“Move, Roscoe.”
The dog whined.
“Oh,” Nari crooned, reaching out to pet his head.
If dogs could smile, this one did. He also stretched out all four legs toward Angus, pushing him away.
That was it. “Roscoe? You want to go outside and scout the entire night?” Angus snapped.
The dog sighed and stood, walking on Angus’s pillow before settling at the bottom of the bed on Nari’s side. He cuddled up, putting his butt toward Angus.
“Were you this nuts before you got blown up?” Angus muttered, flipping the pillow over to the side without paw prints. He honestly couldn’t remember. Or maybe his team of misfits had just brought out this side of the canine.
Roscoe farted in response.
Nari giggled, sounding young and light.
Angus smiled, and some of the pressure eased in his chest. “Because the two of you have bonded so well, he’s your constant companion until we find this guy. Period.”
“I’d love that,” she whispered. “’Night, Angus.”
“Good night,” he said, listening to the world outside. Nothing seemed out of place, and even though the dog was a lunatic, his instincts were excellent and his training second to none. If a threat was near, Roscoe would hear it long before Angus did.
So he let himself drift off with the fire warming his cabin and the woman and dog sleeping peacefully. The first nightmare landed hard and with no warning: He was back in the morgue with his sister’s dead body after Lassiter had kidnapped and killed her, taking her heart. But this time her face had changed to Nari Zhang’s.
He woke up, gasping for air and sucking in fur. Instead of being angry that the dog had maneuvered himself between them again, he set a hand on the dog’s neck and shared the pillow.
He’d lost to a serial killer before, and he wasn’t even sure who was after him this time. How was he going to protect everyone?
Chapter Sixteen
“You can’t cook.” Angus stared at the fried mess over Nari’s shoulder, his voice thoughtful.
She looked at what used to be eggs in the fry pan. “Nope.” This time she’d really given it her all.
“Huh.” Angus turned and opened the window above the sink to let out some of the smoke. He leaned against the counter, looking broad and dangerous in the morning light. “You really can’t cook. Even Roscoe is hiding over by the fireplace instead of begging for a bite.”
She set the pan in the sink, staring at him. With his thick, black hair wet from the shower and new scruff covering his stubborn jawline, he looked like sex on a sinful stick. “You sound surprised.” Should she be insulted? Nah. She just didn’t have the energy.
“I am,” he admitted, his dark eyebrows rising. “You’re so good at everything.”
She warmed from her pinkie toe to her hairline. “That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
He rolled his eyes. “I believe I told you your thigh tasted like heaven the other night.”
More heat slid into her face and her abdomen did that jumpy thing it only did for him. It hadn’t been her thigh he’d been talking about. Him in a flirty, playful mood was too much to deal with. Just his scent was speeding up her heart rate. Male and spicy and yeah, sexy. “Regardless, we’re going to starve to death if we don’t get some takeout.”
Several cars rumbled up the road.
“Oh, thank God,” Angus mumbled, waving the smoke out the window with a ripped kitchen towel. “Hopefully they brought food.”
Nari perked up. “Is Pippa coming?”
“Yeah,” Angus said, tossing the towel onto the counter and turning toward the door.
“Do you think she baked something?” Nari whispered, hope filling her. She was starving.
Angus licked his lips. “She bakes and cooks for fun.” He shrugged. “I don’t get it.”
