Seth came to slowly the next morning. The sun was up, but the morning was overcast, covering the room in a dim light. A warm weight rested on his chest. Maya. Her head was lying on his pec, her arm resting over him and her body tucked into his side. He tightened his arm around her, breathing her in. She let out a small sigh and shuffled closer, but didn’t wake. Nothing had ever felt as good as waking up with her beside him. Well, almost nothing. Feeling her pussy flutter and then pulse around him as she’d come the night before had been the best fucking feeling in the entire world. Lying back, he allowed the memories to wash over him, turning his morning semi into a raging hard-on. Damn, he’d love nothing more than to roll over and wake Maya up with long, languid kisses before making her come with equally lazy thrusts, moving with her until it was just the two of them in the world again.

But she was finally resting, sleeping longer than he figured she had all the rest of the week combined. There was no way he was waking her, especially to sate his own urges. Besides, she had to be sore after how vigorous they’d been last night, and she needed sleep where she could get it.

He sucked in a breath, exhaling it slowly. Things were only going to get harder before they reached the end of the battle. He moved his arm out from beneath her slowly and then slid out of bed. Last night had been amazing, but today they’d be straight back into the real world. The world that totally sucked right now. The least he could do is make her breakfast before they decided what they were doing next with the information Liam had uncovered.

One battle with the toaster and two burned frozen waffles later, he got some properly cooked and even managed to defrost some frozen berries and unearth the maple syrup. He piled it all up into his arms and somehow carried two plates plus the bowl of berries to the bedroom without dropping the entire lot on the floor. The plates clinked together as he placed them on the bedside table. Maya stirred again but stayed asleep, and so Seth padded back to the kitchen and retrieved the extra-strong mug of coffee he’d brewed while the first round of waffles had been turning black. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t noticed the smell. He sat down on Maya’s side of the bed—he liked the way that sounded—and waved the mug under her nose.

“Mmmm,” she groaned, opening her eyes and stretching her hands above her head. “Now that’s worth waking up to.”

He grinned. “Hopefully I’m the added bonus?”

Maya’s eyes moved over him slowly, taking in every inch. Well, every visible inch, anyway. He’d shoved his legs through a pair of cotton pajama pants before venturing out to the kitchen, but the rest of him was available for her perusal.

Her eyes were half lidded, from sleep or arousal he couldn’t tell, but the thought was enough to start a few more inches of him hardening. He stood, handing her the coffee and then moving over to the other side of the bed before the thin cotton pants gave him away. From the way Maya’s gaze followed him, if they got started again, they wouldn’t leave the bedroom all day. As much as that sounded like the best way ever to spend the next twenty-four hours, it was also the last day Seth had free before he was back on shift, and he needed to take the time to make sure Maya was safe before he had to leave for the entire day.

He reached over and handed her a plate of waffles, resting his own plate on his lap for further erection disguise, and then placed the berries and bottle of syrup between them. The bowl tipped sideways when Maya shifted to grab it and tipped strawberries out onto his sheets. Any thoughts of stains were immediately forgotten when Maya scooped up a plump berry and held it between her lips, biting it in half. Juice dribbled down her chin and Seth suppressed a groan. Screw making it out of the house. He wasn’t going to make it through breakfast before pushing everything aside and taking her on top of the waffles if she did that again.

He turned and placed his plate back on his bedside table, picking up his cell. “I can make a few calls while you eat, see if the cops found anything from the note since last night.”

Maya nodded, her face calm, but the fork full of sweet syrup and waffles paused halfway to her mouth, dripping maple back onto the plate. All the light had gone out of her eyes. He grimaced. Seth hated himself immediately. He’d love to just wallow in this time together, play house with her, but tomorrow he’d be gone, possibly even unreachable, for a full twenty-four hours, and there was no way he was leaving her unprotected and unaware if he could help it.

