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Maci lasted three days cooped up in Chance’s house.

And while she loved the closeness the two of them had shared, she was ready to get back to work.

“Be reasonable,” Chance said, snatching the sweater out of her hand and throwing it back onto the bed. “You just got out of the hospital.”

She picked up another sweater and pulled it on, only to realize it was Chance’s. She debated taking it off, but it was too comfortable. Dressed, she faced him again. “Three days ago. I’m fine, Chance. I’m not an invalid.”

“You need more rest. So does the baby.” He crossed his arms over his way-too-sexy chest.

But if he thought bringing up the baby—or crossing his arms over his chest like some supermodel—would help his case, he was wrong.

“The baby needs a mother who isn’t bored out of her skull, especially since I’m not planning on being homebound for the entirety of my pregnancy. Besides, I have things to do at the office.”

“One more day. Relax here for just one more day.”

Maci had done nothing but relax for days. She was done. She looked him over with narrowed eyes. His casual work clothes weren’t the suits he wore when bodyguarding, so she knew he was likely doing desk work. “Are you doing anything dangerous in the field today?”

He frowned. “No.”

“You guys scoping out another hostage situation?”

“No.” His jaw clenched and she smiled. He already knew he was on the losing side of this argument.

“So, why can’t I go into the office?”

Petulant silence. It was almost enough to make Maci laugh.

“That’s what I thought. I heard you talking to your brothers about going over the party footage today. That’s desk work. I can help with that.”

“Maci...”

“I’m not made to sit around and eat bonbons. I need something to occupy my time or I’m going to go nuts and start redecorating this house to look like a ninety-year-old cat lady threw up everywhere. I’m talking doilies and lace on every possible surface. Pink walls. The works.”

He stared at her and Maci could tell he wanted to argue, so she went for broke.

“Please, Chance. I don’t want to fight. I just need to get out of the house. Plus, I was there at those parties. My insight might be useful.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Fine, but only for a few hours, and if I see even a single wince, you’re leaving and you’ll stay home tomorrow.”

Maci didn’t bother to hide her giddy smile. She hopped across the room and popped a kiss to his cheek. “Deal!”

S TEPPING INTO THE office after so long away was like coming home for Maci. She’d missed the soft gray walls and warm wood. Even the sticky note reminders everywhere put her at ease.

Seeing the mess the brothers had left in the kitchen was far less enjoyable.

“Did we get rid of the dishwasher while I was gone?” She raised an eyebrow at Luke, who was in the process of leaving his dirty cup in the almost-full sink. He froze, eyes wide when he saw her hovering in the doorway.

“I forgot?”

“I’ll just bet you did,” Maci grumbled. Luke wisely loaded the dishwasher before turning back to her.

“Didn’t know you were coming in today, Maci.”

“That’s because she should still be home resting,” Chance said from directly behind her. He’d barely given her an inch to breathe since they walked in the door.

Maci waved his words away. “Ignore him. He’s annoyed because he lost the argument.”

“I didn’t lose the argument. I chose to stop fighting because you asked me to.”

That took the wind out of her sails. He was trying. Chance was overprotective of everyone on his best of days. Her pregnancy certainly hadn’t quelled that behavior in any way.

He didn’t like her being here, but he was trying .

She made herself some tea and found her way to her desk. It wasn’t until she pulled out her chair to sit that he spoke again. “What are you doing?”

“I have hundreds of emails and dozens of invoices to get through. Thought I would get started doing the job you guys pay me for.” Maci turned on her laptop and waited for it to boot up.

When she glanced up, Chance was back to scowling. It wasn’t fair that he was so handsome when he brooded. “We’re all working in the conference room.”

“It’s easier for me to work out here.”

“I want you in there.”

She wasn’t about to delude herself that it was because he wanted to be near her. Nurse Chance just wanted to micromanage her choices.

“I’ve only got a few hours in the office, at your request, so I’ll work here where I can actually get things done.”

She moved to log in and Chance pulled her chair back, spinning it so she faced him. “It’s not a request, Maci. You wanted to come back to work and I’m respecting that—”

“I hardly consider badgering me at every opportunity respecting anything.”

“—but I’m going to keep an eye on you while you’re here. I know you won’t tell me if you’re hurting, so consider me your shadow until it’s time to go.”

Now it was Maci’s turn to glare. “You going to follow me to the bathroom too?”

“If I have to.” He didn’t look a bit like he was bluffing.

Maci debated arguing more. That’s what they did, argue. Chance didn’t have any right to tell her what to do with her time or her body, she knew that. But she could see the furrow in his brow and the tenseness in his shoulders.

He was worried about her.

The attack had scared him, and now that he knew about their baby, he was doubly afraid. What was the harm in letting him coddle her a bit longer? Especially since she had every intention of moving back into her own place soon.

“Fine. I’ll stay in eyesight, but so help me, if you really follow me into the bathroom, I’ll be using those defense moves you taught me to take you down.”

He kissed the top of her head, then moved her things into the conference room, greeting the others. She pretended not to notice as he brought in extra water and snacks for the table as well, knowing they were actually for her.

