TREVOR KISSED DINA’S stomach. Her body quivered and her breathing echoed in the small space. He wasn’t sure why he’d done that, except that he’d seen her standing there, hurting and wanted to ease it. She was lost, and damn it, he wanted to be her anchor. The place she went to in times of trouble. He couldn’t take her running from him.

He eased her leg back to the ground then slid his hands up to her hips, steadying her. Except he was the one still fighting a tremble.

She’d almost left him.

She’d almost died.

Things could have turned out very differently today.

He pushed up, swaying a little on unsteady feet.

Dina’s hands slid around his waist and she pulled him to her. Her lips kissed his chest and sternum while her hands explored his back. He hadn’t forgotten that explosive first night. He’d like a weekend to try to repeat that experience, but not now. They were too raw and tired for more.

“In the shower.” His voice sounded foreign, so tight and rough.

He patted her hip. The sooner she got into the water, the sooner he could go try to get his fucking head on straight.

“You said you’d wash my back.” She arched her spine and trailed her fingers up the side of his neck.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because all I want to do is fuck you right now, and I don’t want to touch you feeling this out of control.” His grip on her hips tightened, but she didn’t protest.

“I’m sorry, Trevor. This is—”

“I already forgave you.”

Dina blinked up at him.

“How could I not?” He cupped her cheek. “I get it. I don’t like what you did, but I get it.”

She reached up, and he bent his head. Her forehead pressed to his, and he stood there a moment, holding onto this small woman that had become his heart. Maybe he was repeating his past, but he didn’t care.

He loved Dina.

She tipped her chin up and kissed his cheek and the corner of his mouth.

“I want to be what you need right now,” she whispered. “What can I do?”

He slid his hand up her waist to her ribs. His dick was pressed against his zipper so hard he was sure there’d be indentations in his skin.

She cupped his erection through the denim and stroked him.

“Dina.” He growled her name and buried his face in the crook of her neck. “There aren’t any more condoms.”

“We don’t need them, unless it’s not contraception you’re worried about?”

Was she saying what he thought she was saying?

“No,” he said slowly.

“Then we’re good. I’m covered.” Her nimble fingers loosened his belt.

“Wait—”

“No.”

Her hand slid into his jeans and stroked him. He grasped her wrist and grit his teeth, torn between guiding her and pulling away.

He wanted her in a primal way.

“Trevor?” She leaned into him, kissing his jaw. Her breasts pressed against his chest.

Why was he denying himself what he wanted?

Dina was here. She wasn’t running from him and maybe they could have something. A real chance at happiness.

He let go of her wrist and she wrapped her hand around him, soothing the length of skin where the zipper had abused him. She pushed his jeans down, giving her talented hands more area to work.

This was a bathroom. They had a thing with showers and water. But he wanted to do this right.

“The bed?” He nodded at the still cracked door.

“I don’t care.” She tightened her grip on him.

He groaned, well aware of what she could do to him.

Dina bent her head and his balls tightened.

“No,” he snarled.

He gripped her by the hips and lifted, pinning her to the wall. She blinked at him, eyes gone wide, hands on his shoulders. He leaned in, needing to touch and taste her. She pulled him in, meeting him in an open-mouthed kiss. His tongue thrust into her and she curled her limbs around him.

Eventually he’d do this right, in a big bed, maybe with candles or something. But right now he did need her. That piece of his heart that had stowed away in her body, he had to be close to it. Her.

Damn it. Why had he gone and fallen in love so fast?

He rest his forehead to hers, determined to not act like an animal.

“Trevor.” She whispered his name and arched her back, those dusky rose colored nipples of hers tightened into points.

He reached between them and grasped his cock, sliding it between her damp folds. She groaned and shifted her hips.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

“I’ll beg.” She chuckled and kissed his cheek.

“I’d rather you scream.” He nipped her ear and eased his hold.

Gravity worked in his favor. Her slick pussy yielded to his hard cock. Her warmth was more intense, the feel of her skin on his licked his nerves, sending tendrils of pleasure through him.