He stood, running a hand through his hair, then reached out a finger and nudged the still stationary fork toward her. “Eat, please.” He forced a smile. “I slaved over that for hours.” Maya chuckled and Seth’s grin became real, the sound warming his heart as he turned to walk back into the kitchen. Seeing Maya in his bed was doing more to him than he was expecting. It was incredibly easy to imagine her in the kitchen, or sitting on the couch when he walked in after his shift. It was as simple as breathing to imagine her everywhere in his apartment. Maybe it was something that could be possible. He hadn’t seen it coming, but Seth wasn’t even surprised. His heart had already known it was falling for Maya, likely from the first moment he’d seen her standing in the chief’s office. Now that his idiotic male brain had gotten on board, he wasn’t letting her go. His expression darkened. Nor was he letting a single fucker anywhere near her.

Standing in his kitchen, he glowered at the burned waffle while tapping in the police station’s number, asking the dispatcher who answered for his friend, Scott Wilder. He hadn’t been on duty the night before, or the response to Maya’s report about the note would have been very different. He was sure of that. The detective the night before had been a total dick, almost blaming Maya for the fact she’d taken a few days to tell anyone about it. Seth was sure the detective had never been alone in a motel room, already alone and scared, only to have a threatening note pushed under the door. If he had, then he wouldn’t have been such a raging asshole.

“Sorry, Mr. Hale, Sergeant Wilder won’t be in until next shift. I can patch you through to the detective handling Miss Graves’ case.”

The last thing Seth wanted to do was talk to that idiot again. “No, thank you,” he said. “I’ll get in touch with Scott on his cell.” He pressed to end the call without waiting for a reply and then leaned back against the kitchen cabinet, letting out a breath. Ending the call like that had been a dick move of his own, but perhaps the detective would realize Seth wasn’t just some guy off the street if word got back to that he was a friend of Scott’s. Maybe then he’d give Maya’s case the attention it deserved. She’d already gotten a raw deal from her hometown cops, and he wasn’t going to let that happen again in Monroe.

He pushed off the counter and walked back into the bedroom. Maya’s plate of waffles was now sitting next to his on the table, hers at least half gone, and water was running in the ensuite. He started toward the door, but before he’d made it fully across the room, Maya stepped out, fully dressed and hair back. The look on her face was all business. She stepped over to the chair in the corner and started gathering up the clothes he’d thrown across the room, folding them and placing them on the chair. “Where to first?” she asked, but she didn’t look his way.

That was it. Seth wanted to keep her safe, but he’d obviously gone about it entirely the wrong way. There was no way he was going to let her continue for another second without realizing exactly what last night had meant to him. What he wanted it to continue to mean. He took two more steps, his large strides eating up the space between them. Maya looked up as he stepped right next to her and jumped, her shirt slipping out of her hands. Seth took the opportunity to take them in his, placing her hands on his chest before wrapping his arms around her waist. Her warm palms settled on his still-bare skin and sent shivers through him, despite the heat. He had a feeling Maya’s touch would always do that. He chucked a finger under her chin, pushing her head up until her eyes met his. “I’d like nothing more than to spend today doing more of what we started last night. You have to know that.”

Maya kept her gaze on him, but her eyes were dulled, the brightness from their impromptu picnic in bed gone. “It’s okay, Seth,” she said. “Last night doesn’t have to change anything. I get it.” She started to pull away and he locked his arms around her, holding her close to him. Close enough that she’d be able to feel through the thin pajamas exactly what touching her did to him.

“It meant the fucking world to me, Maya. I’ve been dying to touch you, to feel you, ever since I laid eyes on you.” Memories of her body flew through his mind, but he forced his eyes to stay open, his gaze to stay locked on hers. “Sliding inside you, God, there’s nothing better on the entire earth.” Her cheeks and lips colored as blood rushed to the surface and Maya fidgeted, brushing herself against his erect cock. He let out a small groan and she smiled, doing it again. He chuckled. “Okay, you little vixen. Do that one more time and we really will spend the entire day in bed.” Seth sobered, his smile dropping away. “As much as I hate it, reality is still here.”

