Silence hung in the air during the trip from Tristan’s home to the spot where I’d parked my truck. I’d refused to see a doctor, and Tristan had expressed his concern over that. He was a nice guy and genuinely cared about people. It’s one of the reasons he was so easy to like. I couldn’t say I’d ever clicked with a friend as quickly as I did with him, which was a nice change from my usual routine of isolation. I worked alone, and I lived alone. All my adult life, I’d only known a solitary existence. My earliest memories were of growing up in foster care, moving from one family to the next, but never settling anywhere. I’d always assumed that I was destined to be a rambler.

We pulled up behind my truck, and I dug my keys out of my pocket. “Thanks, Tristan. I appreciate the ride, the injury care . . .” I gestured to my head. “All of it.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled.

I opened the car door and climbed out of the seat.

“Hey, Conrad.” Tristan leaned across the seat and looked up at me. “Don’t be too upset with Jetta. She’s been through a lot over the years. She may seem like a lunatic at times, but I promise she has her reasons for the things she does.”

I nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

I shut the door, and he waved as he pulled onto the roadway. I stood by my driver door until he was out of sight, then put my keys back in my pocket. I knew the box was in that cave, and I still had a job to do.

It only took me about twenty minutes to find the spot where the trail veered from the direction of the cave. The sun was starting to set, and the only flashlight I had was on my phone, so I needed to make this quick.

I retraced my previous steps and entered the cave with less trepidation than before. I turned on the flashlight app from my phone and immediately went to the room Jetta had been in before she’d knocked me out. My head still throbbed where she’d hit me, but the ibuprofen I’d taken was helping.

After stepping into the larger room, I took a moment to appreciate the sheer magnitude of the cavern. The space was enormous, and you’d never know from the outside that something so massive lay behind the small waterfall.

As I moved the light around the room, it glinted off a wall on the opposite side, and I moved closer to inspect it. The sides of the cavern were embedded with a smattering of rocks. There appeared to be crystals of some sort, but I had no idea what they were. That wasn’t my area of expertise.

I shined my light toward the floor, looking for any signs of the box. Nothing. I supposed she could have taken it back to her car while I was out cold, but I doubted it. I didn’t remember seeing it as she drove me back to town. My gut told me she’d left it in the cave.

She’d said she hit me with a shovel, so there was a good possibility she’d been digging. I started searching for areas in the dirt that had been freshly excavated. Sure enough, there was a spot toward the back of the room that had been dug up and repacked.

I located the offending shovel and put it to work. In minutes, I had the lockbox in my possession.

“You’ve caused a lot of trouble,” I said as I inspected the metal box. The digital keypad and display were covered in dirt from where she’d buried it so haphazardly. It puzzled me that she hadn’t put it in something to protect it. Unprotected electronics encased in the earth would eventually ruin the circuits.

I wiped it clean with my sleeve and looked it over one last time before repacking the dirt and putting the shovel back where I’d found it. With any luck, she’d never know I took it. At least, not until I was long gone, and this fiasco was behind me.

The thought of leaving Havenwood Falls was a tad bittersweet. I had things to attend to back in Atlanta, before I could move on with my life, but the little canyon was starting to grow on me in the short time I’d been there.

I tucked the box under my jacket and left the cave. Time to call Brandt and make a deal.

* * *

Cell service once again proved to be a challenge. I’d decided to just send him a text message, knowing it’d go through when my phone eventually caught a signal. I was ready for a hot shower and a warm bed. My mind flashed to Jetta. A certain willing woman would have been welcome as well, but the reality was that no matter how much I wanted her, avoiding that complication was for the best. I’d already made things difficult by becoming too invested in her. It’s why I wanted to amend the deal we’d made to bring her back. She was happy here. Brandt would have his box back. All’s well that ends well. I’d be fine taking less payment if it meant he’d leave her alone.

I stashed the box inside my duffel bag and shuffled to the bathroom to start the shower. I let it run while I brushed my teeth, then stepped beneath the hot water and sighed. The feeling was heaven on my sore muscles.

Once I’d washed, the exhaustion from the day hit me hard. I couldn’t wait to fall into that bed. I wrapped the towel low around my hips and left the bathroom.

“Well, that’s a new look. I hadn’t pegged you as a skirt kinda man.” Jetta’s voice startled me.

“Holy shit,” I barked. “How’d you get in here?” I quickly shifted my glance to my duffel bag, assuring it had been undisturbed.

“The door was unlocked.” She reclined on the bed, her legs crossed in front of her. “I did knock. When you didn’t answer, I got worried.”

I gave her a knowing smirk. “You were worried about me? That’s sweet.”

Jetta released a sigh. “Don’t make it weird. You could have a concussion. I just wanted to check on you.”

“Uh huh,” I said, letting her know I didn’t believe that was the only reason she was there. “So, you being here, on my bed, while I’m in nothing but a towel. That’s you checking on my wellbeing and has absolutely nothing to do with you wanting me.”

She frowned. “Why do you have such a dirty mind?” she grumbled.

I stepped closer to her. “Why do you constantly elicit dirty thoughts?”

“So, you’re blaming me for your perversions now?” She scooted off the bed and stood in front of me.

“I’m blaming your dream-catcher tattoo.”

She grinned. “It is pretty spectacular.”

