Dan couldn’t believe all that they’d been through, and was glad Addie had decided to mate him and stay in Yuma Town, no matter what Briggs had offered her. She was right where she belonged—with him.

She stayed overnight with him at the hospital, despite that he wanted her to go to Chet’s place to rest. She wasn’t about to, and he knew it was because she still wanted to make sure he had protection. Though some of the time she had fallen asleep too.

They got an update from Chase about Carl when Dan was sharing his lunch with her. Carl was human again, and he was healing well. Which was good because they didn’t want to have to make up some story of how he was cut, if he had to be brought into the hospital. The police would have to be notified then.

It was not until the next afternoon that Dan was released, against the doctor’s objection, but Dan’s wounds were healing too fast to be normal, and they needed to get on the road.

Chase picked them up and drove them to Chet’s house.

“Are you all right to make the trip?” Dan asked Carl. “You could stay here and Chet could bring you later.”

“No, I’m coming with you. If it hadn’t been for all of you, I would be dead. And if I hadn’t been a cougar when I was cut and had the faster healing genetics.”

“All right. We’re ready to go then. Thanks, Chet, for all your help with this,” Dan said.

“I live for the danger and the excitement. Though I dodge better than you.”

Dan laughed. “The woman wasn’t aiming at anything. Just shooting indiscriminately. I couldn’t have moved any faster to avoid getting hit.”

“He’s right. I was afraid she would hit both of us with lucky shots,” Addie said, hugging on Dan.

He loved that she was his mate for real. He couldn’t say it enough times or mean it any more than he did. “Let’s go then.”

They had a long drive ahead of them, and he suspected he and Carl were going to have to sleep more on the return trip than when they drove out to Cheyenne. He still wished Addie would let someone else pack up her things, but he understood how she felt. Now, with him, he wouldn’t have cared if someone else had packed up his stuff and moved it.

“What happened to everyone during the shootouts? We heard three cats cry out,” Dan said.

“The first one was me,” Carl said. “Big mistake. I’m not used to being a cougar, and so when I came upon a woman, I didn’t know what to do. Especially when she smelled like a cougar.”

“Alicia’s pretend mother,” Dan said.

“Yeah. She lunged forth with a long knife and sliced me. Damn near killed me. I collapsed. I guess she didn’t want to shoot me and alert everyone they were out there. She didn’t have a clue who I was either.

“Then she went back to lying in wait for everyone else. I just laid there feeling useless and like I was dying, praying one of you would come for me and save me, or that these faster healing abilities would kick in.”

“Glad you made it,” Dan said.

“Me too. And thanks, Addie. I learned you’re the one who stitched me up.”

“Yes. The scar will disappear completely in a few days. You’ll need to take it easy for a while,” Addie said.

“Who was the second cat?” Dan asked.

“Hal. He was warning us he’d found one of the guys, right before he killed him,” Bridget said. “And Chase was the other cat who called out. He killed the guy too.”

“Hell, two men dead from cougar bites,” Dan said.

“No problem. Chase and Hal corroborated that a cougar had attacked the men, and Chase said Alicia killed it. They’ll find the cougar’s DNA on the knife that Alicia had dropped when she went to shoot Addie,” Bridget said.

“Who fired the other shots?”

“I did. I took out two other men while Chase and Hal were cougars. They hadn’t had a choice about killing them as cougars. They were trying to locate them, but they were afraid the rest of us would walk into their ambush,” Bridget said.

“How in the hell did they learn where we were?” Dan wondered if they’d followed their cell signals, or something.

“Okay, now that’s the bad part,” Carl said. “And I can’t apologize more for it, except we took out the rotten asses.”

“What did you do, Carl?” Addie asked, sounding highly annoyed.

“The woman who hired me—Paris—grabbed my wrist at one point, as if I had intended to leave before she was through talking to me. I wasn’t. It didn’t occur to me that something else was going on,” Carl said.

“Chet ran a bug detector over Carl’s clothes and it came up with nothing. He suspected if anyone was wearing a bug, it would be the man who was working for the bad guys. Then Carl remembered he had left his watch on the floor of the car when he was in a hurry to shift the one time. Chet checked it out, and sure enough, it had a bug on it,” Bridget said.

“I didn’t know it. I swear to God, I didn’t.”

