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How much had she slept last night? Paradise guessed it wasn’t more than three hours. And Blake would have gotten even less.

She arrived at the clinic and found a light schedule waiting, but the lingering chemical odor inside had her head throbbing

in half an hour. Fresh air might help. She opened the windows, and while the room aired, she headed outside to take a walk

around the grounds.

She’d been here nine days, and she hadn’t forced herself to see the jaguar enclosure. The population report had revealed they

had a black jaguar, and it was time she tried to face her fear.

Her steps lagged as she walked across the scruffy winter grass toward the predator section. The distinctive jaguar nasal grunting

came from her left, and she froze. She barely turned her head and saw the black panther’s yellowish eyes fixed on her. The

greeting came again, but at least it wasn’t the more aggressive roar. This jaguar simply wanted to say hello.

All she had to do was put one foot in front of the other and move toward the enclosure. She could even grab some meat from the nearby shed and feed her, but Paradise’s legs refused to move.

She rubbed her throbbing shoulder. “She’s behind the fence. She can’t hurt me.” The whispered reassurance did nothing to calm

her racing heart, and she still couldn’t move.

A male voice spoke from behind her, and she whipped around to see Detective Greene bearing down on her with an intent expression.

She turned on shaky legs, and for once she welcomed his appearance. She could delay confronting her nightmare for a while.

“Lacey pointed me in this direction.” His gaze raked her from head to foot before focusing on her face. “I wanted to pick

up the blasting materials the two of you found.”

“I think Blake has those.”

“And he’s out on a safari tour, so I hoped you could help me. I’d hate to make a wasted trip.”

“I think he put them in the barn. This way.” She led the way back toward the main entrance to the row of buildings where supplies

were stored.

Her back prickled between her shoulder blades, and she had no doubt Greene was watching the sway of her hips as she walked.

If she could have had him go first, she would have. She unlocked the barn door and left it open. “There’s a locked cabinet

here on the right.”

Going inside the dim barn with a lech like Greene didn’t seem like a good idea, but Paradise had no choice. All she had to

do was hand over the evidence, and he’d be out of her way. Dust motes of hay danced in the dim sunlight streaming through

the door, and she held back a sneeze.

The cabinet where Blake had left the evidence stood open, and she peered inside. “It was on this shelf.” She touched the now-empty spot on the second shelf. “Someone’s taken it.”

“Or Blake has hidden it. I doubt he’d want me to have a chance to examine it.”

“Deputy Greene, Blake is not behind the crimes that have happened. Your blind determination to pin this on him is going to

backfire on you.”

He stepped into her personal space. “That sounds like a threat.” The fingers of his right hand twined around a lock of her

hair. “You’re really quite beautiful. I might see my way to going in another direction if you’d let me take you to dinner.

I’m sure I could show you a good time.”

She knocked his hand out of the way and took a step back. “You’re disgusting. What would the sergeant think if he knew you

were behaving this way?”

She’d thought her implied threat would have an effect since he’d seemed worried about her tattling to her cousin a few days

ago, but Greene scowled and reached for her hair again.

“It wouldn’t be good for your long-term health for you to complain about me. I’ve got connections over McShea’s head.”

She turned to run from the barn, but he caught her by her left upper arm, and the too-painful spot flared into raging pain.

A moan tried to escape and she bit it back. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt her.

She whipped around and knocked one leg out from under him. He let go of her arm on his way down, and she took the opportunity

to rush into the sunshine.

She slammed the door behind her to slow him down and ran for the safari bus in the distance. As she reached it, the first bit of sanity returned to her head. She couldn’t let Blake intervene in this—Greene would increase his attacks. And if the two men got into a fight, Blake could be arrested for attacking an officer. The felony accusation would be difficult to overcome.

She stopped and controlled the panic raging in her chest. As long as she was away from Greene, things would be okay. He’d

never try anything with people around.

Blake slowed the safari vehicle and leaned out the window. “Need something?”

“A ride back to my facilities.”

“Hop aboard.”

She went up the steps to the seats. As she settled at the bench seat in the center, she spotted Greene running toward them.

She bit down on her lip hard enough to taste blood, but she couldn’t tell Blake to accelerate away. He’d know something was

wrong.

Greene reached the bus. “There you are, Lawson. I wanted to pick up the evidence you found.”

“I took it to the substation first thing this morning before I started work. McShea has it.”

Greene’s angry gaze wandered to Paradise, and his promise of retribution pierced her. She’d have to do everything in her power

not to be alone with him.

***

Blake dropped Paradise and the other riders off, then put away his vehicle before he went to make cleaning rounds. His first

stop was the hyena enclosure.

The cackle of hyenas was three hundred yards out from the fence in their enclosure, and their pungent scent carried to Blake on the wind. A secondary fence and gate stood between them and the area he needed to access. He pulled out his black key and inserted it into the outer lock. A quick click and he was inside the perimeter space where he could toss food to the animals.

Cleaning up after the animals was a task he routinely performed, and he set to work with a pitchfork and wheelbarrow. Once

the work was done and he’d given the animals their nutritional supplements, he intended to check out the area now that it

was daylight. Someone had gained access through here, and he had to shut down that possibility.

The leader moseyed to the fence and watched him work. Clara hated his red hat, so he had left it in the shed when he grabbed

the shovel and wheelbarrow. Hyenas were the one predator none of the keepers liked interacting with. It wasn’t their scrappy

fur and hunched backs that put most of them off. A keeper might think he had a bond with one of them only to find the animal

stalking him as food. While he gave them scratches and rubs through the fence, he never went inside the enclosure with them.

