He wasn't dressed to the nines in a chocolate brown turtleneck, leather jacket, and trousers. He was dressed similarly to before, in a skintight, navy, long-sleeved t-shirt that accentuated every chiseled muscle in his chest, shoulders, and arms, as well as army green cargo pants and boots. He had an unpleasant expression on his face and his gaze was fixed on Detective Connor Magtanggol.

Then his gaze shifted to me, and a millisecond later he was there, all muscular elegance, a large cat on the prowl, enthralling.

My eyes followed him, but my cheek never left my knee as he approached and bent over me, lifting his hand. I had no idea what to anticipate, so I prepared myself until I felt his fingers on my temple. They traced delicately over my hairline, down, and behind my ear as he slipped the hair off my neck. His warm hand then curled there.

Then I heard him ask quietly, "Are you all right, baby?"

Baby?

My eyelids drifted open to find him bending close to my face.

"I'm fine," I said.

"You don't appear to be fine," he observed.

"Well, I am," I said again.

"So, why are you curled up in a protective ball?" he inquired.

This was an excellent question.

I shook my head.

"Heard she was yours," Magtanggol said, as ML straightened and turned to face him. I was so taken aback by this statement, for a lot of reasons, that I raised my head to place my chin on the gap between my legs.

"She's mine," ML said emphatically.

"I'm not his," I said, maybe not firmly.

Magtanggol was staring at ML when I spoke, but his gaze was drawn to me. He seemed to stare at me attentively for a few beats, then one side of his mouth twitched and he looked to the floor for a second before returning my gaze.

"I have a few questions for you," he replied gently. "Are you up for it?" ”

ML went to my side, directly to my side, such that his lower side crushed down on my top side and his hand slid to the rear rather than leaving my neck.

"Ask," he said quickly, responding for me. Magtanggol stared at him and sat down again.

I lifted my chin off my knees, but ML's hand on my neck remained still. His posture appeared to be possessive, implying to Magtanggol that he was claiming me. But that hand... that hand looked to be helpful, an indicator that he was concerned about my mental health and, moreover, that he cared.

What did I do with it now?

I focused on Magtanggol rather than ML and noticed him bending forward on his knees once more.

"Tell me what happened," he softly said.

I inhaled deeply. "I heard a crash, it woke me up, and I knew, I knew like when you have a horrible dream and you jump awake and your body is all tingling and you just know, you know someone is in the room to cut you up and you can't get rid of that sensation," I explained. I took a breather, and he nodded. "I knew someone was in my house, but I knew it was for genuine," he nodded again, and I continued speaking. "So I dialed 911, but not before thinking I needed a baseball bat." But, while I waited for you, I decided that instead of a baseball bat, I wanted a crowbar. Because a baseball bat has a larger surface area, the force of the strike is distributed more evenly. A crowbar would be more effective. What are your thoughts? " ML's fingers tightened on my neck, but Magtanggol, evidently not listening, replied, "What do I think?" ”

"Crowbar or baseball bat? Which one would you choose if you were in a dangerous situation? ”

He stopped for a second, his gaze fixed on mine, before responding gently, "Giabella, I own a gun."

Jeez. Without a doubt. He had a gun. He has the ability to shoot a nasty man. He did not require a baseball bat.

A gun would be useful, but I wasn't sure whether I was ready for one.

"Oh yes," I said quietly, "right."

He asked, with a faint smile, "So you phoned 911..."

"Yes, then I grabbed my snow globe because it was all I had," I said, and his brow furrowed.

"Do you mean the one in the living room?"

When I went to meet the cops, I had my joyful kitten with me. The officer who gave me a tour of my residence had to take it from my grasp and placed it aside.

I said, "The one in the living room."

"It's usually on Gia's nightstand," ML interjected, and Magtanggol's gaze raised to him despite the fact that he didn't move his head, but I twisted my neck to glance up at him.

It was right there. Proof. He could see quite well in the dark.

"You notice that?" I inquired, and ML's black eyes lowered to mine as his fingers squeezed my neck once more.