“We believe you,” Dan said, though he looked at Bridget for confirmation. She nodded. “Addie wouldn’t let me watch the news while I was supposed to be sleeping. What’s the latest on that?”

“Addie’s boss is stating left and right he’s taking down the corrupt agents in the Bureau, and he’s been promoted to take Alicia’s place,” Bridget said.

“If you all don’t need me for anything, I think I’ll go to sleep,” Carl said.

“Why don’t you get some sleep too,” Addie told Dan.

“You know I can drive on the way home.”

Addie didn’t answer him.

Bridget smiled over the passenger seat at him. “I think her silence means no way in hell.”

He chuckled. “I kind of got that impression. All right. Your loss.” He settled back on the seat, hoping they wouldn’t encounter any problems, and fell asleep.

A week later, Addie wanted to go home and take care of the apartment. She’d lose her deposit for not giving two months’ notice, but she and Dan were willing to pay any price to be over and done with it. He’d still tried to talk her out of going, but she was dead set on doing this herself, reminding him he didn’t need to go with her. No way was he going to let her go without accompanying her.

Several agents were being held on bond, and an internal investigation was ongoing. He really didn’t feel she was in danger from any more attempts on her life. He’d still feel better once she was home again with the cougars in Yuma Town.

Ricky was all healed up, and so was Carl. She wondered if the two of them would ever forgive each other for injuring one another. The same with Kolby, but some had faith they would.

Two days later, they arrived at her apartment with several packing boxes to find her manager showing her place, annoyed she’d left it in such a mess. She hadn’t wanted Dan to see her place when she hadn’t picked it up, though she said she thought it was never that much of a mess.

The place had been trashed! Hell, Dan was glad he was there for Addie. “Go ahead and start packing, and I’m going to talk to your manager.”

“I can’t believe she’s such an idiot that she can’t recognize a messy place from one that has been broken into and ransacked!” Addie just stood in the middle of the mess and Dan took her in his arms.

“Why don’t you tell her that, I’ll call the police, and—”

“I’m liable to say or do something I’ll regret. I’ll be fine. I’ll call the police.”

Dan waited a minute more, rubbing her back, comforting her. “All right. I’ll be right back.” He was liable to say or do something he’d regret. He stalked into the apartment manager’s office, and she folded her arms and looked cross at him.

“I want to know how someone broke into Addie’s apartment and you were too blind to realize her place has been ransacked? For the record, I’m Sheriff Dan Steinacker of Yuma Town, and anyone with an ounce of sense can see the place has been rifled through. She keeps her place neat as a pin, but after she was nearly killed by assassins, they must have come in search of something at her apartment. You’re lucky they didn’t kill you.”

The woman’s jaw hung agape, her brown eyes wide.

“She’s moving, not because she wants to, but because she’s identified several FBI agents who were involved in the murder of her parents, both FBI agents. And she is one also. Or was. She’s a deputy sheriff for Yuma Town now, but also under my jurisdiction in case she has any more hits ordered on her. You can see why she couldn’t give two months’ notice.”

“Of course. Yes. She has to move. Once the place is tidied up, I’ll give her deposit back.”

“The police have been alerted.”

Her jaw dropped again.

“She’ll appreciate your goodwill gesture of returning her deposit. Thanks for supporting your law enforcement officials.” Then Dan stalked out of the manager’s office and returned to Addie’s apartment and found her staring at the mess. “Hey, honey, I’m so sorry about this. What can I do?”

“The police are on their way. They know about the case and they’ve called the FBI.”

“Your manager has graciously offered to refund your deposit.”

That earned Dan a smile and he loved when Addie was all smiles. He drew her into his arms and kissed her.

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. “How in the world did you manage that?”

“I told her that she’d be safer if you were out of here.”

Addie laughed. “Thank you.”

He kissed her soundly, wanting to take this to her bedroom, but afraid of what they’d find in there.

She pulled away and sighed. “Let’s start packing. Unless the police find a dead body, they’re not going to check for fingerprints. I need to see if anything’s missing, but I imagine they did this when I was hospitalized.”

“I’ll get the boxes.” Dan carried the boxes in and then began taping them up so she could fill them.

She was folding her clothes into one while he wanted in the worst way to straighten up the place so she wouldn’t feel so bad about it, not to mention they could move about more easily. They needed to leave things the way they were, except her clothes were fine to pack away. The bastards had torn up her couch cushions even. He suspected the same with her mattress. He headed in there to see what a disaster it was. Just as he figured. The mattress was ripped apart and the thugs had searched through it.