I stepped closer, no longer caring why I shouldn’t touch her. “So are you.”

Jetta said nothing, but I could feel her shiver from where I stood. Every time I tried to deny that there was something unusual between us, something else would happen that proved me wrong. I could feel her around me. She gave off an energy that drew me in like a magnet. The more time I spent with her, the stronger it grew. I was now at a place where I could no longer resist. I wanted her. Needed her. To hell with Brandt and his money. To hell with my promise to avoid complications. This woman was complicated as hell, and I wanted to be lost in that forever.

“Jetta,” I whispered, and her eyes locked with mine. “I want you.”

Her lips parted, and she inhaled a deep breath. “I want you, too.”

I pulled her to me and kissed her, funneling all my pent-up need into that one action. Breaking my lips from hers, I trailed kisses down her neck. My blood heated as I ran my hands over her body, savoring each curve. She put her arms around my neck and pulled at my hair. I picked her up and carried her to the bed, carefully laying her down before covering her body with mine.

Her lips explored my collarbone as I blindly worked the buttons on her shirt. I pulled back, so I could see what I was doing, and she closed her eyes, tilting her head back. She was so damn beautiful. She was everything I never knew I wanted in a woman. Smart, independent, sexy. And I was about to make her mine.

My body screamed for me to hurry up, but my mind suggested I be sure she understood the ramifications of what we were about to do. This was more than just sex. The feeling that she was made just for me became an incessant pounding in my head. Mine. Mine. Mine.

I realized then that if we took this step, I could never walk away. And I needed to be sure we were on the same page.

“Jetta,” I whispered near her ear as I kissed up her jawline. “We should talk.”

“No,” she moaned. “We can talk after.” I felt her hand slide between us, her fingers pulling at my towel that had somehow managed to stay on during our tumble to the bed.

“Baby, I’m serious. Before this goes any further, we need to talk expectations.” I kissed her lips just as she found my hard length and squeezed. Anything I’d wanted to say fled my brain.

“Conrad.” She raised her head up and lightly bit my earlobe. “Shut up and make me scream your name.”

Loud banging on the door broke us out of our desire-fueled frenzy.

“What the hell?” I muttered. “Go away!”

The banging started again, but this time even more insistent.

“This had better be important,” I said, “or someone is dead.”

I grabbed my jeans and slipped them on, glancing at Jetta as she quickly buttoned her shirt. When I opened the door, a creepy elderly man with a cane stood on the other side.

“Can I help you?” I said in an annoyed tone. I mean, he did just interrupt what was sure to be some of the hottest foreplay I’d ever had.

“Where is my daughter?” The old man’s voice came across as an animalistic growl, and for a moment, I was taken aback.

“Oh, hell no.” Jetta’s voice was full of fury as she leapt off the bed and joined me at the door. “What do you want?”

“What I want,” said the old man, “is for you to stop destroying the family name.” He stepped across the threshold and then around us as he moved to sit in the only chair in the room.

Jetta put her hands on her hips. “Conrad, this is my father, Lawrence Mills.”

I nodded. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

His green eyes met mine, and his bushy eyebrows rose above them as if to say, “Is it really?”

He turned his gaze back to his daughter. “You’ve been back less than a week and are already in a mess of trouble.”

Jetta paled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He leveled a hard stare at her. “You were seen yesterday morning with Bradly Russo.”

She pushed out a breath that resembled relief. “It was nothing. He asked for my help. I said no. We went our separate ways.”

“He’s dead, Jetta. Rusty Higgins found Bradly’s body while patrolling the woods. He’d been torn to shreds.”

She gasped. “That’s horrible.”

Lawrence’s expression was grim. “You were the last person seen with him. And you were asking about him last night. He’s now dead. And Sheriff Kasun found an unusual ring among his belongings.” His eyes narrowed at her. “You wouldn’t know anything about a warded ring, would you?”

She put her hands on her hips. “Not a damn thing. Now, you listen to me, you old codger. I did not kill Bradly. He’d told me he was leaving town in a hurry. My guess is he crossed the wrong person one too many times and it finally caught up with him.” She pointed a finger at him. “As for the Court, you tell them I don’t know shit about any ring and they are barking up the wrong tree.”

I watched this odd exchange with interest. Warded ring? The Court? Damn, the people in this town were strange.

“When did he die?” I asked.

Lawrence turned his irritated gaze on me. “They believe late last night.”

I nodded. “It couldn’t have possibly been Jetta. We were having dinner at Tristan’s, then spent the rest of the evening together.”

Jetta’s eyes quickly shifted to mine in surprise, and I thought I saw a glint of gratitude.

“And I’m supposed to take your word for it?”

The old man had a point. I was a stranger in town, so I wasn’t exactly a solid character witness.

“Daddy, do you really think so little of me that you believe I’d kill someone?” Her question obviously held more than what was visible on the surface. There was a hint of pain in her voice.

“Of course not,” he snapped. “But that ring is another matter altogether.”

She shook her head. “Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Lawrence stood and looked me up and down, then spoke to Jetta. “Don’t get pregnant. You’d make a lousy mother.”

Her mouth went slack, and my muscles became rigid as my fists balled at my sides. What kind of asshole father says something so cold to his daughter?

I felt Jetta’s hand on my back. “Let it go. It’s not worth the trouble.”

Lawrence walked out the door without so much as a goodbye.