ALEX PULLED HIS HELMET off and staggered towards his truck. He was dead on his feet. His gear must have gained fifty extra pounds. What mattered was that they’d taken out the cook house, six suspects were in custody and no one had been injured. It was up to the narcotics officers to dismantle the meth lab and lock up the evidence. All in all, it was a solid night of police work. The kind that would normally leave him feeling proud of what he did. Instead, the gnawing sense of dread was worse.

“Myers.” Liam strode toward Alex.

“What’s up?” Alex tossed his helmet and gloves into the back seat, then secured his fire arms while Liam closed the distance.

“Delores called. You need to talk to her.” Liam shoved his cell phone at Alex.

“What?” Alex took the phone. He needed water and to sit in the AC for a good ten minutes. “Delores, you’re supposed to be at home, taking it easy.”

“I am.” Her voice hitched up at the end. Yeah, she wasn’t taking it easy. Still running the whole office from the comfort of her condo.

“Then why are you calling Liam?” Alex glanced at the other officer. Liam was busy staring at the side of Alex’s pickup. There was something odd about him, something Alex couldn’t put his finger on.

“Because you weren’t answering.”

“What’s going on?” Alex stared at Liam so hard the man finally darted a quick, guilt ridden glance his way.

“Call came in earlier tonight,” Delores’s calm, no hurry tone had Alex ready to shake Liam for answers. “Your girl got attacked and Trevor was dispatched to the scene. Everyone’s arguing about when to tell you.”

“Wait—what? When?  Is she okay?” He didn’t give two fucks about what everyone else thought. The only thing that mattered was Jenna.

“Calm down. She’s fine, that’s why no one wanted to pull you away from tonight. Last I heard from Trevor, they’re fine and at Liam’s.”

“What happened?” He turned and paced away from the truck and Liam, or he was going to punch the man. Liam had known. He had to have. And he hadn’t told Alex. No one had.

“I’m at home. How the hell should I know?”

“Delores, everyone tells you everything.”

“She’s fine. That’s all I know. No EMTs were dispatched.”

“Did they catch who did it?” He stopped, staring off into darkness. Jenna had to have been so scared, and he wasn’t there to protect her.

“No, but they’re looking.”

“I gotta go.” He whirled around and strode back to the truck and Liam.

“Alex?” Delores’s voice softened.

“What?”

“After you catch this guy, you’d better bring her by for dinner.” Delores’ tone was firm. She’d except no excuses.

“I will. Take care of yourself.” Alex ended the call and shoved the phone at Liam. “I’m skipping the debriefing.”

“Yes, sir. You remember the gate code?”

Alex took one step closer to Liam, staring him in the eye.

“You knew.”

“No.” Liam shook his head, hands up. “Not till after. Trevor called the house. Dad arranged it. Mom left a message. That’s how I found out, I swear to you, Alex. I wouldn’t have done that. Not with it being Jenna.”

“Fuck.” Alex stripped the rest of his gear off in a hurry and dumped it in the back seat of his truck. Why the hell hadn’t Trevor called him? Alex jumped into the driver’s seat, anxious to be on the road.

“Mom’ll bring you something to eat. Give Jenna our best.” Liam backed up, giving the vehicle a large berth.

Alex eased the truck through the quagmire of official vehicles when he really wanted to just bump them out of the way. He hit the main road and gassed it, pushing the speed limit. The little earpiece for his phone slipped through his fingers and rolled into the passenger side floor board.

“Shit,” he muttered.

He didn’t dare take his hands off the wheel right now. Besides, what he wanted to do was see Jenna with his own eyes, touch her, make sure she was okay. A phone call would just antagonize the need. So he kept his phone stowed and his eyes on the road.

Liam’s family owned a large spread of land north west of Ransom, just past the city limits. Liam’s family nearly all lived on the same couple dozen acres.

Nearly twenty minutes later, Alex rolled up to the Jones family property and punched in the gate code. The hunt for natural gas had landed the family in a deal of cash, which they’d put back into the property, making their lives more comfortable. The old farm house sat at the end of a long drive bordered by pastures. He didn’t stop in to speak to the matriarch though he’d hear about it later. Instead he kept rolling on by. Trevor had specifically named the back cabin, out by the stock pond when they made their initial plans.

