Nikki followed Logan's wife out the front door. After being inside the windowless house, the morning sunshine seemed especially bright. As they walked around the side of what Nikki had thought was a small cabin, what she saw stopped her in her tracks. The view of the Blue Ridge Mountains was absolutely breathtaking. The greens of the trees against the blue of the sky and tendrils of early morning fog weaving in and out of the mountain tops painted a picture that no words could do justice.

"Wow."

Angie looked at her over her shoulder. "I know. It blew me away the first time too."

"How long have you and Logan been married?"

"Just about a year. We had a quick romance, I guess." Angelina laughed.

"That's what Keegan said about Kaiden and Katie."

"The James men are pretty intense, and when they make up their minds about something, they go after it. No messing around."

Nikki nodded. "They are intense."

"Keegan has already made up his mind about you. I can see it in his eyes. He is head over heels for you."

"We just met, less than a week ago."

"I knew Logan loved me two days in. Of course, our courting period happened while we were on the run from mercenaries that wanted me dead so we may have felt a bit of pressure to get things out in the open." She laughed again and motioned for Nikki to follow her. A few hundred feet away was a patio with comfortable oversized chairs and an awning. Angelina lowered herself into one of the chairs and waved Nikki to the one beside her. "So much better to sit."

"I'm not sure I'll ever have a baby. Pregnancy seems so hard. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Angelina smiled. "No worries. It is hard. The hardest part is being on leave and not be able to go after the bad guys anymore. I would give my left arm—not my right because that's my gun hand—to be there when Salvatore goes down but they are right, I need to stay here."

"Is there anything you would like to say to him? I mean, I could pass on a message for you when we get him."

"A well placed knee to his crotch would make me exceptionally happy."

Nikki grinned. "You got it. I mean, as long as those boys don't go all macho on me and cut me out of the action."

"Ah, so that's what's bothering you."

"Come again?" Nikki tried not to sound annoyed but she wasn't very successful. She sounded like a bitch even to her own ears.

"I read people very well. You were pretty pissed in there."

She shrugged. "I was. Am. This started out as my investigation. I know I have to share it with the ATF but honestly, they have all hijacked it totally. I'm just an onlooker now and I'm the one that did all the leg work."

"You know why, right?" Angelina smiled and patted her arm.

"Because I am a woman?"

"Oh, no. The James men are not like that. Clara would kick every one of their asses off the side of this mountain if they were."

Nikki sat forward and looked Angelina in the eye. "Then what the hell is wrong with them? Do I threaten their masculinity or something?"

"Nope."

"Then what?"

"I told you, Keegan is in love with you."

Nikki shook her head. "No, he isn’t. We just met."

"Doesn't matter. He has decided you are the one and once a James decides they love someone, you are instantly inside their circle of wagons, so to speak. They are protecting you now."

"I don't need protection. I want to do my job."

"Then stand up to them. Don't let them shut you out. Even though they aren't trying to do that, they will in a heartbeat if it keeps you safe. Logan about lost it when I was shot. He wouldn't even let me go to the bathroom alone for months. I had to sneak away when he was asleep to go to the supermarket. They love hard, those guys, but they love with every fiber of their being."

"I'm not sure I'm ready for all that."

"I wasn't either but they grow on you. Or wear you down. One or the other." Angelina chuckled as she appeared to slip away for a moment into a private memory. "Anyway, if you don't mind me saying, it is my opinion that you are more ready than you think you are. I see the way you watch him and the way he touches you whenever he can and it makes you blush just a little. Keegan is a really good man, Nikki. I hope you won't be scared off by his intensity. He needs someone like you to even him out."

"I just got out of a bad relationship."

"I know a thing or two about that. Salvatore was my bad relationship."

"You dated a mobster?"

Dark shadows filled Angelina's eyes as her mood turned serious. "I was undercover. Managed to infiltrate the Ricci family by pretending interest in Salvatore. It was a good set up to take them down, until I went and fell in love with him."

"You fell in love with the man you were supposed to arrest?"

"Essentially, yes. I didn't realize it though until he proposed and I almost said yes."

"Damn," Nikki murmured.

"Yes. I know. It wasn't pretty. Ultimately it ended me up in witness protection. I lost everything. My job, my family, my friends. Ironically, though, I gained everything from it too. If not for Salvatore, I wouldn't have met Logan and I wouldn't change that for anything."

"You two seem very happy together. This is a good family. I like Clara. My own mother died when I was young so I can appreciate a good one when I meet one."

"Clara is devoted to her boys for sure. She is the strongest woman I have ever met."

"You all are lucky to have her."

"Yes, we are."

Nikki pulled her back up cell phone from her pocket and looked at the time. It was nearing ten o'clock. She had to bite the bullet and give Henry a call. It was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment but aside from what happened the night before, he was her boss and she was on a case. Sort of.

"If you don't mind, I need to give my boss a call. He doesn't know we are here and Henry hates being left out of the loop."

"I understand how that goes. I'll head back inside. You know how to find your way in?"

"Yes, thank you."

Angelina hefted herself awkwardly from the chair and started the trek back to the house. "I'll let Keegan know to give you a few minutes."

She nodded at the other woman. "Okay, thank you."

When Angelina was gone, Nikki pulled up Henry's number. There was no way to avoid the call. It had to be made. Everything just felt weird now after what had happened the previous night. How could her boss, who was old enough to be her father, be in love with her? Henry had been her father's best friend. Hell, he was Uncle Henry until she fell into his supervision at the bureau. It was creepy to think he had crossed that line in his mind.

Taking a deep breath, she hit send on his number and waited for the familiar voice to answer. On the fourth ring, she heard a very tentative "Hello?"

"Henry? It's me, Nikki."

"I know. This isn't your number though."

"It's a burner phone. I lost mine in the marina, remember? I just wanted to bring you up to speed—"

"I know. You are in Staunton."

"What the hell? Are you having me followed?"

"Nikki—"

"God, Henry! Wasn't your behavior last night freaky enough? Now you're spying on me? Did you track my phone?"

"Nikki! Stop! The ATF agent Will James updated me."

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't know. I'll call you when I have news then."

"Nik, wait. Please."

"What do you want, Henry?"

"Don't be like that."

"Like what? Creeped out that my boss barged into my house and saw me naked in the shower or that said boss thought he had some say over who I date. Or that same boss has a very nasty, very inappropriate thing for me? How should I be then? You tell me."

"I’m sorry, Nikki. For all of it. I shouldn't have come to your house. I was worried about you when didn't check in."

"I've got to go now, Henry. I'll be in touch."

"Nikki—"

She hung up without replying. What a mess her life had become in such a short time.

The things Angelina had said to her about Keegan were unnerving. After her last nut job of a boyfriend, getting involved wasn't really anything she had considered.

You've certainly considered it enough to let him shove his tongue into your mouth. And what about the whole you in a towel thing?

Even her conscience was betraying her these days.

It was time for her to take the control of her life back. Once they made the take down that night and they went back home, Nikki was putting in for a transfer. It was time to start over in a job—and a house—that had no connection to her old life.

What about Keegan?

What about him? They had just met. No matter what Angelina said, there was no way Keegan had already fallen in love with her.

Her mind made up, Nikki relaxed back against the chair and let the sun heal her soul. It would be a shame to leave this beautiful place knowing she would never return there. Clara was a pretty neat woman.

Who was so desperate to find her son a wife she put him on a dating website.

The James family was more messed up than her own. Hell, she fit right in with them. All the more reason to move on. She needed a less dysfunctional existence. And a quick nap. The sun felt so nice. It was so peaceful. Maybe she would just close her eyes for a few minutes.