Chase relayed all the information Addie had given him and sent it to the Muellers to check out with their contacts at the Bureau.

Addie was sleeping again while they waited for the doctor to okay her release. Kate said she looked much better and was healing well, but just needed ample rest.

Dan liked the idea Addie had of camping out, but then he wasn’t sure she could really manage that strenuous a trip in her condition. If she could do it, whoever was responsible for trying to have her killed would wonder how come the doctor’s charts showed she was near death, but then could be camping in the wilderness.

Leyton and Travis were down in the lobby, watching for trouble.

Dan sat with Chase outside Addie’s room to discuss what they’d learned while Kate and Bridget stayed in the room with Addie while she slept. “What do you think about the bank robber’s story?”

“I checked the guy out and he was killed in a prison riot a few years back.”

“Typical. Every prospective lead turns up to be a dead end.” Dan rubbed his whiskery chin. He needed a shave.

“Bridget said Addie is bound and determined to return to the Bureau.”

“I’m bound and determined to learn the truth before she does that. What about her parents?”

“Yvonne said she’s looking into both the wife and husband’s role at the Bureau, and trying to determine where the wife is now, if she’s still alive.”

“Okay, good. Want some coffee?” Dan asked.

Chase nodded. “Thanks.”

When Dan returned with the two cups of coffee, he said, “What we need to know is why her mother abandoned her daughter and divorced her dad. I can’t imagine the mother would want to have Addie killed. You know how family and friends are often suspects though.”

“Yeah. Which means it’s important we dig her up. And hopefully, she’s still alive.”

Addie saw the shooter, his coal black eyes staring at her as he began to shoot, the silencer muffling the sounds, and she cried out. Pain radiated through her chest, but female voices quickly reassured her.

She woke to find Kate and Bridget hovering over her, touching her, holding her hands.

“Addie, you’re all right,” Bridget said, she and Kate trying to wake her from the night terror.

Chase and Dan both bolted into the room with guns raised.

“It was just a nightmare,” Addie said, feeling chilled all over. “I’m okay.”

Dan rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. “About?”

“The time I was riddled with bullets. I dreamed I wasn’t wearing a protective vest and every bullet hurt.”

“You’re really all right?” Dan asked.

“Yes.”

The doctor came into the room and asked, “Are you ready to go?” He gave her information on what she needed to do for the next few days: no heavy lifting, no climbing or running, no sex.

She smiled at Dan. That was definitely on the agenda. The sex. And as soon as she could, she was going camping, to try and draw whoever came after her out. Carrying a backpack, climbing, and running came next. If whoever it was didn’t come for her somewhere else first.

Whoever came after her, they had to keep him alive this time so they could question him to learn who was behind all of this.

She’d never suspected her mother could have had anything to do with this. Had she been involved in her dad’s death? Her dad would never say why her mother left, only that they couldn’t agree on key issues. Addie never could understand why her mother had left her with her dad either. Though she adored him. Weren’t mothers supposed to love their children and have a deep maternal instinct?

Everyone left the room while Dan helped her to dress. He was her husband, after all, or at least he was taking the role seriously.

“Have you heard from your mother all these years?” Dan asked, fastening Addie’s bra in the back.

“No. Not once.”

“You don’t think she had to change identities to protect you and your dad, do you, in the line of work she does as an agent?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Why would the bank robber say it was someone close to home? Was there anyone else it might have been? A nanny, a housekeeper?”

“A butler?”

Dan smiled as he helped her on with her socks and boots.

“No one. The bank robber was a career criminal. He was used to lying. He probably watched lots of cop shows and they say it’s usually someone close to home.”

“Over the years was your dad seeing anyone? Did he remarry, or was he engaged?”

“He was seeing other women. No, he didn’t remarry and he was never engaged to be married. I think he still held a torch for my mother. Though he took down all her pictures, he had one of him and her and me, as a baby, in his desk drawer. My pen had run out of ink, and I was looking for one in his desk drawer and I couldn’t believe he had kept the picture of her. Though she was dark-haired like me back then. I began searching through his drawers and found several more. He’d kept all of them. Even their wedding photos. None after I was a baby though. Still, that’s not a man who has given up on his wife.”

“Doesn’t sound like it. I’m with your dad on that.”

Addie finished buttoning her blouse. “What do you think about the doctor’s restrictions on what I can do?”

“I wholeheartedly agree.”

She pulled Dan into her arms for a light embrace and a kiss. And groaned. Her chest still hurt where the man had stabbed her.

Dan held her tenderly in his arms, very gently kissing her forehead, her cheeks, her mouth. “We’ll see how you feel tomorrow. You rest all the way home.”

“I think I’m slept out. Will you sit in the back with me?”

“Yeah. I’ll also be the rear gunner if we run into the same kind of trouble as we did yesterday.” He lifted the wig off the bed and handed it to her.