At night it was slow going. The path was rutted and grown over though with his high beams on it wasn’t difficult to make out the wheel ruts.

Stashing Jenna out here was a great plan. Unless her stalker was kin to Liam, tracker or hunter, chances were he wouldn’t find her out here and any vehicle the Jones’ didn’t know would be a red flag.

After another ten minutes bouncing along between the trees he rolled out into an open field. The gate stood open into another pasture and fenced in was a small cabin. Trevor’s SUV sat out front and all the lights were on inside.

Alex lost no time pulling up in front, killing the engine and getting out. He stank to high heaven and the odor of meth still clung to his clothes, but he had to see Jenna.

Trevor opened the door and Genghis bounded out, running circles around Alex.

“Keeping an eye on ‘em, boy?” Alex patted Genghis’ head.

Trevor stepped back, letting him in. Alex’s gaze went straight to Jenna, sitting on the sofa, a bag of ice pressed to her head. The knots in his stomach twisted together harder.

He should have been there.

“I guess you didn’t stop and pick up dinner,” Trevor said.

Alex ignored him and went for Jenna. He knelt next to her and reached for the ice. He had to know just how bad it was.

“Are you okay?” He stared at the red goose egg. For her to get a bump like that, she’d have to be hit pretty damn hard.

“I’m fine.” Jenna’s voice was pained and pinched. She squinted a bit, but if he’d taken a hit like that his head would hurt, too.

“Alright, I guess I’ll be back with food in a bit.” Trevor left them alone and a few moments later the SUV lights flicked on.

Alex gave her the ice pack back and shifted to sit next to her. All the questions ping-ponged around in his head, but the one that hit home was simply, why hadn’t he been there?

“It’s my fault,” Jenna said.

“You smacked yourself in the face? For what? Laughs?” He took her other hand. His gut already knew he wasn’t going to like the reasoning behind what happened, but more important, he needed to touch her. Hold her. Rest assured that she was alive and his, still.

“No.”

“Then it’s not your fault.” Too often the victim was made to shoulder the blame for things like stalking and assault. Whatever her choices were, he needed to remind himself that in no way had Jenna brought this on herself. Judging by the way she couldn’t meet his gaze, he tamped down on his anger, too. Only when he was completely in control did he dare ask, “Jenna, what happened?”

She blew out a breath as if she’d been waiting for just those words. Her eyes closed, and she started speaking, quiet at first, but when he didn’t interrupt her, she settled into the account of the evening’s events. She didn’t struggle for words, which meant Trevor had already made her go over them several times. By the time she finished she was at least glancing at him, little quick looks here and there.

“Will you say something? Please?” she asked.

“I need a minute.” Alex let go of her hands and stood. His blood was so hot it was beyond boiling.

He wanted to shake some sense in her. Yell a bit. She’d acted based on her desire to care for people, and it’d almost gotten her killed. Judging by the way she’d gripped the ice bag, she was ready for him to pitch a fit.

Outside the clear night sky was full of a million stars. He picked one and stared at it.

Caring for Jenna meant learning how to be with her. She was a strong willed, independent woman who didn’t need him. She wanted him. If he didn’t figure out how to deal with her leading by her heart, he could lose her.

“Okay.” He swallowed and turned to face her. He still wanted to read her the riot act, but now wasn’t the time. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“That’s it? You aren’t going to tell me I was stupid or not to go there again?”

“Would it stop you?” If he thought chewing her a new one would make her change, he’d do it.

She licked her lips. “No.”

“Then what’s the point? Besides, Trevor has probably griped you out enough.” And Jenna didn’t need both Trevor and him on her case. One of them had to be the bad cop, and the other had to play the boyfriend. Alex knew what he wanted.

“You’re not mad?” Jenna got up and crossed the cabin to stand in front of him.

“Of course I am, but what matters is that you’re here, and you’re okay.”

She wrapped her arms around him, giving him a tight squeeze.

“I’m disgusting.” He barely wanted to be around himself.

“I don’t care. You really aren’t that mad?”

He kissed the top of her head and hugged her back. After they caught the stalker, then he could work on the rest. Genghis lifted his head from his paws and growled low in his throat. It wasn’t a Danger growl, more like the damn dog was having a grand old time being here.

