Well. So the governor did like women, after all. Rick had spent far more boring days, but he couldn’t remember when. He’d been given the task of watching Holden-Deane’s front porch. With restroom breaks, of course.

He wasn’t paid for by the state—Deane paid for him and Donavon out of his own pocket, but could have state details when requested—so he was completely at Deane’s beck and call. He had been for close to a year now.

But never before had he seen Deane in bed with a woman. Even with clothes on. But Deane had just reached out and pulled the beautiful Ariella right down on top of him.

A real frightened little rabbit that one was.

But Deane didn’t care. Apparently, the pansy had already fallen back to sleep.

Pitiful. Even sick if he’d had a woman like her in his bed, Rick would have been doing something about it. Like stripping that W4HAV tee shirt right off her.

But Dickless Deane was apparently too ill to do that. Or too much of a gentleman.

Rick took a look around Holden-Deane’s house quickly. He’d been there before. He’d no doubt be there again. He made note of all the weaknesses and entry points out of habit.

He might need that information someday.

The woman was making it into a pretty decent place. She was a beautiful woman. Smaller than he preferred, but he’d enjoy fucking her if given the opportunity. And wasn’t that how all men evaluated women?

The other two sisters-in-law were both ball-eating blondes. The ball-eating type did nothing for him. Just made him want to reach down and guard his balls.

But that wasn’t what he was hoping to find in this place. He wanted weaknesses. If not that, then clues to what had really happened to DJ.

He found nothing. Instead, the governor’s daughter Katie found him. She was a weird kid; always staring at the adults around her. He was used to her. Mostly. “Hey, kid. You feeling better yet?”

He didn’t not like her or her brother. He just thought they were spoiled, given everything they wanted. Hell, they even had a private tutor come in four days each week.

They’d never want for anything like he and DJ had. Of course, they didn’t have a mother. But neither had Rick; he and DJ had survived just fine.

So would this kid.

“No. Not really. But I had to pee. And I want my Daddy.”

“He’s sleeping now. He’s sick, too.”

“Is he going to die?” Katie had one real fear that Rick knew of. She couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to her father.

Hell, he understood it. Rick liked kids in general. He didn’t want her feeling like that. “No! He’s just got the same virus you do. You’ll sleep for a day or two, feel pretty icky, then get right back up and everything will be fixed.”

“Our Uncle Rafe and Aunt Lacy and Aunt Jillian are good at taking care of us.”

Uncle Rafe. Yeah, the bastard who’d killed Rick’s brother.

He forced back the anger. The kid didn’t deserve to bear the brunt of what he felt toward the rest of the Deanes.

Rick wasn’t that kind of guy. He scooped the kid up. She didn’t weigh much. She must have been mostly made of hot air and snot. “Which room you in, kid?”

“There. But can I see my daddy first?”

“Sure.” Rick had almost forgotten the woman in bed with the governor. “Right this way.” He’d let the kid peek in, then that would be it.

If he was going to get the information he needed to bring down the great Holden-Deane and that sonofabitch who’d pulled DJ’s strings in the first place, he needed Marcus Deane back on his game.

He carried the girl down the hall. They peeked into the room together. The dark-haired woman was still on the mattress, but the governor’s hands were not doing anything illegal.

Rick snorted. Of course not. Not the great honorable Governor Deane. No way.

“Why is Miss Ari in bed with my Daddy? Like Uncle Travis and Aunt Lacy or Uncle Rafe and Aunt Jillian? Is she going to be our aunt, too?”

“Uh…I don’t know, kid. I’m not sure what they’re doing. Probably just checking his temperature.”

“Yes. She did that with me and Isaac. I like Miss Ari—” the kid yawned quietly and lowered her head to his shoulder.

“I think your Daddy does, too.”

“I don’t think Uncle Rafe does—and she’s his real sister. Did you know that? I think it makes her my aunt, too.”

Rick stopped walking. That was news. “She’s Uncle Rafe’s sister?”

“Yep. Daddy said so.”

“Interesting.” Interesting, indeed. Wonder what Holden-Deane would do if something happened to his little sister the way it had DJ? How would he feel then?

He put Katie back on her feet and watched her climb in the bed next to Isaac.

Then he went right back to his assigned post. And thought about that woman. Planned.