Maya’s gaze dropped again, but this time she stayed close, her body pressed firmly against his.

Exactly where she’s supposed to be.

“We shook the hornet’s nest yesterday, Gorgeous. They’re not going to give us a time-out simply because you finally let me kiss you.” There it was. Maya smiled, her eyes burning with the heat that had sparked between them the day before. “Let me keep helping you,” he said. “Get the bastards squared away. Then we can get back to me exploring your entire body and making you come so many times you forget your name.” Her body shuddered and a low groan fell from her lips. Seth leaned down and took her mouth, his tongue sweeping inside hers. Fuck it. The world could wait ten more minutes.

* * *

Half an hour and one extremely cold shower later, he opened the truck’s door for Maya and then turned back out onto the road and toward the library. His fingers were tight around the steering wheel strong enough to cut off circulation again, but this time out of restraint rather than anger. He’d only just managed to stop himself from throwing her down on the research table at the library and kissing her senseless the day before, and that was before he’d known what it was like to be inside her. The library didn’t have cold showers and so if he was going to make it through the next several hours, he needed to lock down any thoughts involving Maya in his bed, Maya naked, Maya naked in his bed. And in the shower. Fuck! Seth reached up and rubbed at his forehead. Who was he kidding? He was totally screwed, gone over this woman, and he was loving every second of it.

He pulled in at the library and grabbed Maya’s bag, leaving the armful of folders and pieces of paper for her. She had some sort of filing system going on, at least he thought she did, but he had no idea what it was. He was certain just picking up the folders would be enough to screw up it up.

He held the library door open and once she was ensconced at the same table as the day before—shut up, brain!—he’d scoped out the library for any unfamiliar faces. Finding none that looked suspicious, he made a quick trip out to the coffee cart. After their chat that morning, Maya hadn’t eaten another bite of breakfast and they were likely setting up for a long-haul research session today. Even if she was still feeling upset or nervous, he hoped she’d never be able to refuse a danish. He was quickly learning that the way to her heart was anything sweet.

In the fifteen minutes he took to wait in the line, wait for the coffees and pastries, and then make it back to their table, Maya had taken over the entire space. She’d grabbed another nearby table and pushed the two together and then covered the entire space with paper; pages of notes covered in colorful highlights, photocopies of what looked like official reports, also scribbled with notes, and random pieces of paper in all shapes and sizes dotted the table. Underneath them lay both books and copies of newspapers, some yellowed along the edges. In among all the chaos sat Maya, yellow legal pad out and pen moving quickly over the paper. Seth pulled out a chair next to hers and she looked up, smiling. “I reserved some time on the microfilm machine for later,” she said, waving her hand over the piles of paper. “For the older stuff. They don’t keep it all in hard copy and I wasn’t sure how far back we’d have to go.”

Seth nodded. He had a feeling they’d only scratched the surface yesterday, and they’d easily found references going back to the 1980s that could be relevant to Jesse’s case. He placed the paper coffee cups on the table, resisting the temptation to hide them under one of the mounds of paper. They were in the general reading area and he’d snagged a couple of plastic lids and so it should be okay to bring them in. If not, then he’d just have to figure out a way to get the librarian to let him.

He eyed one of the stacks, sitting by Maya’s elbow. Maybe the local kids would like it if the engine visited the library for a show-and-tell day. He’d even face that if it meant not having to go through the rest of the day without caffeine.

Maya spotted the cup and her eyes lit up as she grabbed one, taking a long sip. “Mmmm,” she said. “Perfection.” She leaned forward and scooped up a piece of paper. It looked like it had been torn from a children’s workbook and had a time line jotted out on one side. She turned it sideways, reading the first line. “The Dixie Mafia started in Biloxi in the late 1960’s, but anything as late as the 1990’s could easily be hiding in the microfilm records.” She took another sip of coffee and looked at Seth expectantly. He grinned and handed her the paper bag with the breakfast pastry inside. “You know me so well,” she said, taking a large bite. “Sugar is definitely going to be needed today.”