She pulled it on while he eyed the one for him. “Maybe we should switch.”

He laughed and tugged his on. “How ridiculous do I look?”

“Chase was right. It looks natural. What about me?” She made pigtails out of the long, golden hair.

“Like you need to be a dark-haired beauty. My dark-haired beauty.” He kissed her mouth, and took hold of her hand and headed out of the room, where Kate was standing with a wheelchair.

Addie wasn’t about to object. She couldn’t believe how tired she was. Dan rubbed her shoulder and helped her to get comfortably seated in the wheelchair, and then Kate pushed it to the elevator so Bridget and Dan could be ready to pull guns if they had to. Chase was downstairs already, watching for any signs of trouble. Leyton and Travis were getting the cars.

When Addie and her group reached the elevator, someone was coming up to their floor, and Kate pulled the wheelchair back away from the elevator, while everyone waited to see who emerged. A woman and a teen girl. They all gave a collective sigh, and Kate wheeled Addie into the elevator.

She pulled her to the back of the elevator while Bridget hit the main floor button, and she and Dan were ready for trouble. The elevator stopped on the third floor and an elderly man walking with a cane got on. Addie watched him warily though. He could be wearing makeup that aged him, and the cane could hold a sword. Or he could just be an elderly man visiting a patient. She hated to feel this paranoid, but after what had happened to them with the car chase and the business at the last hospital, she was right in feeling paranoid.

When they reached the main floor, Chase was there, watching the lobby. She saw Leyton and Travis with the vehicles, observing the parking area.

Travis opened the door to a black SUV for her. It looked like a Bureau vehicle, lots of room for all of them, and she could stretch out in the very last seat, resting her head on Dan’s lap. What Addie loved was that someone had made a bed for her on the seat—blankets, a pillow, the drink holder pulled out and two cups filled with ice water in them for the two of them.

“Thanks,” she said, not knowing who had gone to all the trouble.

“You’re welcome,” Bridget and Kate said.

Addie should have known.

“Be safe,” Bridget said, and joined her husband in the other car, that would follow the SUV.

Addie climbed into the SUV’s far back seat with Dan and got comfortable, her pillow on Dan’s lap, though she knew if they had trouble behind them, she’d have to move pronto. If they gave her a gun, she’d be shooting out the back window with him. And she was a lot more rested up this time.

“How do you feel?” Dan asked, while Kate looked over the middle seat to check on her.

“I thought I was fine, until I got out of bed and dressed. I’m tired.”

“Another nine hours of rest will help. We can pick up supper on the drive home, and when we arrive home, you can sleep all night,” Kate said. “Where are you going to stay for the night, Dan? You shouldn’t be at your house the first night. Not while Addie’s still recuperating, if anyone comes after her there.”

“The safe house for the first night,” Dan said, “with Bridget and Travis. And anyone else who wants to come and stay to spell us.”

“Leyton will be over after we get home,” Kate said. “Probably Stryker will want to take a turn also. You know, he loves being your deputy, except when he gets left behind when all the action is going on elsewhere and the rest of the guys get to be there to deal with it.”

“Yeah, but if something bad had happened at home, he would have been in the middle of it. And I trust him to get the job done.”

“I agree.”

“Speaking of which, I haven’t heard from him in a while.” Dan called Stryker and asked him if he’d witnessed anything suspicious.

“Yeah. I’m waiting for you to return to town first. Hal and I are just keeping an eye on things.”

“What’s happened?”

“A black sedan with tinted windows showed up at the motel some ways out from town. Since Calvin and Myrtle Dixon are cougars, they’ve been on the lookout for anyone out of the ordinary dropping in at their motel.”

“And?”

“Calvin said two men pulled up, the one paying cash, and the guys got a single room. One pulled out his ID to register the car, and he had a family photo in his wallet. The man in the photo was him, along with three kids who looked like him, and he had a wife. If Calvin gets businessmen who are stopping at the hotel, they always get their own rooms.”

“Anything else?”

“He saw one was carrying a holstered gun. The other had something bulky under his jacket that could indicate it was a sidearm also. They were dressed casually, jeans, jackets, trying to look like they fit in, but they were wearing fancy shoes and watches, their hair cut government short.”

“Would the feds be sending their own men for a hit, or someone hired to do the job?”

“Most likely someone hired to do the job. They could just be businessmen, good friends who are sharing a room on their way to somewhere else. But since Calvin’s a retired state highway patrolman, he’s good at profiling.”

“Yeah, he is. Where are the men now?”

“Calvin said they’re still at the hotel. He said he figures if they’re who we’re looking for, they won’t make a move until dark. They don’t know that’s the best time for us.”

“Any other suspicious people running around town?”

