I went inside Naomi’s house with a smile on my face. Caroline and Darby were still talking, but stopped and looked up the moment the screen door slammed behind me. It opened once more when Naomi zipped past to make her way to the kitchen and quietly open the cabinet beneath the sink and then return with a green-and-orange box in her hand, going right back out to the yard.

“Everything all right?” Darby asked.

Caroline stood, leaning over to peer out the windows. “Where’s John?”

The others were bent down in the yard, scrambling to pick up the tiny bodies of the rabbits. I didn’t want Darby to see them, because she would know immediately, as I did, who had left the message. Naomi was holding up large, black trash bags for the guys to throw them in.

“Trex?” Darby prompted.

“Oh, they’re, uh…screwing around. I don’t know. How are you feeling?”

“Better,” she smiled.

My heart sank. I wasn’t being honest again, but I couldn’t tell her the truth. She was in third trimester and didn’t need the stress of knowing Shawn and his friends had been just outside the door.

“Good. That’s good, babe. We should probably…”

“Oh,” she said, standing. She shook Caroline’s hand. “It was so nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Caroline said. “Let me know if you’d like to come over for lunch.”

“I will. Happy Thanksgiving.”

I helped her with her coat, and we made our way to the door after Darby said good-bye to Henry and Miles. She looked over her shoulder at them. “They are so well-mannered. I’ve been grilling poor Caroline all night about tricks of the trade.”

“She loves talking about her kids and parenting and stuff. This is probably the best night she’s had in a while,” I said.

Senator Bennett nodded to Darby as she stepped onto the porch. “Have a good night, Darby.”

“Thank you, Senator.”

“You can just call me Peter. Happy Thanksgiving, and if I don’t see you before then, happy holidays. Good night, Trex.”

“Good night, sir,” I said, helping Darby down the steps.

The team came around the house as we made our way to the truck. Martinez, Harbinger, Kitsch, and Sloan all hugged her, keeping their bloodied hands away from her clothes. I was thankful it was dark.

“It was really nice to see you again. I’m sure we’ll see you again soon,” Naomi said, keeping her hands behind her.

“Thanks for doing this. I loved meeting everyone,” Darby said in her sweet Southern drawl.

“Come back anytime. It will be nice to see Trex more often again.”

I hugged her. “Thanks, Nomes.”

“Of course.”

When Darby turned, all of their cordial smiles fell away. I reached over to unlock my glove box and then waved to Naomi. She watched me back out of the drive, a concerned expression weighing down her features. Naomi knew as well as I did we needed a plan.

Darby didn’t seem to know anything was up, chatting about meeting Caroline and the kids, and excited to know another mom in town. She was more than thrilled to have met a senator, and I was glad to have the truth to tell her: He’d grown up with Naomi.

“Kitsch…he seemed to be having a rough night. Is that why everyone went outside with him?”

I nodded. “The holidays are really difficult for him. He’s been pretty down all day.”

“You must worry about him every year.”

“I do. I’m glad we’re all together this year. It’s easier to keep an eye on him. The rest of the year, he pretty successfully pretends they’re all still alive, and we let him. But Thanksgiving and Christmas, he just can’t.”

“That’s so sad. He’s so nice. Did you know his wife and kids?”

I cleared my throat. “I met them a few times.” Deployment send-offs and returns, and Marine balls, mostly.

She sat back, rubbing her stomach.

“You okay?” I asked.

She sighed. “Maddie’s just trying to find some space. She’s running out of room. Not sure how we are both going to make it to February.”

“Doc Park said mid-January was good enough for her.”

“Let’s hope Maddie wants to meet us just as bad as we want to meet her. I can’t breathe.”

I held her hand. “Sorry, babe. It can’t be comfortable.”

She peered over at me with a smile on her face. “She’s worth it.”

I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, stopping under the overhang of the entrance. I reached for the keys in the ignition, but Darby stopped me.

“It’s okay. Don’t even get out to open my door. I don’t want her to have the satisfaction of thinking you came in or got out of the truck hoping to see her. You know that’s what she’ll think.”

I shrugged, my hand still on the keys. “Who cares what she thinks. She’s crazy.”

“I shouldn’t. But I do.”

I sat back, letting the truck run. “Okay. Have a good night. See you in the morning.”

Darby slowly leaned over to kiss me, letting her full lips linger on mine. “See you in eight hours!”