For the next several hours, Seth sat beside Maya, mostly in silence. Taking up the role of her research assistant, he combed through each book and pile of papers on the table and found the references she needed, then noted them and added it to the pile for her review. Most of the historical stuff came first and for that Maya’s face was passive. It was easy to distance herself from it, he supposed. It was when she opened her laptop and started searching for more information on the murdered judge from the 1980s that her expression changed. First tight muscles and a furrowing brow, her jaw set. Her hand gripped the pen a little tighter, her lip curling up when she got to the part of the extortion ring being run from prison by members who were incarcerated at the time. He tracked her gaze on the article and when she got to the part where both the judge and his wife were found in their home, executed with gangland-style shots to the head, she swallowed hard and leaned back in her chair, the pen dropping to the table with a quiet clatter. In his mind, Seth had expected it to make a louder noise. But then, anything quieter than the atom bomb would be too quiet for the emotions currently swarming through Maya.

He wrapped his arms around her and took her hands in his, uncurling her fingers enough so he could hold them. They sat quietly, him cradling her hands and stroking her palm gently, for nearly a full ten minutes, until the trembling stopped and Maya’s gaze returned to him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “That hit a little too close to home.”

Seth pulled her closer and kissed her forehead, then released her. He didn’t move his chair back, though. Anyone who spotted them would be under no illusion that they were together; that Maya had his protection. “If we’re right,” he said, “then we’ll find what you need. We’ll get the bastards.”

Maya nodded, taking in a deep breath, then picked up her pen again. This time, Seth pulled out his phone and searched for the names mentioned in the article about the judge. Finding what he needed, he leaned over and pushed the screen in front of Maya. “He died in 2006,” he said quietly. “The last of the group responsible for the judge’s murder.”

She nodded crisply. “Good.” Maya typed something into her computer and then waved her pen at her own laptop screen. “Looks like after that a lot of people thought it would be the end of the organization as a whole. I wonder if they had any idea how wrong they were.” Before Seth could say anything in reply, her cell vibrated on the table. Maya picked it up, silencing the buzzing. “Microfilm time.” She waved at a librarian at a nearby desk, who smiled and walked over. As she stepped up to the table, the smile turned to a frown. “Something wrong?” Maya asked.

“No, Dear,” the older lady said. “Just I didn’t realize you’d have so many papers. You’ll never fit all that in the microfilm room.” She pointed to an open door on the other side of the room. “It’s tiny, you see. No one much uses it anymore.”

Seth looked across to the room. It was dark and so small you’d barely fit a desk and one person in there. With the door closed so she could read the machine’s screen, Maya would be safe in there, and probably a hell of a lot more comfortable without trying to squeeze around his large frame. “Why don’t I pack this up and take it to the car? Then I can find us something for a late lunch.”

Maya leaned over and picked up her ever-present yellow legal pad and a couple of different pens. Despite the librarian’s presence, she leaned in and kissed him, right on the lips. Seth’s lips turned up in a grin of surprise. It seemed Maya was ready to let the world know they were together, too. Good.

The librarian smiled and walked Maya over to the microfilm room. Once Seth watched her disappear safely inside, he started packing up the papers. He took his time, skimming through each, along with notes Maya had made in the margins of some of the photocopies. Other sections were highlighted. She’d been researching this for months, and it was all up inside her brain. He needed to catch up so he could help her more, look for any connections she might have missed. She was smart as hell, but a second set of eyes never hurt. He sorted some as he went and finally reached the last piece of paper, one that had gotten stuck in the join of the two tables and nearly slipped to the floor, and bundled it all up in his arms. He’d just made it out to the parking lot and pressed the remote on his keys to unlock the door when his cell rang. Fumbling to answer it, he dropped the entire pile on the backseat. Seth rolled his eyes, grinning to himself. There went forty minutes of effort. It didn’t matter. This kind of filing was clearly more Maya’s style, anyway.

