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B randon, Jayson, Lex and Corey made excellent time getting to the cabin—far better than Lottie thought possible—interrupting her and Chaz before things got too steamy. But they weren’t stupid and must’ve sensed he’d just had his tongue down her throat.

As they marched into the cabin toting duffel bags of only God-knew-what, Lex abruptly stopped short and smirked, looking from Lottie to Chaz.

“Anything you guys want to tell us?” Lex asked, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“No,” Chaz grumbled.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought you said she’s too young for y—”

“Shut it, Battle.” Chaz’s grumble turned into a full-on growl and her protective bear moved closer, shielding her from the knowing looks and grins. Well, except for Brand who let out a long sigh.

“If I lose my best employee because you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself—”

“Brandon, what happens between me and Chaz is none of your concern,” Lottie began in her no-nonsense mom voice. “I’m a grown woman capable of making her own decisions.”

“I know, but—”

“No buts,” she interrupted, curls bouncing, hands on her hips. It was time to let these alpha males know she was quite capable of handling her personal life. “And that goes for all of you. I appreciate your help, but who I choose to sleep with is my business.”

For a moment, no one said anything. Then Corey dropped his bag.

“Wow, what I miss?” he asked, ice-blue eyes widening.

“You need to leave your cabin more often,” Lottie stated, but her voice was gentle. She’d overheard the other guys mention Corey dealt with PTSD, and it broke her heart when he hid away, preferring to struggle through it by himself. “It’s good to see you.”

Opening her arms, she gave Corey a hug.

“It’s good to see all of you,” she said and proceeded to hug Brand, Jayson and Lex.

“No offense, Lottie,” Lex said over her head as they hugged, “but what do you see in that old man?”

She punched his arm and returned to Chaz’s side. He wrapped a protective arm around her waist, pulling her against his solid body.

“Aren’t you depriving a village of its idiot?” Chaz asked, and the others burst out laughing.

“Okay, let’s get down to business,” Brand said before Lex could fire off a comeback. “I want to see this map.”

“Yeah, you really think it leads to a treasure?” Jayson asked.

“I don’t know, but the guys who tried to break into the cabin mentioned gems,” Chaz said as Lottie went over to her purse and removed the piece of paper filled with cryptic markings. “And we ran into them again on our way back from the city. They tried to run us off the road.”

A couple of the men cursed under their breath and they all moved into the small kitchen where Lottie laid the map on the table.

“I’d say it’s a good guess whoever trashed her apartment was after the map,” Brand stated.

“How did they know I had it?” Lottie mused. “Unless…”

The horror of what she was thinking made her stop talking.

Brand finished for her. “Unless your ex revealed he’d sent it to you before getting tossed off his balcony.”

A shiver ran through her. Whoever wanted the map was willing to kill to get it. The urge to call and check on Reya filled her.

“Reya is in good hands,” Chaz assured her, as though reading her mind.

“Yeah, the munchkin is doing great,” Lex said. “Safe and sound.”

Lottie nodded. “I know. I’m just worried.”

“And that’s completely understandable,” Jayson added. He was the only other parent in the room, and Lottie gave him a small smile. Although his daughter was older, she knew he understood completely.

“The sooner we figure this out, the sooner it’ll be safe for you and Reya,” Brand said, leaning forward, studying the map. “The other possibility is your ex mentioned the cabin and they did a deed search and found your name and address.”

“Everything is on the fucking internet,” Chaz grumbled, pulling his readers out. He put them on and her stomach fluttered. God, he looked like a sexy professor, and she couldn’t stop the heat that began to flood her nether regions.

Of course, Lex didn’t miss a beat. “You need some Ovaltine to go with those specs, old man?”

“Nope.” Chaz lifted his middle finger, his attention never straying from the map.

“I think they’re sexy,” Lottie murmured.

“Thanks, Sunshine.”

They shared a smile then Lottie sighed. “What do you guys think? There isn’t a whole lot to go on.”

“No, there isn’t,” Brand said, slanting Lex a “keep your mouth shut” look as he unwrapped a Werthers and popped it into his mouth. “This thing looks brand new, too.”

For a moment, they all studied the map. It had a drawing of evergreen trees in the corner. At the top of the page was a series of lines. On the left side, more lines that looked broken and uneven. The “X”, which marked the location of something, sat off-center, and all around the edges was some type of scrollwork design.

“I feel like something is missing,” Jayson said.

Corey, standing beside him, nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, it almost seems like…” His voice trailed off and he tilted his dark head.

“What are you thinking, Cor?” Chaz asked.

“That the design around the edges is odd…incomplete.” He pointed to several places where it simply broke or changed. “See? This part looks like it should connect to that part over there.”

