Page 85 of Dark ’N’ Deadly

Her eyes began tearing at the sincerity of his words. Given how messed up her family life had been, she couldn’t possibly have known about the support they could provide during difficult times.

“Thank you, Nick.” As she said the words, she found Eric eyeing his friend with a decidedly annoyed glint in his eyes. “That means a lot to me.”

The instant Nick dropped his hands from her shoulders, her world suddenly felt lonely again. Springfield was Nick and Andi’s home. It was where their life was, not hers. Flemington was the only place that ever called to her heart. But Eric was there, and she couldn’t bear the thought of being so geographically close to him while being so emotionally far away.

“Hi, Tess.” Matt reached out to give her a quick hug. “You may not remember me. We met once at the Dog Park Café, and then at the hospital when doofus here”—he jerked his thumb at Nick—“threw himself in front of a bullet.”

“Butthead,” Nick shot back.

“Of course, I remember you.” Matt and his pretty wife, Trista, had been at the hospital nearly every day while Nick was recovering. She turned to the giant of a man standing next to Dayne, leaning in to give him a quick hug. “Hi, Kade.”

Kade’s hazel eyes were warm as he grinned. Like the rest of Nick’s friends, he’d been to the hospital to see Nick, but she’d forgotten the man had two of the most adorable dimples ever to grace such a masculine face.

She turned next to Dayne, who’d been leaning against the granite counter, quietly sipping coffee. Since her no-holds barred tell-all yesterday, there was a measured look of understanding in his gaze.

“Along with that thing I told you last night not to doubt,” Dayne said, “we’ve got your back. Don’t ever doubt that, either.”

Those twin lumps of grief re-formed in the back of her throat. Despite Dayne’s reassuring words, she did doubt what he’d said about Eric last night. Eric’s hard face confirmed it.

He’ll never understand, and he’ll never forgive.

“What thing?” Eric asked.

“Thank you. All of you,” she said, ignoring his probing question. “I realize you’re just doing your jobs, but—” She swallowed as the lumps in her throat got bigger. “I appreciate you being here for Jesse and me.”

“You’re welcome,” Matt said. “You can thank Eric for calling us.”

Eric watched her silently, his expression guarded. There was no way to know what was going on inside his head. He cleared his throat. “Let’s get to it.”

“Right.” Matt picked up an odd-looking silver gun from a plastic case she hadn’t noticed before.

She stepped closer to get a better look. “What is that thing?” It didn’t look remotely like any gun she’d ever seen before.

“It’s a subcutaneous injector syringe.” Matt gave the case an affectionate pat. “A little gift from the CIA.”

“A gift?” Warning crept up her spine. “It looks like an evil ray gun from a science fiction movie.”

“It is. Kind of.” Matt chuckled, which did nothing to set her mind at ease. “When Eric called late last night and explained the situation, I thought of this little beauty. Given whom you’ll be dealing with, you’ll probably be checked for a wire, but they’ll never find this tracker. Without a wand specifically designed for this unit, it’s completely undetectable. When I inject it beneath your skin, you’ll barely feel it.”

Five sets of male eyes looked at her.

“Whoa.” She held up both her hands. “You are not sticking that thing in me.”

“Yes, he is.” Eric moved behind her, urging her to sit in the chair beside Matt, but she resisted his efforts, pushing backward against his chest, which had other undesirable effects. Like pressing her flush against his warm body and breathing his freshly showered scent into her lungs. “Tess.” He turned her in his arms. “If we get separated, I’ll have no way to find you unless you’re wearing a tracker, and this is the only way Gant can’t detect one. Please,” he added, his features softening.

“Okay,” she replied, but couldn’t stop eyeing the injector gun in Matt’s hand as if it were a snake about to strike.

He set the gun back in the case, rolled up her sleeve to her shoulder, then tore open a small packet and took out a wet gauze that he rubbed several times over the meaty part of her upper arm.

She bit her lip. This is crazy.

Behind her, Eric surprised her by resting his hands on her shoulders and massaging them gently, reminding her of all the other wonderful things his hands had once done to her body.

Tiger plunked his muzzle on top of her thigh, looking up at her with big, sympathetic eyes. The dog probably had no idea what was going on, only that she was in dire need of comfort.

“I hear you whip up a mean tofu burger,” Dayne said. “Maybe you’ll make one for me someday.”

“You’re kidding. You actually eat tofu?” She laughed then felt a tiny sting on her arm.