“Police are here. And I guess FBI agents.” Addie asked, “Did you bring a spare gun?”

“Yeah, what’s the problem.” He stalked back into the living room to see what was going on.

“They’re arguing with the police, telling them this is their jurisdiction and to get lost. The police are holding their own, and now they’re both on phones, probably calling their bosses to sort it out. I really don’t like the looks of it.”

“Why don’t we go outside and talk to both of them, so that we’re not a target if the police are there, witnessing this whole thing?”

“I’ve got another idea too.” She called the local paper and told them who she was and if they wanted a news story, come right over. “Hurry. The police are here, but the FBI agents are trying to make them leave… Thanks. See you in a few minutes.” She gave them the address.

Then the two of them went out to meet with the agents and the police.

“Forgive us if we feel a bit paranoid after all that’s happened, but we’d appreciate if the police hung around too,” Addie said.

“This is our jurisdiction. The police aren’t authorized to be here.”

“Can we see your credentials?” Dan asked. He examined them, then gave them to Addie to check out.

A news crew showed up and Addie said, “These nice officers and agents are here to see the break-in I had.” She gave them an impromptu interview.

“I’ll just give my former boss a call and see what he has to say.” Addie called Briggs. “I have two agents here at my apartment that was ransacked, probably at the time that I was hospitalized. I need to move my clothes and personal items to my new home. I wanted someone to verify that my place was torn up during a burglary. I want the local police here because, as I’m sure you can well understand, I’m wary of anyone posing as federal agents.” She nodded and handed her phone to one of the agents.

He continued to look at her and said, “Yes, sir. I understand.”

Then he handed the phone back to her and said to the police, “After you.”

They went back inside and the police took her statement. She’d have to call her renter’s insurance to help pay for the damages. She continued to pack while the agents looked around, but Dan followed them everywhere. He wouldn’t let the men out of his sight. He didn’t trust them.

The film crew came inside to take pictures.

The police looked around too, asking Addie if she knew if anything had been stolen. “I had my gun with me, and that was stolen, along with my badge when I was hospitalized. That’s all I had that would have been too important to lose.”

“We’ll file a report,” the agents said, acting annoyed that Dan had been following them all over the place. The police said the same and the news crew thanked them and they all left.

“Okay, good, I can file with my insurance. Let’s get packed up. I thought we’d stay the night, but I just want to pack up your SUV and head out of here.”

“Sounds good to me.” He began to straighten up what he could. And taped up the rest of the boxes. When she was done with a box, he’d carry it out to the car and pack it in. “Nothing but clothes and…?”

“Toiletries in the bathroom. If you don’t mind getting them.”

“Will do.” He grabbed a box and grabbed up her makeup, shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste. “Towels?”

“Yes, mine. Toilet paper, box of tissues, bath rug. Anything not nailed down.”

He finished with that and went into the bedroom. She’d already pulled all her clothes out of the dresser drawers that were lying in a jumble on the floor. He put the drawers back into the dresser. Luckily, they hadn’t been damaged. “Pillows? Sheets? Pictures?”

“Pillows, sheets, comforter. No pictures. They belong to the apartment. Same with dishes and silverware. Food is mine. Oh, antique clock is mine.”

He had packed her sheets in with the bathroom items, but the comforter and pillows could just lie on top of the boxes. They would take up too much room.

“On the wall over my dresser.”

The pictures were all on the floor. He looked under the bed and found the chiming clock kicked underneath the box springs. He was glad it hadn’t been damaged. At least he hoped not. It looked okay, no damaged or missing pieces. He carefully wrapped it in a bath towel and put it in with the other bedding. Then he labeled the box, taped it up, and carried it out to the car.

They packed up her food that they could take. And she told her manager she could keep the food in the fridge and freezer and the cleaning supplies. She turned in her keys, thanked the manager, and accepted the check for her deposit. “Insurance should cover any costs related to the break-in.” She gave a copy of the police report to the manager.

Then Dan drove, while Addie deposited the check in her bank account before the manager changed her mind.

They hadn’t driven very far when she asked, “Did you get my clock?”

