“You’re remarkable,” he said. “The way your mind works, how quickly you process information. I’ve never met anyone like you.”
The quiet admiration in his voice made my chest tighten. “I could say the same about you.”
We stood there, the air between us charged with unspoken feelings, until the alarm on his phone chimed, reminding us it was time to gather the equipment and head out. We’d planned to add more surveillance cameras, then head back to the jail to watch, see if we could catch anyone on camera.
As we loaded the truck with the gear, it felt like we’dbeen partners for years, not only a short time. I loved how natural it felt.
And that terrified me more than any corporate thief or Blainsworth hitman ever could, because I didn’t do long-term. I couldn’t. Not without risking the man I was coming to love.
The thought froze me in place as I handed Dungar the last of the night vision equipment. Was that what this feeling was, this sense of rightness, of belonging, of finally finding a place where all my broken pieces fit?
If it was, I was in more danger than I’d ever been.
Because loving Dungar Bronish meant giving him my heart.
And hearts, once given, left you vulnerable in ways no amount of running could protect you from.
Chapter 20
Dungar
We spent the next few hours setting things up, then returned to the jailhouse to review security footage from the cameras we’d installed near the maintenance shed earlier, carefully combing through grainy shots that yielded nothing. No one had approached the building.
“Maybe they know we’re watching,” Riley said as we locked up the jail for the night.
“Possibly.” I frowned, disliking the implications. “Let’s check if the cage is still there.”
The maintenance shed was exactly as we’d left it. The specialized transport cage remained hidden beneath the tarp, undisturbed according to the dust patterns I’d memorized.
We made our way to where I’d pastured Treelee, and rode her out of town to give the impression we’d left for the night. Once giving the sorhox some grain and putting her in her stall for the night, we took a back trail to town,creeping up the low ridge behind the luminook pens, hunkering down and getting out our night vision goggles to survey the area below.
The night wrapped around us. Crickets chirped in the tall grass, and the luminooks’ soft humming drifted through the darkness. The hidden structure we’d set up was barely large enough for one person, let alone an orc my size and Riley.
I was hyperaware of every point where her body touched mine. Her hip against my thigh. Her elbow occasionally brushing my ribs. The faint scent of her shampoo mixing with the night air.
“Your brothers are in position?” She kept her voice low, though we were far enough from the pens that normal conversation wouldn’t carry.
I nodded, tapping my radio earpiece once. “Ruugar’s covering the north access. Tark and Becken have the perimeter. Greel’s monitoring communications from the saloon.”
“And we have the best view.” She shifted, her movement pressing her more firmly against my side. “Sorry for the close quarters.”
“I don’t mind.”
She glanced up at me, her eyes catching the moonlight. For a breathless moment, I considered abandoning the mission entirely and kissing her. Then the radio in my ear crackled.
“Movement at the north access road,” Ruugar’s voice came through. “Vehicle approaching.”
I tensed, switching my focus to the dirt road leading to the maintenance area. “We see it.”
Riley stared in that direction. “Black sedan. Can’t make out the plates yet.”
The car moved slowly along the access road. It stopped approximately fifty yards from the luminook pens, far enough away to avoid triggering the motion sensors we’d installed, but close enough for someone to reach the pens on foot.
“They’re staying outside our primary security zone,” I said.
“But well within our observation range. They don’t know about the extended perimeter.”
I focused on the vehicle. “Someone’s getting out of the driver’s side.”