And anytime his fingers were through the holes in the fence, he watched their faces and snatched his hand back when their

eyes indicated their disposition might change.

He ignored Clara and the rest of the cackle. They were probably ready for their supplements since it meant more meat, but

that detail would come once Blake cleaned the enclosure and let them back in.

His thoughts lingered on Paradise and the spectacular way she’d kissed him back last night. Did she regret it now? He hoped

not, because her response had stirred to life deeper feelings he thought had died long ago. The morning’s sunrise brought

the hope he’d see the expression in her eyes he used to watch for when they were dating. Her tender and loving gaze used to

make him feel like he was Superman. Would he ever see that again?

He flipped the last of the excrement into the wheelbarrow before turning and facing three hyenas lined up in single file.

In stalking mode.

On his side of the fence .

He froze, and his pulse accelerated so quickly he felt dizzy. How did they get past the lock on the fence?

He kept his gaze on Clara’s laughing, drooling grin as he expelled the air from his lungs. She edged closer, and he straightened

into a commanding stance. “Clara, are you ready for your supplements?”

The alpha female’s eyes flickered with interest. Hyenas were crazy smart, like monkeys. They appeared doglike but were a member

of the mongoose family, which meant they were more closely related to a cat. If he could reach the cooler with the meat and

supplements, he might make it out of here alive. Hyenas could completely consume a zebra in thirty minutes.

Keeping his posture rigid and in charge, he backed toward the wagon where he’d left the rest of his equipment. Clara matched

him step-by-step. As long as she didn’t decide he would make the better snack, this might work. Another three feet and he’d

have his hands on that cooler.

A noise caught Clara’s attention, and she turned her nose to Blake’s right. He spotted Lacey in the Gator. She was making

a big racket as though she wanted to attract them. The Gator made an abrupt stop near the perimeter fence, and she got out

with a bucket of meat.

“Hey there, cutie.” Lacey’s manner was easy and confident as she stepped to the fence and began to toss pieces of meat over

the barrier.

Clara grabbed the first piece of meat while her pack waited their turn. None of them would eat until Clara was satiated, and that could take a while since this wasn’t a regularly scheduled feeding.

Blake moved noiselessly to the gate, unlocked it, and began to slide through. In the same moment he felt the brush of teeth

along the back of his slacks. He leaped the final few inches and slammed the gate shut behind him. The lock clicked into place,

and he sagged with relief.

The hyena on the other side of the fence, Clara’s sister Maisie, turned laughing jowls his way as if to say, I almost had you.

And it wasn’t a lie. A few seconds and he would have had a nasty bite. Shaken, he exhaled and walked to join Lacey, who stepped

away from the fence. “You got here at the right time.”

A frown crouched between her brown eyes. “I saw you were in trouble. They get you at all?” She stopped to wipe her bloody

hands on the grass.

He shook his head. “How’d you know I needed help?”

She turned and gestured toward the nearby shed. “I was grabbing some straw and saw them circling you like in The Lion King . Did you go in there with them?”

“No. They were in the outer enclosure, and I went in to clean. They got through the gate somehow.”

“They’re smart. Did Clara manage to open it?”

“I don’t see how. It’s got a black-key lock. It’s not like she could perform her usual trick of opening an S lock.”

She reached into the Gator and pulled out a set of binoculars she fitted to her eyes. “The lock is off, Blake. Have a look.”

He took the binoculars she offered and focused them. The lock hung open, but he knew it appeared locked before he entered through the outer gate. Something had happened here last night, and it seemed someone didn’t want him to discover what. That person had risked their own life by tampering with the lock so the gate appeared secure yet allowed the clever hyena to get into the perimeter enclosure.

Blake lowered the binoculars and turned around, nearly coming nose to nose with Lacey. “Oops, sorry.” He stepped back, but

she moved with him, staying close enough for the heady fragrance of her flowery perfume to follow.

Her lush lips were parted invitingly, and she ran a pale pink nail across his chest. “If you’d really like to thank me, a

kiss would do.”

The blatant invitation in her voice and body language was impossible to misconstrue. “Uh, how about a heartfelt thank-you?”

“You can do better than that.”

Without warning, her slim arms snaked around his neck, and she reached up to plant her lips against his. Her soft body pressed

against him, and he opened his eyes wide with alarm. He reached up and took her arms to try to pull them away from his neck,

but she tightened her grip.

“Don’t fight it,” she murmured against his mouth. “I’ve seen the way you watch me.”

He managed to gently wrench her arms away and blocked her with his arm when she made a move to engage in another clutch session.

“I’m sorry, Lacey. I, uh, I don’t want to hurt you, but I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I’m not looking for

a romantic relationship.”

Over her shoulder he spied Paradise, mouth gaping and eyes wide as she took in the scene. She’d clearly misread the situation.

And why wouldn’t she? From her perspective she’d just broken up a romantic liaison.

She whirled and, hand to her mouth, raced down the dirt road toward the fennec fox enclosure. Lacey grabbed at his forearm

as he leaped past her to follow Paradise, but her fingers slid off.

“Paradise, wait!” he called.

She gave no indication she heard him, or if she did, she only picked up her pace to escape. She’d been as skittish as a new

fawn when she got here, and he feared every inch he’d gained was about to be lost forever.