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The humid night air held the taste of menace. Blake stalked the perimeter of The Sanctuary fence and watched for movement

in the trees and buildings. Who had been in the garage apartment? Before the Mason woman’s body was discovered, he would have

said he trusted every one of their employees, but too many things had happened in the past two weeks.

What if he hadn’t heard Paradise? Would someone have attacked her? He didn’t like admitting to himself how she seemed to be

a target. And that kiss had left him craving more. Where did he want their relationship to go now? He feared examining that

question too closely. One thing he knew for sure—a piece of his heart still belonged to her and maybe always would. Tonight

she’d been frightened, and he feared tomorrow she’d have her shields firmly in place again.

A shadow loomed in the barn doorway. “You okay, Blake? You’re out late.” Lacey Armstrong moved into view. Her sleek brown

hair was up in a topknot.

“We had an intruder in the main house. Muddy footprints in my apartment. You’re up late.” He eyed her bike shorts and tee. “You’re out exercising at this hour?”

“They’re comfortable for sleeping. It was my turn to man the animal hospital overnight. The hyenas were making a ruckus, and

I came out to see what they were hot about.”

He turned in the direction of the hyena enclosure. “You see anything?”

“A rabbit had wandered in, and they were fighting over the carcass.”

While Blake liked animals, the hyenas were a breed he would have been happy to send off somewhere else. He didn’t dare turn

his back on one, and they could be vicious. “Did you hear or see anything else?”

She shook her head and came close enough he caught a whiff of a light scent she wore, something sweet and enticing. Lacey

had been working here a year, and when he arrived to help out, they’d become friends. Though she’d made it clear she was happy

to entertain a closer relationship, Blake wasn’t ready for anything romantic. He’d never made a move to go beyond a casual

friendship.

She put her hand on his arm. “What do you make of all this? It feels like we’re being deliberately targeted, doesn’t it?”

He didn’t want to offend her, so he didn’t move away. “Yeah, it does. The murder, the fire, constant intruders. There’s a

purpose behind all of it, but I can’t see who would stand to gain anything by harassing us.” He shifted when the hyenas snarled

again, and her hand fell away. “I think I’ll check out the hyena enclosure myself.”

“I’ll walk with you.” She fell into step beside him.

He used his key at the first gate. “How’s it going with Paradise? You enjoying working with her?”

“She’s okay. A little reserved but pleasant. She’s good at what she does. Serena had a cracked paw pad, and Paradise spotted the problem. She dosed her with an antibiotic, and Serena thanked her for it.”

Serena was the best grizzly and reciprocated their affection by showing off for them. “Sounds like she’s settling in well.”

“How are you dealing with her being here?”

Blake heard the personal curiosity in her question. The fact he and Paradise had dated once must have made its way through

the employees. “She’s a good vet, and I’m glad she’s here. She’s going to be an asset and will help out anywhere we ask her.”

Lacey didn’t probe further, and they reached the back of the hyena enclosure as the vocalizations grew louder. He approached

the fence and peered through the dark into the corners of the space. The clan of three stood staring toward a dark corner

where a tupelo tree loomed. The dominant female, Clara, ruled the pack with a steel will and decided who ate and who was driven

off. The male ate last, and Blake often had to separate the sexes to ensure he got enough food.

He studied the odd behavior of the animals warily, watching that dark corner. Hyenas usually only feared lions, so he couldn’t

puzzle out what type of animal hid in the darkness of the big tree. Maybe it was another hyena.

He walked the length of the enclosure looking for breaches in the perimeter and found one low in the fence. He shone his phone

flashlight at the small hole and frowned. “I think this has been cut.” He squatted and studied the metal links. Drops of blood

clung to the blunt edges of the fence as if something had been forced through. Had the rabbit been pushed into the enclosure?

If so, for what reason?

He stood and continued to search the perimeter. The hyena habitat had several enclosures where they were able to segregate the clan when various areas required cleaning or the animals had to be separated. In the last space, he spotted a gate lock left open.

Someone had come through here. Had they distracted the animals with a rabbit while they sneaked through? His gaze went out

over the vast expanses of The Sanctuary, and it clicked. The other side of the hyena enclosure made for an easy access from

outside the park. Zebras and wildebeest roamed in their large grazing habitat. There was no danger in walking through the

animals there. The hyenas were the danger, and if they were distracted, an intruder could access the buildings.