“Two other men booked a cabin at Pinyon Pines Resort. Now, that’s not a flag raiser in and of itself. They’re driving a black sedan also. No fishing equipment, just one bag apiece, black leather. Shannon said she thought they could be carrying concealed weapons. She texted her mate already to let Chase know.”

“Hell,” Dan said. He didn’t want Shannon and the kids in any kind of trouble.

“They’re all right. These guys, if they’re the ones we need to be worried about, are staying out of the town, as if they’re afraid they’ll be seen. They don’t know that the places are all cougar run, and everyone is on the lookout for them,” Stryker said. “I’m sure they’re only waiting for the right time to learn if Addie is at your home. The Muellers moved into your home yesterday to conduct operations there. If anyone tried to slip in before you returned home, they’ll have another think coming.”

“That puts them at risk.” Dan didn’t like that bit of news.

“They’ve been doing this for a long time. It makes them relive the old days, and you know they’re always at the firing range, keeping up their shooting skills. They’re happy to do it.”

“We’re not returning there tonight. Addie’s still tired and not fully recovered. We’ll be staying at the safe house and Bridget and Travis will be there to help safeguard her.”

“And Leyton,” Kate said.

“And Leyton, and you, if want to take a turn,” Dan told Stryker.

“Hell, yeah. Chase told me all the trouble you had. I just wish I’d been there to help out. Addie’s an expert sharpshooter, I hear.”

“Yeah, you definitely don’t want to get in her crosshairs.” Dan glanced down at his now blond wife. Her eyes were closed, but she was smiling a smidgeon, and he figured he was keeping her awake, but he had to know what the situation was like back home.

“No trouble leaving the hospital?” Stryker asked.

“Not so far. Hopefully, we’ll get home without further incident in about nine hours. We’ll keep you posted.”

“I’ll keep you informed if anything else happens here. I’m hoping the four guys, we suspect might be trouble, are the only ones who are coming here.”

“Me too.”

“Oh, and before I forget, Ricky and Kolby ran to the airport to pick up your Jeep. It’s already in your garage.”

“Hell, thanks.”

“Okay, I’ll talk later.”

“Good luck.”

“You too.”

“Stryker said we have four guys who might be trouble,” Dan told everyone in the SUV. “He’s having folks keep an eye on them.”

“Sounds good,” Leyton said.

On the way home, they didn’t see anyone following them who looked suspicious. They stopped for burgers and chicken sandwiches at a fast-food restaurant and everyone used the restrooms.

Dan was glad Kate and Bridget were there to be with Addie when she used the facility. He waited outside the women’s room until Travis could relieve him, while Chase and Leyton ordered the meals. Addie was still moving more slowly than she usually did, and he didn’t want her going anywhere without protection. She didn’t seem to be bothered by the notion that she couldn’t handle this on her own.

They all piled back into the vehicles, switching off drivers and ate their meals.

As professional as Chase was, Dan knew he was chomping at the bit to get home to Shannon and the kids, worried about their safety, if the men staying at one of the cabins was really trouble.

Then Dan got a call from Stryker and he put it on speaker this time.

“Don’t worry about Shannon. Hal is there and Jack Barrington arrived unexpectedly. The two specially-trained cougar agents will take care of the situation there. They’re posing as Chase’s brothers, who came out to the lake for a visit,” Stryker said.

“Good to hear it. Any other news?”

“No, everything’s quiet in and around town. The guys haven’t moved at all.”

“Everything’s been quiet for us. We were planning on getting in around nine, but with gas stops, bathroom breaks, and grabbing supper, it will be closer to ten.”

“Unless anything major happens, we’ll see you then.”

Dan wondered if any of the bad guys had been monitoring their progress and knew every step of the way where they were. He hoped not. If they did, they could relay to the men in place just where Dan and Addie ended up for the night.

Addie was lying down with her head on his lap again. And though he knew he had other much more important concerns to deal with, he couldn’t help thinking about making love to her. He wanted the connection between them, to run with her as a cougar again, to be her mate for real. Knowing more of her background now, he wondered if her parents’ divorce had made her wary of making a commitment to another cougar.

After a couple of hours’ drive, she yawned and tried to sit up. He helped her up. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. Thanks. Much.”

Kate was sleeping in the middle seat now and the dark had descended.

“No trouble?” Addie asked, resting her head against his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around hers.

“None. I believe it would be too much to hope for that no one’s going to bother us when we reach Yuma Town.”

They were only about ten minutes from Yuma Town when Dan got a call from Stryker. He suspected it wasn’t good news. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“They’re on the move. The two men at the cabin just left. I suspect they’re going to your house. Hal is giving them a head-start and then heading over there. He isn’t going to follow them. I’m already at the house.”

“What if they don’t go to the house? What if they’re planning to ambush us before we reach town?”

“Hal stuck a tracker on their car.”

