“Sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep.”
“You didn’t.” Bel tugged her hand free and wrapped her arm around his waist. “It’s not a bad thing. It’s just funny. At some point, he stopped being only my dog.”
“He’s your boy. He always will be.”
“And I will die on that hill, but I don’t think you’re as opposed to kids as you claim to be. You like the idea of having a furkid with me.”
“Furkids I can do.” He kissed her forehead. “I love the dog. He smells like you. He acts like you. Sometimes, I think he even looks like you. I love having him around.”
“I do not have a meaty face.” Bel feigned shocked outrage.
“It’s the eyes.” Eamon bumped her hip to set her straight. “You have blue eyes, and he has brown, but to me, they’re windows to the same soul. So yeah, I guess I’ve started thinking of him as mine, but only because you’re mine.”
“Looking into his eyes is like looking into my soul?” Bel shook her head. “You, sir, have it bad.”
“I know. I’ve been trying to tell you that.”
“And I don’t mind that you think of him as your dog. I thought it would bother me, sharing my little soulmate with someone else, but you don’t make me feel territorial. You love him the way I love him, so I like the idea that we’re his parents.”
“You like that I’m his built-in babysitter for when you work long hours.”
“Yeah, that too.” She swatted his abs, but he caught her wrist and tossed her over his shoulder, and before she could protest, they were careening down the beach to crash into the water.
“A little warning next time!” Bel sputtered when they resurfaced.
“Please, you knew I was going to dunk you the second we aimed this way.” Eamon tugged her close until her legs wrapped around his waist and slid a slow kiss over her scars. “Want to swim out where no one can see us?”
“As long as you do the heavy lifting,” she agreed, and that was all the encouragement he needed. He effortlessly shifted her onto his back and slipped through the water as if he’d been born below the waves. They sped through screaming kids and splashing teens, but they barely made it a few feet past the swimming families when he froze.
“What’s wrong?” Bel asked.
“Shhh.” He pulled her off his back and swam a few yards deeper into the lake.
“What did you hear?” she asked when he returned seconds later. “Or did you smell something?”
“Heard,” he confirmed as he dragged her toward the shoreline. “Someone is screaming.”
“Everyone here is screaming.” Bel gestured to the hordes of people loudly celebrating the Fourth of July.
“Not that kind of screaming. Someone’s in trouble, but I can’t see them, which means they’re out deep.”
“Pain or fear?” Bel asked as they scrambled out of the water.
“Both.” Eamon scanned the families until his eyes landed on a group of young men backing their jet skis into the lake.
Bel cursed. She didn’t need any further explanation. “Gentlemen, my name is Detective Isobel Emerson with theBajka Police,” she interrupted the men before they could launch. “I need to borrow one of your skis for an emergency.”
“Yeah, right, lady,” an especially cocky college-aged kid spat. “Nice try, but what emergency could possibly require a cop to—” he froze when he saw Eamon glaring at him over Bel’s head. “Um… sure. Just don’t crash it. It’s my dad’s.”
“It’ll be returned to you in the same condition, and if not, I’ll buy you a new one,” Eamon promised as he took over the launch, not bothering to conceal his strength as he lowered the ski into the water, and he barely waited for Bel to settle behind him before pushing the vehicle to full speed.
“Dear God,” she whispered into his ear, clinging to his soaked chest as the whipping wind tugged at her body. “Please not today. Don’t take a life today.”
“She’s still screaming,” Eamon shouted over the engine’s roar. “She’s alive… but I can’t hear whether she’s alone or not.”
“Where is her voice coming from?”
Eamon gestured to the eastern edge of the lake, and Bel cursed.