He pulled out his phone, his eyes widening at the name on the screen. Scott—his cop friend. “Scott, what’s up?”

“My man!” came the greeting down the phone. “Anne said you called?”

So that was the name of the unhappy dispatcher. He’d remember that. Maybe he’d be able to charm her better next time if he knew her name.

“Just wanted to follow up on a report we lodged last night,” Seth said. “The guy who took it didn’t seem very interested in being actually helpful.”

Scott was quiet and Seth heard paper shuffling in the background, then the click of a keyboard. “Okay, got it . . . a stalker? Seth, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?”

“Remember Judge Turner?”

Scott whistled. “Who could forget? Your squad caught that fire, yeah?”

“Yep. It was a real mess, too. The house was already blazing by the time we got there.”

Scott was quiet for a few seconds again. Seth could picture the look on his face. They’d been friends for years, ever since Scott—a few years older—had scared off the bullies looking to take Seth’s lunch. Seth was fit now, but he been a late bloomer and a short, wiry kid. Without befriending Scott, he would have spent the years of middle school being very hungry. Looking back, he should have pegged Scott as becoming a cop from the beginning. He was always looking out for those smaller than he was and would help you out if he could. Like Jesse. The thought surprised him, but it was right. From what Maya said, her brother had the same determination and sense of justice that had always been inside Scott. Maybe Scott could be more of an ally here than Seth had originally realized. Seth spoke again. “The woman who filed that report, I’m seeing her.”

“Since when?” Scott’s voice was sharper now. He’d be leaning forward in his chair, his eyes sharp.

“It’s new,” he said. “Don’t worry, I would have told you everything at the next poker night.”

Scott chuckled. “You better. I want to know everything.”

“You got ten hours?” Seth replied. “It’s complicated.”

“If she’s got a stalker, then you’re already about fifteen steps past complicated. But what has all that got to do with the judge? That was months ago.”

“The FBI agent involved, the one who is reported to have killed the judge. He’s her brother.”

Silence again, only for a second this time, before “Well, fuck me,” came down the line. “You don’t go half measure, do you, Bro?”

“She’s in town trying to prove her brother’s innocence. And I’m helping.”

“Okay.”

“That’s it?” Seth said. “No lecture, no telling me to butt out and leave it to the professionals? You’re going soft in your old age.”

Scott’s voice lowered. “Not soft. The exact opposite, in fact. Listen to me carefully, Seth. Your new friend isn’t the only one that thinks there was something sketchy about that whole setup. I just can’t shake too many trees without being fired. Maybe you and she can do a better job.”

Seth’s eyes narrowed. “What haven’t you told me, Scott?”

“I was one of the first locals on the scene from my side of the yard. My cruiser was closest when the call came in. You guys had barely put out the last smoldering embers when I arrived. And yet the G-man who was a complete pain in everyone’s asses was already there.”

His eyebrows shot up. “The SAC?”

“Yep,” Scott’s voice was grim. “He was already standing there, barking orders at anyone who’d listen. By the time the morning was over, he’d officially taken over the entire case. I didn’t have the authority to question it, but I always wondered how the hell he got there so fast. Even if he was at the field office in Atlanta, that’s at least a fifty-minute drive, and someone had to find out his guy was involved and notify him. At five in the Goddamned morning. And yet he was already standing in the yard before the local cops even responded.” Scott paused, then spoke again. “Seth, I’m not sure I like the idea of you and your girl poking around in this.”

Something tingled on the back of his neck and Seth turned, quickly surveying the parking lot. Nothing. It didn’t stop the tingling, though, or the lead growing steadily in his stomach. “He knew, Scott. He knew his man was there the entire time. And I’ll bet you my entire next poker night’s winnings that the bastard set the whole thing up.”