“What if we fold it?” Lottie suggested. The men nodded and she manipulated the map so the decorative borders lined up. The moment she did, a new image emerged and she gasped. “Look!”

After folding the map just right, the broken lines came together and seemed to magically form a series of numbers.

“Those are coordinates,” Chaz said.

“Any idea what latitude and longitude we’re at?” Lex asked. “Because I’m willing to bet that’s it. Or, pretty damn close.”

Jayson checked his phone while the others talked excitedly.

“Check this out,” Jayson said. He turned his screen around to show the latitude and longitude for their location: 43° 2′ 49″ N, 76° 8′ 40″ W.

“They nearly match!” Lottie exclaimed.

“Which means we’re practically sitting on top of the treasure,” Chaz finished. “It’s very close by.”

“Who’s got a metal detector?” Lex asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Not wanting to waste time on a device they weren’t sure they’d need, they’d forgone picking one up on the way. Packing their gear into one of the rental SUVs, they drove into town and found a hardware store which supplied metal detectors. Instead of renting and leaving a paper trail, they bought several with cash.

“Going on a treasure hunt?” the man at the counter asked, and no one responded. “If you’re looking for the Dutch Schultz treasure, you’re a little late. Some kid named Kyle Ryder found it a few years ago.”

“We’re just messing around,” Brand said. “Don’t really plan on finding anything.”

“Well, sometimes when you aren’t actually looking, something amazing finds you.”

Lottie and Chaz exchanged a furtive look. No, she hadn’t been looking for a relationship, but the big man had found a way into her heart. Was it the way he always protected her or how kind he was to Reya? Or was it how he made her feel like a woman desired again? Whatever it was, she knew she wasn’t letting him go any time soon.

After having her heart broken, it was scary to put it on the line again. But despite his protests to the contrary, the self-proclaimed bachelor was making her believe he didn’t plan on going anywhere, instilling a confidence inside of her that had been missing for a very long time.

It made her heart sing.

Once they were back in the SUV and heading toward the exact coordinates, Lottie pressed into Chaz’s side and wondered what he was thinking. As soon as they were alone, she was going to ask him what he wanted. And she hoped to God it matched up with what she wanted.

Truthfully, she wanted it all—with him. Maybe that meant compromising or perhaps it meant he might eventually be open to marriage again one day. The most important things were that he loved her and Reya. Everything else, they could take one day at a time.

Jayson stopped the car when they hit a wide creek. “Looks like we walk from here.”

They all got out, gathered their gear into backpacks or smaller duffel bags, and turned to face the water. Once they crossed the creek, Lex and Corey would use the metal detectors while the others would act as guards in case they had any unexpected visitors.

“It doesn’t look very deep,” Corey said, moving to the edge. “A couple feet maybe?”

Chaz turned to Lottie. “Hop on, Sunshine, and I’ll give you a ride across.”

“Bet he already gave you a ride,” Lex commented under his breath with a smirk.

Lottie hopped onto Chaz’s back, wrapping her arms and legs around him. “That is none of your business, Alexander Battle.”

“Yes, Mom.” He gave her a salute.

“Smartass,” she scolded. “Remind me to water your drink down and charge you extra.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Brand said, and the others laughed.

Holding on tightly as they crossed the creek, Lottie peered around Chaz’s wide shoulder as he carefully traversed the rocks and half-submerged sticks. Halfway across, she leaned in and nibbled his earlobe.

“Lottie,” he growled in warning.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” She flicked her tongue against his neck. “As exciting as this treasure hunt is, I can’t wait to get you alone.”

“Is that so?”

“Mmhmm.” She buried her nose in his warm T-shirt, feeling the way his muscles flexed with every step, and breathed in his clean scent. So yummy. Woody with a hint of musk. “God, you smell good,” she whispered and began kissing the back of his neck. He hissed in a breath, his hands tightening around her thighs.

“Are you trying to kill me?” he asked in a strangled voice, and she chuckled, feeling extremely mischievous.

The men all had a GPS on the military watches they still wore, which she’d once teased were as big as dinner plates. Once they stepped back onto solid ground, the guys wandered ahead and Chaz split off.

“What’re you doing?” Lottie asked. He spun her around, pressing her back to a tree, and kissed her hard. Melting into his embrace, sliding her fingers into his short hair, she moaned softly as the kiss deepened.

“This is what’s called a stolen moment,” he murmured, licking down her throat and sucking softly where her neck and shoulder curved.

“You’re going to give me a hickey.”

“Good.”

Dropping her head back, giving him better access, she let out a soft sigh. Then her eyes went wide and everything inside of her tensed.

“What’s wrong?” Chaz asked, pulling back. He turned his head, probably looking for a snake or some kind of wild critter, but there wasn’t any kind of dangerous animal in sight.

It was an X carved into the bark.