“Yeah. I packed it in the box with your bedding. It looked good, no damage that I could see.”

“Good. It was my dad’s father’s. And I always loved that clock.”

“Does it chime?” Dan asked, hoping it wouldn’t keep him awake at night, but truly he’d do anything for Addie, even listen to a chiming clock.

She smiled. “We don’t have to wind it up if it bothers you. It took me a while to get used to it chiming in the middle of the night. It has sentimental value, so I don’t mind if it doesn’t really tell time.”

“We can see if I can get used to it. I’m a light sleeper. I thought we’d drive as far as we could tonight, and stop somewhere for the night.”

“All right. I’m serving as lookout.”

“Think someone will still come after us?”

“I sure hope not. I’m still watching, just in case.”

They drove for six hours, Dan three and Addie the next three, and then they stopped at a hotel. “Too bad the pool is closed at this hour.”

“That would have been a nice way to unwind, but I have another way.”

They got their room key, and with bags in hand, went to their room. Dan called Stryker to let him know they were stopping for the night and should get in at midnight the next evening if everything went well, allowing for meals, bathroom breaks, and gas fill-ups.

“Any trouble along the way?” Stryker asked.

Dan explained about her place being all torn up.

“Did they get anything?”

“Nothing that she could see. We’ll call sometime tomorrow to let you know we’re still fine.”

“All right. Nothing going on much here.”

“Good. We’ll be home soon.” Dan smiled as he ended the call and saw his already naked mate stretched out under the sheets.

“Done with business?” She ran her hand over her breasts, her nipples peaking under the sheets.

“Hell, yes.”

“You sure your arm’s all right?”

“Been all right since yesterday.” He couldn’t believe she’d been postponing his making love to her until she was assured he was healed all the way and that he’d gone along with it to appease her.

He stripped off all his clothes. “You saw me lifting all those boxes. No grunts. No grimaces. No crying out in pain.”

She smiled.

He yanked aside the sheet and settled on top of her. “When are we going to get married? The whole town is waiting to hear when we’re going to set the big day.”

“I guess this business is taken care of as much as it can be until everyone indicted goes to trial.”

“Yeah. No more stalling.”

“Let’s set it for a month from now so everyone who wants to participate can.”

Dan yanked his phone off the bedside table. She groaned. “I thought we were done with business.” She raked her nails down his sides to his buttocks and smiled wickedly.

He quickly called Stryker back. “Tell everyone the wedding’s a month from today. Hell, I don’t know what day that falls on. Just do it.”

Stryker laughed out loud. “Will do.”

Then they ended the call and Dan began kissing Addie’s lips, his hands on hers, resting against the pillow, rubbing his body against hers. “I want to make love to you all night long.”

“What”—she licked his nose—“are you waiting for?”

He rubbed his whiskery chin against her breast, then licked and suckled one. She ran her nails through his hair, lightly scratching his scalp. He was in heaven with the she-cat. She was beautiful and just perfect for him.

She groaned and held onto his hair as her pheromones kicked into play.

“You’re beautiful,” he breathed out against her other nipple, and licked and suckled.

“You are too…uhh…”

He moved off her and slid his hand down her silky stomach and lower until he brushed her curly hairs and reached her feminine folds. He wanted to make love to her all night long, but they needed to sleep and be well-rested for the long drive ahead of them tomorrow. Still, he tried to draw this out, to help her come before he entered her. As soon as he slid his finger into her creamy center, he knew she was already ready for him. He began to stroke her, to make her come. She grabbed his shoulders and hung on.

He kept working her, kissing her belly, licking her naval, and her hands tightened on his shoulders and suddenly she cried out. “Oh, Dan, yes!”

Then he was joining her, sliding in and out, thrusting deeply. He wrapped his arms around her knees pressing them higher so that he could thrust deeper. He was consumed by her, surrounded by her wet heat, the sexy she-cat smell of her, the musky smell of her sex, and the headiness of their pheromones dancing around each other.

“Hurry,” she said, as if she’d die if he didn’t press harder, if he didn’t rub her into oblivion again.

He was only too eager to oblige and continued to rub against her, and thrust, finally finding release deep inside her. And she growled out a satisfied, “I love you.”

“God, I love you too, Addie. With all my heart.”

And then they were kissing and snuggling and continued to cuddle, until around three in the morning when his car alarm went off, waking them at once.