen behind, kisses.

Text three; Al y: Next time don’t go alone, remember, we got your back.

Tears fil ed my eyes after reading Al y’s text but I practiced deep breathing and forced them down.

Next, I took on the phone messages.

First message was Tex; “What the f**k, Loopy Loo! I thought I told you I was designated bodyguard! I mess up once and I’m out of the loop?” Disconnect.

In an abrupt change of mood, Tex’s message made me a laugh out loud.

Second message was Daisy; “Indy gave me your number. She thought it’d be okay. I’m not tel in’ Marcus, Sugar, ‘cause you asked me not to but I think we need to talk. We girls need to stick together. Cal me,” and she left her number.

Thoughtful and sweet, but stil scary.

Third message was Indy; “Lee told me Eddie’s taking care of you. Cal me, honey. I want to know you’re okay.” Fourth message was Duke. He was already talking before the beep so I missed the first couple of words; “This kind of shit, girl. Dolores says to bring your Mom and stay with us in Evergreen. We live remote and Tex can set some booby traps. Think about it.” Disconnect, again.

I leaned my hip against the kitchen counter, that weird warmth I kept feeling didn’t feel so weird anymore. I knew it was those hands that Eddie said people were holding out to me.

I took a deep breath, because I was about to take an entirely different kind of serious plunge, and programmed some new numbers into my phone. Then I texted a general

“I’m okay” to Indy, Al y, Daisy, Tod and Stevie (yes, even Daisy). Neither Duke nor Tex had cel phones.

The backdoor opened and Eddie came in. He was wearing a tight, gray, long-sleeved tee, seriously faded jeans, no belt this time and running shoes instead of cowboy boots.

It was the first time I’d seen him without cowboy boots and it affected me in a strange way, as if he’d taken off some kind of mask and was showing me a different Eddie, an Eddie no one else saw.

He was carrying two coffees and a white bag. Before either of us could say a word, my phone rang.

It was Indy.

Eddie’s brows came up and I said, “Indy,” then flipped open my phone.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey. You okay?” she answered.

“Yeah,” I said.

Eddie handed me a coffee and upended the bag on the counter. Two enormous blueberry muffins fel out.

“Where are you?” Indy asked as I took a sip of coffee.

Cappuccino, no sugar, just like I took it.

Eddie knew how I liked my coffee.

Um… eek!

Eddie leaned a hip against the counter less than a foot away from me, tore off the muffin paper and took a bite, sliding the other muffin to me.

“Eddie’s,” I answered Indy and looked ful y at him.

His eyes were on me and my face began to burn.

Something about this was bizarrely intimate and I wasn’t ready for it. I’d had too many emotional traumas to stand around in Eddie’s kitchen calmly eating muffins like I did it every Sunday.

I dropped my head and put my coffee on the counter. I tried to take the paper off my muffin one-handed and felt a new appreciation for my mother’s disability.

“Lee tel s me Eddie’s branded you. Never heard it cal ed that before, but Lee did it with me during my ordeal. Beat the shit out of the guy who hit me, spreading a message.

It’s a good thing, Jet,” she was obviously trying to talk me into trusting Eddie and not going into a ful -fledged freak out.

Too late, I was way passed freak out. I’d look back on my endless freak outs with happy nostalgia. Nope, I was in

“Pissed Off Female with a Score to Settle” mode.

Except, of course, when it came to eating muffins in Eddie’s kitchen.

“Eddie explained it last night. I’m okay with it,” I told Indy.

I’d managed to get the muffin cup off and tore the bottom of the muffin free. I took a bite and Eddie’s hand came into my vision.

I looked up at him just as he cupped my jaw.

“Say good-bye,” Eddie ordered, his eyes warm.

My stomach clenched and I gulped down my bite.

“Is that Eddie?” Indy asked. “Tel him hel o.”

“Indy says hel o,” I said to Eddie.

Eddie’s head came down.

“Good-bye,” he muttered against my mouth.

I turned my head away to escape his mouth.

“Eddie says hel o too,” I told Indy, feeling like an idiot but keeping her on the line as if my life depended on it.

Eddie’s mouth detoured to my neck and tingles spread from my neck south.