He wanted to do this for a long time. To have her as his.

Trevor dug a hand into her hair, tipping her head back so she had no choice but to look at him. Her eyes had darkened with lust, the iris expanding.

“Make me scream,” she whispered.

He shifted his hold on her, then moved. She dug her nails in and groaned. He wanted to hear that. To feel her clinging to him. Waking up with her was the best damn thing.

Her heals drove into his ass, her channel drawing him in deeper with every thrust. He felt her shiver and the jolt each time their bodies joined. Her eyes drifted shut and he could just look at her. This beautiful, amazing woman that had strutted into his life. She was amazing. He loved her and he had no idea how to keep her. That was the part he’d never been good at.

Dina’s nails raked down his arms, and she panted, her head swinging from side to side. Goose bumps broke out along the scratches and he shuddered, his mind shutting off until all he could think about was the heat wrapped around him and the soft body in his arms.

He pulled back and thrust, boosting her up the wall each time.

“Oh—Trevor?”

“You have to scream,” he whispered against her ear.

She whimpered into his mouth.

God, she was amazing.

Her muscles tightened around his cock, stealing his breath. His vision blurred, and it was hard to breathe around the vice.

Dina tossed her head back and let out a keening wail.

Close enough to a scream for him.

He buried his face in her hair and thrust in earnest while her hips bucked. He groaned and rocked up on the balls of his feet, his release coming from somewhere deeper inside him.

Fuck, he loved her and that terrified him.

Trevor tightened his hold on her then turned and walked into the shower.

“Your clothes,” Dina muttered.

“They’ll dry.”

The warm spray hit them, washing away the smell of smoke and the sweat.

He pressed her to the wall of the shower and kissed her deeply. Dina smiled against his mouth, her hands stroking him.

They were going to make this work. Somehow.

Eventually he had to put her down. He kicked out of the jeans and boots then joined her in the shower. Neither spoke as they washed, but her hands were rarely not on him. They didn’t waste a lot of time showering since the hot water was already running out. That done, he bundled Dina in a towel then carried her to the bed still rumpled from last night.

Trevor left her long enough to do a walk-through of the house, peering out into the night and flipping off the lights. Dina’s hand beckoned him back to bed, and he joined her.

“I have an idea,” she whispered.

“Oh?” He usually liked her ideas.

“Hear me out.”

He stopped stroking her arm.

“If we’re going to have a chance, you need to use me as bait.”

“No,” he said without even considering it.

“Yes, you do.” She pressed her hand to his chest. “So long as Dominick is free, he’ll try to kill me. The only way to draw him out is to use me.”

“I’m not risking you like that.”

“You won’t be risking me.” She kissed his cheek. “You’ll be watching out for me. Think about it, okay?”

Trevor didn’t want to entertain the idea of putting the woman he loved in danger, but deep down he feared she might be right. If Dominick and his buddies hadn’t been caught so far, the only way to ensure their fate might be to set a trap.

TREVOR KEPT A HOLD on Dina’s hand as they walked into the Ransom police department. It wasn’t for her sake. He needed her touch. Today he would have to explain the events leading up to Parson’s death, and a good deal of the blame lay at Trevor’s feet. But the internal investigation wouldn’t happen until later. There were more pressing matters to deal with.

There were more cars than normal in the parking lot for a Saturday, and he knew why.

A joint team of Fort Worth and Ransom officers were working on the double homicide situation. It was as of yet unknown if the FBI or US Marshalls were involved. Trevor hadn’t called ahead to find out, opting to focus on the problems they knew about rather than ones they couldn’t control.

He swiped his keycard, and they entered the quiet halls of the station.

Trevor led her toward the large room that served many purposes for the department. Casey had texted him the meeting details last night. As the responding officer in both Dina’s break-in and Parson’s homicide, he was key to everything that would happen going forward.

Despite the weight pressing down on Trevor, it wasn’t overwhelming because now he had someone else helping him hold it all up. He glanced down at Dina’s caramel streaked hair. Her dark roots were growing in, showing off the so-dark-it-was-almost-black hair. She was part of him now and he didn’t want to lose her.