Dan smiled. “Okay, good show. What about the others?”

“They’re headed out also. Calvin sent me a text saying they’re headed into town. Hal tagged their car too. Jack Barrington’s over there now too.”

At first, Dan hadn’t been sure about the CSF setting up shop in their town, figuring they would have issues over law enforcement matters. Leyton and his team were damn good agents, and he was glad to have them on board. Jack Barrington was on Leyton’s team, the newest hire, and he had married his dispatcher and friend, Dottie. He was also combat trained, and he was another great addition to their town. Dottie had new babies, so Dan hadn’t asked Jack to get involved. Though once the cabin was rented out to a couple of men who seemed suspicious, Jack had gone over to help protect Shannon and the kids. Knowing Dottie, she would have insisted Jack help out. Not that Jack would have wanted to be left out either. He was as hard-charging as the rest of their law enforcement officials.

“All right. And no one else who seems suspicious is hanging around town?” Dan asked Stryker.

“None that we’ve noticed. So far. Unless they change course, they’re headed to your place from different directions.”

“We’ll be there in five minutes.”

“You’re not going to take Addie to the safe house first?”

“No,” Addie said. “We go together.”

“You heard the federal agent. We’re doing this as a team. And no killing, if we can help it. We need to learn who sent them, and make sure they’re the bad guys. If the Bureau sent them to protect Addie, us taking them out would be a disaster.” Dan didn’t want Addie with them in the heat of battle, if it came to that. He also didn’t want to leave her off at the safe house if he wasn’t going to be there. If they had already been there, then he would have stayed with her to protect her. “Kate and Addie, both of you need to hide until we arrive.”

“Agreed,” the ladies both said, and laid down on the seats.

“They’re parking some distance from the house. I suspect they’re moving into the woods around there on foot. Hal and Jack have already parked at the house and are inside with the Muellers,” Stryker said. “I have a visual on one of the cars, no sign of the men. I’m moving into the house so we can gather there.”

Chase was relaying the information to Travis in the rear car.

Leyton got a call and put it on speaker. “Mrs. Fitz is at the house, carrying boxes of pizza to make it look like they’re having a party,” Hal said.

“Mrs. Fitz? How did she know about all of this?” Dan asked, surprised as hell.

“You know her. She always seems to know things before we do even. She looks perfectly innocent, all smiles, greeting us,” Hal said.

Dan shook his head. “She’s full of surprises. Okay, wait for us before anyone takes any action. We see the one car. We’ll pull into the driveway. Kate and Addie can remain hidden in the car. I don’t want them leaving it, if the men are in the woods watching the house,” Dan said. If his Jeep hadn’t been parked in the garage, he would have driven this car inside. “We’re pulling in now. Everyone ready?”

“Hell, yeah,” Chase said. “I doubt they’ll begin shooting at the lot of us. More likely, they’ll wait until the ‘party’ is over, and then when the ‘guests’ all leave, they’ll make their move.”

“Or plan to,” Dan said. “Come on. Let’s go before the party is over.” Dan leaned over and kissed Addie first and gave her one of his guns. “Be safe and stay here. Kate needs your protection.”

“All right. Be safe yourself.”

“I’ve got my gun too,” Kate reminded him.

“Good, but stay hidden for now.” Dan got another call from Stryker. “They’re the bad guys. Calvin sent me a photo he managed to get of the two men at his hotel just as they left. He sent them to me, and I ran them through the database. Both are known felons. Hal finally was able to take photos of one of the other men staying at the cabins, and he is also. Not sure on the fourth man, but if they’re running together, I’d say it is a pretty sure bet.”

“Okay, get the word out. Now. No clemency. No get out of jail card. We’re taking them down. But, keep someone alive for questioning, if we can do it. Safety first though.”

Then the men left the vehicle, and Bridget and Travis left theirs to enter the house.

Addie said to Kate. “Can you really shoot a gun?”

“Yeah, I’ve been taking a lot of lessons. I have a black belt in martial arts too, but I don’t think my current condition allows for me taking anyone down that way. I usually do best with a frying pan in a pinch, but I’ve got my own gun, and I’ve had lots of target practice.”

Addie smiled. “A frying pan? I’ll have to hear that story. Okay, good. I have to tell you hiding like this isn’t my favorite aspect of the job, but sometimes it’s the most fruitful. I’d like to see what is going on though.”

“Do you think the men have night-vision gear?” Kate asked.

“Yeah, they’d have to. It’s a good thing we have our own built-in cat’s night vision, but they’ll be able to see as well as us. The only thing is they won’t be looking for cougars.”

“Do you think Dan will send some of the men out as cougars?” Kate asked.

“He’s smart. I’m sure of it. I’d certainly do it.”

They heard a cougar’s cry in the woods—one that was meant to scare the crap out of the men, and the women chuckled.