Lights shone through the front of the cabin.

Trevor. Made sense. Still, it wasn’t time to let his guard drop.

Alex reached for his hand gun as he crossed to the opposite wall. Genghis followed him, tail waving back and forth. The headlights flicked on and off three times. The tension eased out of Alex’s muscles. He continued to watch until the SUV stopped and he could make out Trevor’s silhouette in the starlight. He was weighted down by containers of...something.

Alex stepped out into the evening air and Genghis almost knocked him over in the rush to bound outside again.

“Give me a fucking hand, Myers.” Trevor juggled the containers while he opened the passenger door.

Alex took what turned out to be three glass dishes of food from Trevor’s hands, freeing him up to grab two bags and a plastic box that looked suspiciously like a gun case. Alex withheld his thoughts for the moment. He couldn’t deny that the idea of having Jenna armed and ready to protect herself appealed to him. She was a great shot and had combat experience to boot. On the other hand, they were dealing with a whole new situation here.

“Moving in?” Jenna closed the door after them.

“You wish.” Trevor dumped the load onto the small dining table. “Liam’s mom sent over some clothes and other stuff. My best guess is that tomorrow IA will bench Alex until this is sorted out.”

“What? No.” Jenna glanced between them, her mouth hanging open.

“Relax,” Trevor said.

“It’s actually a good thing.” Alex unzipped one bag and peered into it.

“That was my thinking, too.” Trevor leaned against a chair.

“Will you let me in on the secret?” Jenna asked.

“The chief might have been skeptical about a stalker, but he can’t ignore an armed assault.” Trevor said.

“I never saw a gun.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Trevor shook his head. “You thought you saw one and there are two witnesses to the assault. He’s not going to ignore that. Especially when it’s one of our own. This is, more or less, the chief letting Alex lose to play the fierce protector.”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.” Jenna pulled out a chair and sat. Her shoulders slumped and her color was pale. She was running on fumes at this point.

“He’s not.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Alex pulled the dishes of food open and steam trickled out. The mystery casserole smelled good enough he briefly considered sticking a couple of forks in it and telling the others to dig in. Instead he snagged plates and silverware from the cabinets and dished out three plates. He didn’t mind Trevor hanging around for a meal, but sleeping arrangements would be cramped for more than two, and Alex wasn’t about to share Jenna.

“I’m just...what happens next?” Jenna held the fork, but didn’t touch her food yet.

“IA is going to ask you two a few questions about your relationship. They’ll make a ruling. I think the chief will keep you,” Trevor nodded at Alex, “on leave until we catch the guy. Someone attacking Jenna is just like someone attacking a cop. We look out for our own.”

“But I’m not a cop. I’m not even a police employee.”

“Doesn’t matter. You work alongside us. You might as well be one of us.” Trevor shrugged and tucked into the food.

“But they can’t punish us for being together when I don’t work for them, can they?” Jenna glanced at Alex.

“If they take issue over it I’ll step down.” Alex grabbed a hot roll out of another container and ripped it in two.

“Alex—no. You can’t do that.”

He glanced at Trevor who was watching them without missing a beat.

“Keep this between us?” Alex waited for Trevor to nod. “I applied and interviewed with Ft Worth today for the SWAT position. The assistant chief reached out to ask me specifically. It’s not a done deal, but it got me thinking that maybe I do want to make a move.”

“Shit, that would be great. Crappy for us, but good for you.” Trevor sat back and chewed, staring at the ceiling.

“Really? You did it?” Jenna’s jaw hung unhinged, her eyes large.

“Yeah. They still might not hire me, but I don’t lose anything applying.” And she was right. He’d grown stagnant. Ransom was the place where he’d healed, rediscovered himself, but it wasn’t where he wanted to spend the last of his years as a cop.

“That’s fantastic.”

“I’m never going to get used to this.” Trevor ducked his head and focused on his plate.

“You, hush.” Jenna jabbed Trevor’s shoulder, and he stuck his tongue out at her. Just like siblings.

“You still have your gun license?” Trevor glanced at Alex, who nodded.

“Yeah—but I don’t own one. Why?” Jenna frowned.