"I do not miss much, baby."

Hmm. Even though I guessed as much, I didn't believe this was good news.

"Unh-hunh," I grumbled.

"Giabella," Connor cried back, and I returned his gaze. "What occurred when you got your hands on the snow globe?"

"I stepped up to the wall and pressed up against it, staring at the door and waiting." I noticed the spotlight first, then the hand gently pulling open my door." I came to a halt when ML's fingers tightened; this wasn't a squeeze; it was something more, and his fingers didn't release. Even as I didn't want to, I had to confess that the intense pressure felt amazing. "He opened it maybe a foot, maybe more, and then there were sirens and he took off. I heard him dash down the stairs."

“Him? "Magtanggol inquired.

"It was a man's hand," I explained. "White, hmm... Caucasian," I said in officer talk from a TV show.

"A man's hand," Magtanggol said again.

"Um... yes," I said.

"Are you certain that was a man's hand?" Magtanggol inquired, and I locked gazes with him.

"It wasn't Isabelle," I answered gently.

ML squeezed his fingers again, but this time they relaxed.
Magtanggol sat back and looked at me.

"Is she your sister?" he inquired.

"I'm sure she's in danger. It's a bad situation. And I know that's why you're here, along with eight uniform officers, for what is ordinarily not a priority, all hands on deck."

I heard ML make a sound that sounded like a macho, amused, deep yet brief chuckle, and I looked up to find him smirking. He didn't have any teeth, but he was grinning so hard that both dimples sprang out.

When I returned my gaze to Magtanggol, he was wearing a faint, one-sided smile.

"We try our hardest," he grumbled.

"Well, I appreciate that," I said with a smile. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Isabelle Gomez was not in the area tonight, or if she was, she heard the sirens and fled." She disliked cops since she was a child. I've always liked cops, and I've approached them and made friends with them. She jogged a mile. We should have known better."

"Did she do that?

" Magtanggol inquired, amused.

"She was six at the time."

His expression altered as he realized what was going on, and he said, "You're not joking."

I shook my head. “Nope.”

"That was probably a hint of future disaster," Magtanggol observed.

"Don't get her started on her Barbies," ML said, and my body jerked back to gaze at him.

Uh... what? What, what, what, what? What made him know about the Barbies?
My pupils constricted around him.

"Are you aware of your sister's problems? " Magtanggol inquired, and I shifted my gaze away from ML and toward him.

"No, but I know she owes the Mayhem Motorcycle Club a lot of money, and that would be a lot, a lot, but they already know I can't assist them with that because I'm not close to my sister and I don't have that amount of money to offer them in order to get her fat out of the fryer." ”

"I spoke with Finn today. He's aware that the Gomez cupboards are empty, or that I don't have two million dollars stowed someplace."

"You talked to Finn today," Magtanggol said again, and something about him had altered, and not in a good way. He appeared enraged.

"Um... yes," I said.

Magtanggol's gaze shifted to ML, then back to me, as if to say, "You don't know anything else about what's going on with your sister?" ”

"No, but there's more, but I'm not sure what it is." And I'm not interested in finding out. Today I formally disowned her. As a result, she is no longer technically my sister."

This drew another squeeze from ML, but Magtanggol was keeping an eye on me.

"So you have no idea who might come to see you tonight?" Magtanggol continued.

My head trembled. "I have no idea." All I know is that they didn't steal anything and came straight to my room. "Do with it what you will."
Magtanggol fixed his gaze on me. Then he did it again. Then his jaw tightened. Then a muscle in his cheek twitched, his gaze went to ML, he took a breath, and shook his head. Then his gaze fastened on mine.

Then he leaned in closer and added gently, "I'm going to tell you what I think of this." What I mean is that if my wife had a sister who I knew was in severe trouble, she wouldn't be talking to Kane Allen, she wouldn't be sleeping alone, and she wouldn't have to think about whether she needs a baseball bat or a crowbar because she'd be in bed alongside me."

Oh.

Wow.