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Now he understood what Gunnar had meant before.
Keep her safe in his cave. No matter what.
“I’m here for Shelby. There was no way in hell I was letting the little wifey anywhere near this place alone.” Jake looked at his gorgeous wife, where she stood next to Haldyn. So gorgeous, but she looked a little ragged. Their baby girl was almost four weeks old now or something like that. And considering she was Jake’s kid—she was probably already a handful.
If Scott had succeeded in what he’d wanted that night, baby Nariska wouldn’t even exist. And that woman over there, that gorgeous wonderful goddess who tied Jake in real knots, would be gone. As would that dark-haired woman that made men slobber when she looked at them. Zoey stood there with her big, blond doofus husband, Murdoch Lake. And sweet little nerd girl Madison, who had Dom so confused he didn’t know his ass from his left toe when she walked into the room was right there, saying something to Zoey.
And Charlotte, Powell, and Haldyn. Charlotte was in Wyoming, now. But she was one of them, too.
He wasn’t stupid. Powell and Haldyn had been targets of Scott back then. If he hadn’t died that night, Scott probably would have gone after one of them next. Accomplished his mission.
He’d had a list.
Shelby. Haldyn. Powell. Madison. In that exact order. Charlotte and Zoey had been crossed off—with the words problematic and too uncontrollable written above their names.
That bastard Scott had been eyeing Haldyn, seriously. He’d had more intel on her in his files than he even had on Shelby. If he hadn’t gotten to Shelby—he probably would have taken Haldyn instead. Jarrod had never forgotten that.
A black SUV drove by, and then a luxury car pulled in. Armored, and with a driver and a guard. Powell climbed out, a scowl on her face, snapping something at the man with her.
Haldyn was getting fidgety.
So was Hope Coleson, the latest little addition to their ladies of the lab posse. That Hope-gremlin didn’t stop moving for a single moment. She wasn’t on the clock this week. Not since that little sideshow at the Barratt Ranch.
Hope wore a removable cast on her foot, and had a bright purple plaster cast on her lower arm. She was bouncing around probably more than she should be, chattering away at Lake when he asked her why in the hell she had walked there. Jarrod had seen her come hobbling down the sidewalk just a moment before Powell and Gunnar had pulled in.
The Colesons apparently just lived two blocks away. Two damned blocks. Hope wore street clothes, not the forensics polos. Baggy jeans and a raglan T-shirt. And a slouchy maroon knit cap with letters embroidered on it. Her initials. She looked like a damned kid from a distance.
Hope was fidgety. Haldyn was fidgety. Hope’s didn’t catch his attention nearly as much as Haldyn’s. Because Hope was just a constant live wire, but Haldyn was fidgeting out of anxiety, maybe?
Haldyn’s face didn’t show how upset she was. But her hands did. Damn. Why hadn’t he noticed that before? Her hands told an entirely different story. She was rubbing her watch now. Fingers moving in a rhythmic pattern over the face. Hell, he was surprised she hadn’t worn a hole through the face by now.
Was that how she was doing it? Keeping her expression that closed, that calm, even from her little evil besties? Of course, it was. That cool, slightly uppity queen exterior was all a front. Why had it taken him so many years to realize that? He had been a complete idiot where that woman was concerned.
There was something so rhythmic about her motions. Jarrod wanted to storm over there and pull her into his arms and promise her this was going to be okay. That she didn’t have to go in there. Any more than any of the rest of them did.
He didn’t want her doing this.
Gunnar came to them, as Powell joined her pals. There were storms in the normally good-natured man’s eyes. “Are we sure they should be doing this?”
“I don’t think we can stop them,” Jake said, his eyes on his wife. “I about threw a fit when I found out Shel had pitched in on the auction price for this hellhole. But she said she needs to see it destroyed. That knowing it still stands so close to our place bothers her—she doesn’t want Nariska coming by here someday and seeing where her mommy almost died. Hell, I don’t like that thought either.”
Jarrod didn’t like it either. And Shelby shouldn’t have to see that place every time she left her damned neighborhood.
“I just don’t want them going in there.” Gunnar touched the nasty scar on his arm he’d gotten that night, helping Jake rescue Shelby. “I don’t see the point. The forensics techs did a good enough job before. What are they hoping to find? And why does it have to be them?”
Jarrod one hundred percent agreed, but the devil ladies were unstoppable when they wanted something. “We’re just here to keep them safe while they do it, boys. Instead of two rabbits we have more tonight. Except Jake and Lake have to watch their own rabbits themselves. We’ll all pitch in and watch Coleson. It might take all of us, even with the casts. That one is rather bouncy.”
“Powell’s already exhausted. She’s worked sixty hours practically straight this week.” Gunnar almost snarled. “She doesn’t have to do this now.”
Well, that meant Gunnar had worked almost sixty hours shadowing a realtor. Where Jarrod’s shadowing could be done at the TSP, Gunnar had been out following Powell around everywhere. And catching up on TSP work at night with Jarrod—after the ladies toddled off to bed—or toddled off to one of their suites to plot against him and Gunnar before going to bed more likely.
“She’s barely slept at all either. And I think she’s been feeling sick to her stomach. Woman really does need a keeper.”
“We all know you are the only man for the job.” Jake slapped him on the shoulder and snickered. “Good luck making it happen.”
As if she knew they were talking about her, Powell shot a glare at Gunnar, then turned, her nose in the air. She said something to Haldyn, then wrapped her little hand over Haldyn’s. Stopped Haldyn from rubbing that damned watch. Haldyn pulled in a deep breath and nodded. But she was calmer. Apparently, little bitty Powell knew how to handle Haldyn. She hugged the taller woman for a moment.
“Haldyn and her brothers, her parents, Heather’s niece that interns for her, and Beck are about the only people I have ever seen Powell even touch.” Gunnar said quietly. “She has secrets. Memories. In her eyes, sometimes. And if you say anything about Haldyn at all, Powell goes on rabid alert. That is her best friend on the planet right there. I knew they were friends, but I didn’t realize how close.”
