Hours later, I disentangled myself from Willow's sleeping form. That was honestly some of the best sleep I'd gotten in at least a decade and it had been on a twin mattress with spunky sheets. I shook my head. Would wonders never cease?I scratched my belly as I padded naked across the floor. Something near the door snagged my attention. A plate with cheese, fruit, and sliced meat was on the floor, just inside the door. A tall pitcher of water sat next to two glasses. "EAT ME!" a small card read. I recognized Jessa's handwriting. Leaning down, I stuffed the glasses under my arm. Picked up the plate. Careful to keep from dropping the food, I picked up the pitcher with my free hand. Gunshots erupted from beyond the door. Everything clattered to the floor as I darted across the room. "Willow! Wake up. We're under attack!"

I held my hands up, waited for the police to see that we were all participating with their orders. No fewer than five SWAT members and fifteen uniformed officers streamed into the bunker. The amount of noise they made was unbelievable. How we hadn't heard them was a miracle. Although, I feel like we'd been pretty well occupied with other news. And we weren't actually in trouble with these people. Or at least not bad trouble. Wright came in behind the uniformed police. "What the hell happened here?" he demanded as he made his way over from the catwalk stairs. He threaded his way through the Kool-Aid man holes we'd made on our first horrible trip through this hellhole. Turo stepped forward. "Would you like a full accounting now, or would you like to get the evidence you came for? We are completely fine in either case. We just ask that we be allowed to lower our arms."Wright waved his hand. We all lowered our hands. "Your guns will be confiscated. Run through the system. If th

I was wrong. On so many counts, but so very, very wrong on at least one important fact. The Canadian geese I'd heard weren't even animals. Unless I counted those of the two legged variety. "MS. CHASE! MS. CHASE. OVER HERE!" a woman yelled, a microphone in her hand. A man at her back with a huge camera settled on his shoulder. I think I would have been okay had it only been the one reporter. But I just wasn't that lucky. No. There were at least two dozen of them. I huddled into Ryker's shoulder as he bulldozed his way through the crowd. The police made a small tunnel for us to escape through. But even then the reporters shoved their cameras and microphones in my face. I took an elbow to the temple as one of the rowdy newscasters tried to topple an officer. Ryker's roar of outrage brought everything and everyone to a grinding silent halt. His face was red as he turned on the offending person. He reached out with one hand, caught the man around the neck, and shook him like

I looked around my home for the last eighteen months. It had been exactly what I needed at the time when I most needed it. Memories washed over me in 4K detail. Over there by the little desk where Tali and Nico helped me draw up the business plan for my bakery.The couch where I huddled with Momma after a week of nightmares. Papa baking his signature molasses cookies in my new oven. We'd spoken of nonsense for hours and hours. Not once had I been made to feel like I was an imposition. A drain on their lives. I looked across the room. The table that carried the echo of my tattoo where we'd had hundreds of late night dinners and board games to help chase away the demons. The games of Mafia and Clue that made us chuckle. The games of Monopoly that brought out the most savage in all of us as we maneuvered for Top Dog. Every part of this home had been touched by the family that had loved me. Accepted me. Made me one of their own. And now it was time to leave. To move on to the ne

Once again in the elevator, I huddled the gun safes close to my chest. I'd been so stupid to leave them in a different bag. To not have grabbed them the first trip. I could have gotten three very important men hurt. Or worse. I shuddered as I cut the thought off."You okay?" Ryker asked softly. I nodded. Tried to smile. Words came gushing out of my mouth. "I'm so sorry. Sorry for not doing a better job. Sorry for not taking care of the guns the way I know I should. I could have gotten you shot. If the person who'd taken them..." I trailed off as nightmare after nightmare ran through my mind. "Hey." He pulled me into his arms. "Nothing happened. We've had a pretty emotionally draining couple of days. No one got hurt.""This time," I muttered into his chest. I rubbed my forehead back and forth between his pecs. "Sweet goddess, Ryker. You could have been shot. Died." I looked up into his face. "You're not allowed to die." My tone was hard, my gaze fierce. "You're not allowed to