The intruder had entered here.

***

A lion roared in the distance, and Paradise sat up with adrenaline racing through her. She swallowed past the constriction

in her throat and forced herself to lie back on a pillow that still held the all-too-enticing scent of Blake. Levi muttered

in his sleep and rolled closer. The warm little bundle of boy relaxed her, and she snuggled him closer.

When she was in the last foster home, the family’s two-year-old daughter used to creep into her bed in the middle of the night.

Paradise had forgotten how comforting a child could be. She hadn’t allowed herself to dream of having her own little boy or

girl, but this little boy made the idea more appealing than she’d imagined.

She drifted in a state between sleep and waking with the thought of a little boy with Blake’s blue eyes and intelligence. A sound roused her and she opened her eyes again to find Levi had his foot in her face. She touched it tenderly and flipped him around before thinking about the dream of children. It was only in that kind of twilight wakefulness she let those kinds of longings seep through. In the daylight she didn’t think a family would be in her future. It was too hard for anyone to get through and see the real her under the prickly surface she projected.

She touched her lips. Kissing Blake had felt like coming home. Even after all these years, he’d vaulted over the walls she’d

erected like they didn’t exist. And maybe they didn’t where he was concerned. They never had.

She sat up at the distant sound of a door closing. Had something else happened? She slid her legs over the side of the bed

and checked to make sure Levi stayed put before tiptoeing out of the room. She found Blake, his forehead creased with worry,

in the kitchen pouring a glass of orange juice. Did the man ever sleep or relax? It was after one.

He turned toward her and stilled. “You should be sleeping.”

“So should you. You’re just now getting in?”

“I think I found out how the intruder got into my apartment. We have cameras at the entrance, and I think he wanted to avoid

being seen. Someone distracted the hyenas with a rabbit and walked right through.”

He offered her his glass of juice, but she shook her head. “Any idea who it was?”

“No.”

His penetrating gaze unnerved her, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “That was who was in my apartment.”

“I think so. It disturbs me that someone seems to be targeting you.”

“Or maybe he was targeting you. He might not know you gave up your place for me. There’s no way to know for sure.”

He absorbed her statement before nodding. “Okay, true.” His frown deepened. “I don’t think you should stay there alone. We’re better to stay in a group. If you’re okay with a little boy or two invading your space on occasion.”

“The boys are fine, but I don’t want to displace you a second night.”

“I’ll rest better if I know you’re not up there alone.”

“Why do you care?” The question erupted before she could stop it. “I feel like I’ve been nothing but trouble. You probably

wish your mom had never emailed me.”

“I don’t wish that at all.” His gaze dropped to her mouth, and he took a step toward her.

“Why not?” She held her breath. Would he tell her the truth or guard his words? If her life depended on it, she didn’t think

she could untangle the knot of her emotions. Maybe he knew how he felt, but she wasn’t sure she could name the things that

made her mouth go dry and her heart begin to gallop. She wanted to blame physical attraction for all that, but her heart knew

better.

He set the juice on the counter and came closer still. “You have upended my life again, you know. Something has always bound

us, Paradise. You might not want to admit it, but you know it, don’t you?”

She didn’t want to agree with him, but the words spilled out anyway. “You were always kind to me, even back in high school.”

“I always felt way more than kindness, and you know that too.”

He wasn’t saying what he felt now, but he didn’t have to. She knew. They both knew. And her reserve had never fooled him.

He had laser vision into her soul. The man she didn’t know as well as the teenager, but she wanted to.

She should flee to the bedroom, but her feet stood rooted in one spot as he took a step closer. Then another until he was standing close enough to kiss her again. And she couldn’t think of anything she’d rather experience than another brush of his lips on hers. She might just suffocate waiting for him to make a move, so she did. She placed her hand on his chest and stared into those gentle eyes.

His fingertips came under her chin and nudged it up a bit. “I don’t want you to trample my heart again, Paradise, but I’m

afraid you might.”

His words were a dose of cold water over the heat rising in her chest. He was too good and kind, and she didn’t want to hurt

him. Could she move beyond the pain of her past rejections? Did she even want to try for a new start with Blake? Part of her

did, but could things be different when she was the same broken person inside?

She pulled back her hand. “I’d better let you get some sleep.” She fled before the disappointment on his face collapsed her

resolve.