I frowned. “That’s a long time.”

She laughed as she opened the door and scooted out.

“You sure you don’t need help?” I asked.

She stepped down and did a little curtsy. “Tada!”

“I love you,” I said with a smile. “Don’t forget to text me with your new phone.”

“Oh!” she said, looking down at her hand. She held it up. “I forgot! I’ll text you. A lot. I’ll keep you up all night. You’ll throw it away when I get home.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

She giggled, the sound like chimes cutting through the night air. “Love you.”

The door shut, and I watched her walk in and immediately peel off her coat. I wondered if Lane was at all nervous about the confrontation that was about to happen, but probably not. Knowing Lane as I did, I thought she would probably feel justified because, in her narcissistic mind, we’d met first. Lane liked any man who showed her attention, and after the second date, a few wild trysts in my room, she was sure she was in love with me. It was about that time that I knew she was most definitely not the one. Even after I stopped answering her calls and texts, she still stopped by the hotel to see me, more than once going back to someone else’s room, hoping it would make me jealous.

I peered around, checking the parking lot for any suspicious activity, and decided to drive around once. I had just parked on the side of the building when my phone rang.

“Trex,” I answered.

“Is your girl at work?” Naomi asked.

“Yep. Just dropped her off. I did a sweep of the parking lot.”

“Where are you now?”

“Still in the parking lot.” Lane walked out of the entrance, her arms folded, her head down. “Lane just came out. Has her tail tucked between her legs like Darby just handed her ass to her on a platter.”

“Darby didn’t strike me as the jealous type.”

“She’s not. Just letting Lane know what she pulled earlier wasn’t Christian-like.”

“I knew I liked her,” Naomi said. She breathed out a laugh. “You’re not going out tonight, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Good thing I stopped drinking an hour ago. Looks like I’m the alternate DD. Have you called Val?”

“I’ll call her in the morning. Not much she can do right now. She’s probably with family.”

Naomi sighed. “This is fucked up, T-Rex. He is clearly a psychopath.”

“Darby mentioned that.”

“You packin’?”

“Yep,” I said. “Glock 19 should put some holes in him, even if he’s not human.”

“Did Darby say that?”

“She did.”

“He’s not alone. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s armed, too, so eyes peeled.”

“Copy that.”

“How do you think he found her?”

“Darby said he had a brother in government IT. It could have been anything. But I have a feeling it was when Val ran a check on her.”

“What do you mean?” Naomi asked.

“I made the mistake of telling Val about Darby. She ran a check on her. That could have pinged the brother.”

“When was that?”

“Not long after we met.”

“Apparently he’s a patient psycho.”

“Takes time to put together a plan,” I said, my jaws twitching.

“This is fucked up, Trex. This is next-level shit.”

“Being on defense is not my strong suit. I don’t like waiting for him to make a move.”

“Well, all right,” she said. I could hear the smile in her voice. “Call Val in the morning and put us on offense.”

“It’s going to be a long night,” I said, rubbing my eyes with my free hand. I was used to waking up at five a.m.

I blinked a few times, keeping my eyes on the dark lot.

“When we get Kitsch nice and pass-out drunk and I get him in bed, I’ll stop by with a coffee.”

“Large, please.”

“You got it. Call if you need me before.”

“All right…”

“Wait. Holy shit. I’m currently overhearing some chick trashing you at the bar. She’s gorgeous. What did you do to her?” she asked, laughing.

“Who?”

“She’s talking about Darby, too.” She paused, listening. “Oh, she works with her.”

“Lane,” I seethed.

“She’s with a few guys. They look like they came here for trouble. I better head in.”

“Keep me updated.”

“Will do. See you in a few.”

Naomi hung up, and I waited. No crickets chirping, no frogs, just the heating units kicking on and the rhythmic noise from the highway. No one came in or out, the windows were dark. The few people on the road for Thanksgiving were in bed, sleeping off their food comas and trying to get a decent night’s rest before getting back on the road early the next morning. I wanted to park somewhere else to get a better view of Darby, but because of the risk of being seen, I settled for being able to watch the front door, the only entrance that was open to the exterior at night.

Midnight came and went, then one a.m. blew by. Twenty minutes after the top of the hour, a pair of headlights bounced over the bumpy drive of the hotel. Naomi parked next to me, smiling while holding an enormous cup next to her face. She got out and crawled into the passenger side of my truck, slamming the door.

