Angry shouts and the squeal of tires heralded the arrival of the police. It would take them a few minutes to secure the rats trying to escape the sinking ship of Black Eagle’s reign.

Ryan watched in silence as Tiberius reached down and grabbed Black Eagle by the shirt, picking him up as if he was a child. As he looked at something over Ryan’s shoulder and smiled, she felt a tremendous wave of relief wash over her.

“Good to see you again, brother. What kept you?”

“Apologies, my prince. I found Glitter, Diamond, and Minx in a holding area below and thought it best to send them home before the authorities became aware of their involuntary participation.”

“How fare they?”

“A bit worse for wear, but nothing a few days under Sugar’s mothering care won’t cure.” Hands on his hips, every bit as naked as Tiberius, Quintus shook his head, sending droplets flying from his shaggy hair, and then he glanced around at the carnage. “I leave you alone for five minutes, and this is what happens?”

“But ... you were ... How did ...? Ah, hell. You’re like him, aren’t you?” Ryan managed to sputter out.

The only indication he had been injured at all were a few quickly fading red areas and slight puffiness where his eyes had been swollen shut. It was a far cry from the broken and bloodied body she had dragged behind that car only a short while earlier.

Quintus grinned. “Detective Winslet, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Tiberius and Quintus made quick work of Black Eagle’s men, tossing them overboard like chum. The analogy might have been more disturbing if she didn’t have firsthand knowledge of the atrocities Black Eagle’s men had committed. Becoming links in the oceanic food chain was probably their most worthwhile contribution to the world.

“They are coming,” Tiberius said, glancing over the side of the ship as the agents and local police advanced. “How do you wish to proceed?”

That was an excellent question.

Ryan had a decision to make. Did she follow protocol and attempt to explain to her boss everything that had happened, minus the alien stuff? If she spun it the right way, she might even get an interview with Homeland Security out of it. Or, did she follow her heart and take a chance on the quirky but lovable alien who promised a lifetime of love, believed in and supported her, and made her blood sing?

“No pressure,” Tiberius chuckled quietly over their bond.

“No.” She laughed. “No pressure. And no contest.”

“Go on; get out of here,” Ryan said out loud. “I got this. Meet up with you later?”

Tiberius smiled, and she felt his love all the way down to her curling toes. “I’ll be waiting.”

“Oh,” Quintus said, appearing at her side. “I’ll take these, if you don’t mind.” He took both of her guns before he and Tiberius silently slipped over the side, leaving her alone on the deck. She had wanted to protest, but then realized it was better that he had taken them. That way, there would be less evidence tying her to the shitstorm that had just gone down.

Holy crap. Was she seriously thinking of lying to her captain and destroying evidence?

Yes, she was.

Well, she thought with a mental shrug, she could add it to dating a suspect, tampering with evidence, arson, and the use of extreme force.

Badassery, indeed.

“Detective Winslet, what in the holy hell happened here?”

She took a deep breath and schooled her features into a look of innocence before addressing Captain Carter. “I don’t know, sir. Looks like we’re too late.”

Carter’s bushy brows drew down so low his eyes all but disappeared. “You expect me to believe you have no knowledge of what occurred here? That, despite my explicit orders to let the Feds handle it, you just happen to be at Black Eagle’s last known location, surrounded by blood, and you were not involved?”

She smiled sweetly and shrugged. “Yes, sir, I do.”

His jaw ticked. “And the blood on your clothing?”

She looked down, realizing it must be Quintus’s from when she had wrangled him behind the car earlier. Although, some of it might have been splatters from the close-range shots with which she had taken out her would-be abductor.

“I slipped on the deck, sir.”

In a move of perfect cosmic timing, the freighter swayed and Detectives Kowalski and Haines went down on their asses.

“Thank you, Tiberius.”

“My pleasure, little mate.”

She lifted her chin toward her fellow agents and said with a straight face, “Kind of like they just did.”

“Winslet, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I expect a full briefing in my office.”

“I don’t think so, sir.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said, I don’t think so.” She pulled out her badge and tossed it on the deck at his feet. “With all due respect, sir, I quit.”