They entered the meeting room double doors shoulder to shoulder.

There were several familiar faces.

Ransom’s Chief of Police, Sam Taylor.

Officer Casey Smith.

Their SWAT Team Leader, Nigel Morgan.

The other pair of detectives.

Alex Myers was there in his Fort Worth uniform.

As were several other men with badges.

None of them sported a FBI shield.

“Morning.” Trevor nodded at the men.

The Fort Worth contingent introduced themselves.

“I’m running point on our side, given my experience with both departments,” Alex said.

Trevor wasn’t surprised. Alex’s talents as a leader had been appreciated though under-utilized in Ransom. It was good to see him flourishing in a bigger department.

“Let’s get started.” Sam Taylor gestured at the donuts and coffee someone had set out. “Thanks for joining us this morning, Ms. Dina.”

“I heard back from the local FBI field office this morning.” Alex picked up a pad of paper. “They’re offering intel and support, but given that there’s no active investigation into anything pertaining to the Profaci family, they don’t have a bone to pick.”

“Good, it’ll be nice to have their support on this one,” Sam said.

“Has anyone reached out to the US Marshalls?” Trevor asked.

Several people stared at him.

“The FBI agent I spoke to said that since Ms. Profaci is not actively part of WitSec anymore they’re declining to involve themselves,” Alex said.

Dina sighed. Both of her fears were nullified.

“Casey, you want to take us through what we have?” Chief Sam Taylor asked.

“Sure.” Casey stepped up to the dry erase board, pages stuck under his arm and a tape dispenser in hand. “These are our suspects as identified by Ms. Profaci.”

He tacked mug shots of both Phillip and Little Tony to the board, then launched into a recap of the last week. The break-in at her place. Rudy’s murder. Parson’s murder. The fire. Occasionally one of the other officers would ask a question or offer more information, but for the most part Casey had the floor.

“What I’m hearing is that we need more evidence these two boys are our guys than one eyewitness account,” Sam said then glanced at Dina. “No offense, ma’am, but I’ve got to look at how this would be prosecuted.”

“I understand perfectly,” Dina said. And probably better than the rest of them.

“We need evidence that places them at all three crime scenes.” Alex glanced at Trevor. “Don’t we have surveillance from the hospital?”

“We do, but it’s not clear,” Casey said.

“If I may?” Trevor said.

All eyes landed on them.

He glanced at Dina who gave a little jerk of her head.

“We know a real estate agent is helping these guys. We traced the license plate Pearl gave us to him. We know these two are after Dina, regardless of what’s going on between these two suspects.”

“Use me as bait,” Dina blurted.

Trevor winced. He’d wanted to put it more delicately, but the idea was still the same.

“We set up a sting,” he said. “Leak it to a source, let it get back to them, and they’ll come to us. These guys killed a cop in a parking lot. They set another house on fire. They aren’t good or skilled. They’re desperate.”

“That doesn’t help us put them at the other crime scenes,” Sam Taylor said.

“Do we know what caliber bullet shot Rudy and Parson?” Dina asked.

“Nine mil. Not sure if it’s from the same gun yet,” Casey offered.

“It’ll be Little Tony’s gun, then. Phillip, well, he’s more of a cleanup guy than the murdering type. LT will have the same gun on him when we catch them.” Dina had no hesitation. Trevor had tried to poke holes in her theory, but she was resolute.

“I believe we have a guy that could help us pass information along.” Alex glanced at the other Fort Worth officers who nodded.

“Detective Walters, you’re here to advise only,” Sam said in a stern tone. He would chew Trevor out later for surprising them with a plan. Sam wasn’t fond of surprises.

“It’s a good plan,” Trevor said. He didn’t have to like it to know that much was true.

If he was going to be part of the solution in freeing Dina of her past, it would mean uncomfortable choices.

“How would that work?” Alex asked slowly.