“Easy, Nomes, fuck.”

“Oh, it’s fine. Quit being a baby.” She handed me the cup. “One giant-sized truck stop coffee.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking a sip. “Ah, fuck that’s good.”

“Tired?” she asked.

I nodded. “How long can you stay?”

She shrugged. “I have tomorrow off. As long as you need.”

“What do you got?” I asked.

She patted her back. “Vicky didn’t want your Glock to be lonely.”

I nodded. Vicky was her Glock 26. She also had a Ruger named Chuck Norris and a Beretta named Cecil. Instead of pets, Naomi bought firearms. She cleaned them and named them and treated them like family.

“I also brought Walter.”

I wrinkled my nose. “What the hell do you plan on doing with him?”

She reached down and pulled a twelve-inch tactical bowie hunting knife from her boot. It was matte black with a fixed blade and every bit as badass as Naomi. I would expect nothing less.

“There is more than one. I should have more than one weapon,” she explained, matter-of-fact.

I laughed.

“So are we taking them down on sight or taking the diplomatic approach?”

“Well, considering the former is illegal, I say we give them fair warning and make sure he doesn’t come back.”

“Trex. He’s hostile and making threats.”

“We still have to do this by the book, Nomes. We’re not at war anymore.”

She looked out her window and snarled. “She’s naming that baby after Matt. I’ll kill anyone who comes at her with anything but food and baby gifts.”

“Thanks for the coffee. And thanks for being a good friend.”

Naomi shrugged the shoulder closest to me.

“So what happened with Lane?”

“I was right. The guys who came with her were looking for trouble.”

“And?”

“I put one on his back. I could tell once they got close enough they weren’t interested. Lane asked where you were. Kitsch thinks they were looking for you.”

I frowned, confused. “Big brothers, maybe? Defending her honor?”

She raised one eyebrow. “That one never had any honor. One had his hand on her ass, so not family. The other two were his minions. Did whatever he told them to and looked to him for what to do next. Especially after I took out the big one. And they were all over six one, easy.”

“Did Lane ask for me before or after?”

“Before. She came over looking for you. Then they came over. The big one mouthed off.”

“Locals?”

She shook her head. “Don’t think so. The ringleader was razzing every single one of us. Even the senator. Almost like he was trying to see who would fight him.”

“I guess he found out.”

“I got between him and Kitsch, then the big one thought he was going to manhandle me, so I put him on his ass.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“No, you’re not. You need to be here.”

“Yeah,” I said, staring at the front door.

My cell phone pinged, and I smiled.

“Wow. Who just made your day?”

“I got Darby a phone today. She just texted me for the first time. She sent a heart.”

“Rad,” Naomi deadpanned.

How’s it going? I typed.

I went into my Notes, copied everything, and then pasted it into the text message, pressing Send. I sat back and relaxed for a few seconds before glancing around the parking lot.

“Convo over?” Naomi asked.

“She asked for all of the stuff I wrote to her at work. It’s going to take her a while to get through it.”

“You two are gross,” she teased.

“It’s not like I haven’t warned you for years.” I looked at my watch. Val was in a time zone one hour behind, so it would be after I picked up Darby from work before I could call.

“What about you?” I asked. “What about the senator being there last night?”

“It was just dinner. He couldn’t get home. No one should be alone on Thanksgiving. He’s the reason we have the weekend off.”

“Hoping he could spend it with you, I bet.”

She breathed out a laugh. “He did ask to come over tomorrow.”

I shrugged. “He doesn’t seem too bad of a guy, Naomi.”

Her smile faded. “He’s not Matt.”

“You’re never going to find another Matt. Doesn’t mean you can’t be happy with someone else.”

“God, you sound like my sister. I’m okay. I don’t want anyone else. I met the love of my life. He’s gone. If I can’t have him, it’s no one. We don’t have to be with someone, you know. I’m not alone. I have you, and the guys, and Walter,” she said, patting her boot. “I’m as happy as I can be, considering.”

“Okay, okay, just thought I’d mention it.”

“Well don’t,” she said, her eyes widening for a second when she spoke the last word.

“Copy that,” I said, checking my watch again. “What about Zeke and Watts? What were they doing there?”

“Not being alone,” she said, annoyed.

