Page 8

“Well, what if he did? You’re saying I should toss her out and let him have her?”

“No, of course not. I’m saying find this fucker before he gets anywhere near the ranch. There are people here.” Liam dragged his hand over his dark hair, and I knew that people, for him, meant Emma and Blair. He’d taken responsibility for Emma, his sister-in-law, and Blair, his thirteen-year-old niece, ever since his brother Daniel had died in a car wreck a few years ago.

“We’ll find him.” Jeremiah tossed the sponge into the bucket of water. His gaze cut to me. “If you’re here, who’s keeping Lila safe at the hospital?”

I smirked. “Holly is there.”

“Shit.” Jeremiah rubbed his mustache. “You have Holly guarding Lila? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“We’re up against a man who repeatedly attacked a woman in broad daylight with multiple witnesses, and somehow nobody saw a thing. That sounds like Holly’s specialty to me. So, yeah, I don’t just think Holly guarding Lila is a good idea. I think it’s the best idea.”

Jeremiah nodded slowly. “You make a good point. But keep in mind that Holly is unpredictable, and she doesn’t like outsiders. Remember how she went after Lennon when she first arrived?”

“That was totally different,” Mateo protested. “We all knew Lennon had no business being here. Of course Holly didn’t trust her.”

“I’m not worried about it,” I said. “Lila will be fine.”

“Why’s that?” Liam asked.

“Holly won’t be a problem for Lila. She has a way with wild animals.”

Mateo frowned like he wasn’t particularly pleased at me referring to Holly as a wild animal, but he also didn’t correct me because I wasn’t wrong.

Jeremiah cocked his head. “You mean, she tames them?”

“Nah. She doesn’t tame them.” A slow grin spread across my face. “She likes them exactly as they are.”

4

LILA

Maybe my attacker is a woman.

The thought flitted through my barely conscious brain as I opened my eyes and found a strange woman watching me. Strange, in that I didn’t know her, and strange in that…well, she was fucking odd.

She was undeniably pretty. Shoulder-length, sleek black hair cut in a thick, blunt bang across her forehead, large dark eyes, skin as pale as mine but without the freckles, and delicate features. But she didn’t blink or move even as I came fully conscious. She reminded me of the time I spotted a mountain lion through my telephoto lens, only to realize it had been watching me the whole time.

“Um…hi,” I croaked. “Who are you?”

“Holly Delaney. Seb sent me.” Her head tilted, her dark hair dusting her collarbone. “Funny. He never mentioned a wife.”

I wondered why she cared—or even if she cared. It was hard to tell. Her expression was vaguely curious but otherwise impassive. If she was jealous, I couldn’t tell, but surely he wouldn’t have sent a jealous girlfriend to my hospital room without giving me a heads up, would he?

I tilted my head, mimicking her position and tone. “Funny. He never mentioned a girlfriend, either.”

Her face gave nothing away. “Maybe he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

I laughed hoarsely. “Well, he definitely doesn’t have a wife.”

“Hmm.”

She said it like she didn’t entirely believe me, which was odd since I was the wife in question, and who would lie about something like that? Holly didn’t trust me; I could see that clearly. Honestly, that didn’t bother me at all. She piqued my curiosity, and my fingers itched for a camera. Homing in on a subject through a lens always made me feel like I understood it a little better.

My 85. That’s the lens I’d choose. It wasn’t the one I usually reached for, since my specialty was wild animals, not wild humans, but it was perfect for portraits. I’d keep the focus on her eyes looking straight at me. A predator weighing whether she was in the mood for a little snack.

“You don’t look terrible for someone who nearly died forty-eight hours ago,” Holly remarked. She unfolded her long body from the chair and stretched. She tugged down the zipper of her half-zip pullover. A chicken popped its head out. “But you don’t look great, either.”

I didn’t verify this information in the mirror. I was too distracted by the chicken.