“Because you might want to reconsider.” Alex licked his fork clean and set it down.

“I’m not so sure...”

“I’m not telling you to. I’m just asking you to consider it.” He stared into Jenna’s eyes. Despite the stalker confirmation, he knew her arguments; that she might still be the danger that they couldn’t be sure. He was sure of one thing. If it came down to it, and it was the stalker’s life or hers, he’d make the call without a second thought.

“Think about it,” Trevor chimed in. “This guy is escalating. Looking over your notes and Alex’s foot work, it seems bad. And now we know he’s a danger to you. None of us want to see you hurt. You’re a damn good shot, and you understand what it is you’re doing. I’d rather you have a gun on you than a lot of other people.”

“I’ll think about it.” Jenna pushed her food around on her plate.

“Alright, then I’m going to get out of your hair. Jenna, take the pain killers. Alex, make sure she does. I’ll probably see you two tomorrow.” Trevor stood and snagged his keys off the table.

“Night, Trevor.” Jenna wiggled her fingers at him.

Trevor tipped an imaginary hat and strolled out of the cabin, locking the door behind him.

“Try to eat a little more?” Alex nudged her plate.

“I’m really not hungry.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

“Lunch. With Sterling.”

“Who’s Sterling?”

“Did I not tell you about this?”

“First, I’m hearing of it.”

“Shit. I guess with everything else I just forgot.” She propped her chin up on her hand and reached out with her other to lace her fingers together with his. “Sterling was a MP at a base I was at for a while. We’ve kind of kept in touch off and on. She called me...last night after we picked up my car and wanted to talk. She got a medical discharge for injuries and PTSD. She hasn’t been doing so hot, but she was up for lunch today so I met her at a diner. Actually, now that I think about it... we didn’t eat. They totally ignored us, so last I ate was breakfast.”

“Eat.” He shook off her hand and pushed the plate toward her. “You might not feel like eating, but you need to.”

She stabbed a bit of food and glanced up at him.

“Why aren’t you angry?”

“Who says I’m not?” Alex shrugged.

“I just feel like you’re a powder keg waiting to blow up at me.”

“I’m trying not to. Like we talked about. It’s not going so well up here.” He tapped his temple. “But I’m trying. Mostly I’m pissed at everyone else. This stalker for doing this to you. The chief for brushing it off. You should have made smarter choices today, but saying it’s your fault is like saying it’s the day’s fault for being sunny. We’ll talk about your charity work another time when I have a cooler head, but right now I’m glad you’re safe.”

What the hell had she been thinking?

He wanted to lock her up somewhere to keep her safe, but after they last squared off, he was pretty sure if he put his foot down she’d make good on her statement to leave him. Jenna wasn’t the kind of woman who would stand for that. Even if this whole situation had knocked her off her game.

“So Ft Worth, huh? That’s a big department.”

“Eat and I’ll tell you about it.” He spooned a bit more onto her plate.

“That’s just mean.”

“Never said I was nice. Eat.”

“Fine. But you better not skip the details.” Her eyes widened, and she stared at him. “Who is checking on Genghis and Mittens?”

“Don’t worry about it. My neighbor has it handled.”

SHE WASN’T AT HER HOUSE.

She wasn’t at work.

She wasn’t with SWAT.

She wasn’t at the cop’s house.

And the ring was gone.

Where was she? Where was his Jenna?

Ahead, the stop light flicked from green to yellow. He stomped on the gas and the car rumbled forward, coasting through the intersection as yellow changed to red.

She wasn’t anywhere she was supposed to be. She wasn’t where she belonged. How could they have a place together if she wasn’t where he needed her to be?

He’d followed her, noted her routines, made schedules, and they were rarely, if ever, off. Jenna followed a pattern. One he’d learned so they could spend time together. And now she’d departed from it. First by sleeping with that filthy cop, and now by abandoning him.

Her rejection was a cold knife in his breast.

Jenna was the love of his life, and she’d tossed it away. And for what? A kid killing cop?

His Jenna deserved better than that. So much better.

He turned, making another circuit around the hospital on the off chance he’d catch a glimpse of her. The box of bullets rolled off the seat and into the floorboard, each one pinging out a reminder.

If he couldn’t have Jenna, no one would.