“Just asking.”

“Speaking of questions that are no one’s business, have you told her everything yet?”

I frowned. “Not everything. Not about the job, obviously.”

“What about that little detail about you being a Marine?”

“Not yet.”

She raised her brows. “Trexler, what the hell?”

“I know. I know. I’ve had multiple moments to tell her, but usually we were arguing about me keeping things from her. At this point, I think it’s better just to keep it to myself.”

“How the fuck are you going to do that? How does she not know? You have a USMC tat on your shoulder.”

I shook my head. “It got all fucked up during the surgery. It’s a mess. No one can tell what it is.”

“She hasn’t asked?”

“Yeah. I told her I was a kid when I got it, and that it was a dare, and that it was messed up in an accident, which are all true.”

Naomi shifted in the seat. “She is going to be so pissed. You have to tell her, Trex.”

“I honestly don’t know how. It’s too late.”

“It’s not too late until she finds out someway other than you. Then it’ll be too late.”

“You’re right. I know you’re right. Things are so good right now, and with Shawn sniffing around, I just…It’s not a good time. I’ll wait until after the baby.”

She shook her head. “It’s a big risk, buddy. She’s already said once she can’t trust you. She forgave the background check thing because you were trying to protect her.”

“It wasn’t a background check,” I grumbled.

“This is just you lying. She knows you well enough to know you’re not like Shawn. That was your original excuse, wasn’t it?”

“That’s the thing. I feel like she’s constantly comparing me to him. Or, at least, she was when this all came up. When she agreed to move in, Nomes…I just want to leave the past where I left it. Things have been really good.”

She put her hand on mine. “I hope it works out. I really do. But you gotta tell her. Every day you wait makes it worse.”

I nodded. “Can we change the subject now?”

“Sure.”

We chatted about everything but potential prospects for Naomi until the sunrise. The job, her house, Zeke, Bennett, the general, the latest news on our buddies still deployed. Naomi stayed another half hour and then hopped down from the passenger seat. She waved before backing out, turning toward home.

I started the truck and pulled under the overhang, waiting for Darby like I did every morning, Monday through Friday mornings. She waved to me from behind the desk and finished closing down her shift. Maya waved to me as she passed in front of my truck, the entrance doors swept open, and a few minutes later they swept open again, making way for my gorgeous girlfriend. She still had not a hair out of place, her red lipstick still just as vibrant as it was when she’d applied it at the house. I hopped out and jogged around to the passenger side, opening the door for Darby and holding her hand while she climbed in.

“Good morning,” she said, a bit tired.

“It might be time to get a shorter vehicle,” I said.

“Don’t you dare. I like this truck.”

“Maybe a second one, then.” I jogged back to the driver’s side, then slid in behind the wheel.

“Trex, I can’t afford a car, and you’re not buying me one.”

“Do you have any idea how much money I make? I can get you a car,” I said, pulling the gearshift into Drive. I pulled forward, seeing Darby shake her head from my peripheral.

“No way. Absolutely not. I’ll get a car eventually.”

As we passed the other side of the hotel, a white sedan caught my eye, four shadows sitting inside. Lane was in the back, the man next to her kissing her neck. She was staring at me, a small smile on her face. The two men in front were facing forward, unfazed about the activity behind them.

I continued to the highway and then turned toward home. The sedan stayed put at the hotel, but I couldn’t shake the strange look on Lane’s face. Revenge was loud, but the eyes don’t lie. There was much more to Lane’s smile than hoping for a jealous reaction from me.

“You’re quiet,” Darby said. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Just tired.”

“I noticed you had on the same clothes as last night.”

“Oh, I have the day off today. Did I tell you that?”

“You do?” she asked, excited. She grabbed my arm with both hands.

“So I just put on the clothes I had last night. But I didn’t sleep worth a shit last night. I think I just need you in my bed.”

“Are you saying we’re going to go to bed together when we get home?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I even had this whole cup of coffee and I’m still ready to crash.”

“That’s not a cup, babe. That’s like…a liter of coffee.” She squeezed my arm. “But I’m so excited to get into comfy clothes and lay in bed with you!”

I took her hand and kissed her palm, then interlaced my fingers in hers. There were enemies waiting in the wings, and the Lane situation was highly suspicious. I would lie with Darby until she fell asleep, then I had to make that phone call to Val.