“These guys, they think Dina is in hiding. They know she’s in Ransom. So we set her up somewhere. I don’t know. That house where Charles Ray was holed up in? We cover the house from all sides and wait for them to come. It’s not like they’re here to visit the JFK Memorial or anything. Let’s be honest. These two guys were sent to kill her and that’s what they’re trying to do.”

Trevor didn’t want to use Dina as bait. He wanted to spirit her away from all of this and keep her safe. But that was only a momentary solution. They had to meet this head on if he and Dina were ever going to have the chance of a real relationship. And that meant taking risks. If he was going to put her in danger, he wanted it on his terms. Not someone else’s.

“It would take a week to set that up,” Sam protested.

“I think our teams are enough of a well-oiled machine we could pull this off.” Nigel glanced at Alex. “What do you think?”

“Our boys are good and you keep the Ransom team busy.” Alex nodded then glanced at his Fort Worth officers. “We’d be happy to support.”

The other men nodded.

“Whatever gets us to the fastest, safest conclusion,” Nigel said.

Trevor swallowed down the pride swelling in his chest. These people weren’t going to drag their feet. They were on his side.

“We don’t want to give this pair the chance to keep killing,” Casey said speaking up. “I don’t want to work another scene and have my high schoolers watching me.”

Sam crossed his arms over his chest. He could be cantankerous at times and he wasn’t the fastest moving guy when it came to things of this nature. His hesitation over the threat to Jenna hadn’t gone over well in town.

“I want an operation assessment on my desk by noon and at least two run throughs before we leak the word,” Sam said.

Trevor squeezed Dina’s hand. By the end of the weekend she could be a free woman.

PHILLIP STEERED THE new loaner car up to the curb outside the gate at DFW International Airport. It was busy, with a constant stream of people and cars. People were more polite ad patient, with much less honking involved. Still, if Little Tony had overheard when and where they were supposed to pick Dominick up he could be out there, waiting and watching.

The car behind him laid on its horn. Phillip ignored it in favor of peering at the glass sliding doors. He mopped his face with a rag. The AC was cranked and the interior quite chilly, yet he couldn’t stop sweating.

He’d tried to kill his best friend, and now that same, much more dangerous friend, was trying to kill him back.

A familiar dark head of hair exited the airport, head swinging left then right.

Dominick.

Phillip turned and scanned the parking garage, other vehicles, but he couldn’t spy Little Tony.

They had to get gone quick.

Phillip popped the trunk and got out.

“D! Yo, Dominick, over here.”

Dominick stepped out onto the curb. He had a duffle bag in one hand and at his side was a young woman no older than eighteen.

“Christ,” Phillip muttered.

She looked like Rosie.

Fuck.

What was D up to?

“Come on, load up.” Phillip took Dominick’s bag.

He peered at the car and frowned.

“Where’s LT?” he asked.

“We have to talk about this.” Phillip glanced up at a second young woman.

There were two of them. The second one was curvier, older. But they both looked like Rosie.

“Come on. In the car.” He rushed to open the doors.

The two girls got into the backseat without further urging. They didn’t appear to be here by force, but they could be coerced. Dominick had a plan.

He frowned at Phillip over the roof of the car.

“LT’s not dead,” he said.

“Fuck.” Dominick shook his head then sat in the passenger seat.

Phillip dropped into the driver’s seat, shifted into gear and merged into traffic before buckling his seatbelt. The hair on the back of his neck and arms rose, yet no bullets shattered their windows. No one stopped the car. They just kept going out the south exit and onto the highway.

“Where would you like to go?” Phillip didn’t have one fucking clue what to do next. This whole thing had gone to shit.

Before Dominick could answer, Phillip’s phone rang. He pulled it out of the cup holder and frowned.

“That’s the guy who owns the gambling stands, the one who got Dina on surveillance.” He handed it to Dominick.

“Hello?” He pressed the phone to his ear. “This is Dominick.”

Phillip listened to the one sided conversation. He glanced into the rearview mirror.

They really did look like Rosie. It was unsettling.

“Head to Ransom. Dina’s still there,” Dominick said.

Really?

After everything else, she was staying put?

Phillip didn’t like it. This wasn’t how she operated.