And definitely didn’t let her heart get all gooey at it.

While the brothers talked about the case, Maci put in her headphones, falling into her spreadsheets and files with easy bliss. She’d missed her desk job. Missed answering emails and doing paperwork. It suited her much more than her single attempt at undercover work did, that was for sure.

She dug through the backlogged emails, sending invoices to clients and vendors, and getting caught up on everything the guys had let slide the last few days. By the time the scent of takeout filled her nose, she was feeling pretty tired and hungry, but the sense of accomplishment she’d been missing filled her with joy.

Chance rapped his knuckles softly on the table at her side. She pulled out her headphones, and he nodded to the white foam boxes everywhere. “Time to eat. You’ve been in the zone for hours.”

“Perfect timing. I’m almost done.” With a few more keystrokes, she finished her last email and sent it off. Shutting her laptop, she moved everything to the side and grabbed the container Chance set in front of her. Chow mein with extra sauce and egg rolls. Perfect.

“This is so good.” Chance smiled at her as he and the others pulled their usual orders out of the bag. It didn’t escape Maci’s notice that he’d gotten her food out first.

The guys were mostly quiet as they ate. “Anything with Stella’s case?” she asked.

Chance stabbed a piece of meat with his fork. “We’ve been going through party footage from the last two months trying to find any repeats or patterns that we didn’t notice before.”

Luke ate a big bite of ramen. “So far, we’ve got nothing. No leads, no patterns, no suspicious faces. And the boys we chased were a dead end—they didn’t know anything. Nothing on Stella’s apartment security feed either.”

She pushed her food away from her, not feeling as hungry. “I guess I was pretty useless too.”

Chance pushed the food back toward her. “No. You survived and are healthy and whole. That is definitely not useless.”

“Would you mind if we ask you a few questions about the voice you heard?” Weston asked.

Chance turned and glared at him. Obviously, Chance had told them not to ask her about it.

Enough was enough. “Yes, please do. I want to help if I can.”

“You don’t have to,” Chance muttered.

She rolled her eyes. “What harm exactly do you think is going to come to me by trying to remember how the stalker sounded?”

“I don’t want it to upset you.”

She folder her arms over her chest. “You know what upsets me? Possibly being able to help stop a stalker but someone deciding for me that it’s too much, rather than allowing me to make my own decisions.”

There were snickers around the table but she kept her eyes on Chance.

He gave in with ill grace. “Fine.”

Now she turned to Weston. “What do you want to know?”

“Did you recognize the voice at all? Or maybe there was some sort of accent or noticeable trait?”

“It was a weird, spooky whisper. Like he was trying to be menacing.” As if him breaking into the apartment hadn’t been menacing enough.

“Do you think it could’ve been anyone you talked to at one of the events?” Brax asked.

She shook her head. “Not that comes to mind.”

“What about Rich?” Chance asked.

“Rich?” Maci turned to Chance. “Do you think it was him?”

“We aren’t sure. We’re trying to eliminate all possibilities.”

Maci thought back to the attack, to the voice echoing in her ears. “I don’t think so. Rich’s voice is warm all the time. The man who spoke was cold. Empty.”

Lifeless . The man who grabbed her had sounded lifeless.

“But then again, it was a sick whisper,” she continued. “I’ve only ever heard Rich’s regular voice. But still, I don’t think it was him.”

The brothers glanced at each other. Chance frowned again. “Alright, so not Rich. Could you pick the voice out if you heard it again?”

“Yes.” Maci knew that for certain. “It’s not something I’ll ever forget.”

“I know you didn’t get a look at his face, but what about smells or strange sounds?” Brax asked. “Anything you can remember will be helpful.”

She tried to think back, but other than the voice, everything else was a blur. “I’m sorry.”

“Would you mind if we try something, since he was behind you?” Weston asked.

“Sure.”

“Stand up for a second.” Weston offered her his hand to help get her to her feet. “Okay, so think of the voice, when the guy was behind you.”

She nodded.

Weston looked over at Chance. “You go stand behind her.”

Even knowing it was Chance, that she was completely safe, she was already tensing.

“Where did you hear the voice when he was behind you?” Chance asked. “Think about it. Was it high above your head, like where I am now? Or maybe a little lower.”

She closed her eyes and forced herself to really think about it. “Lower. Closer to my ear.”

She opened her eyes, not wanting to relive that any longer.

“So could be someone around five foot ten,” Weston said. “Someone as tall as Chance would’ve been higher.”

That made sense.

“But the guy also could’ve been leaning in toward her,” Brax pointed out.

Maci sat back down in her chair but didn’t reach for her food. She’d definitely lost her appetite.

“I’m sorry I’m not more help.”

“It’s fine. You’re doing your best.” Chance rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. “Why don’t you help us look through some footage for a bit? Your half day is almost up anyway.”

He was giving her an out and she was beyond grateful for it. “I’m going to come back tomorrow. Do you even know how many emails came in while I was gone?”

“We’re supposed to check emails?” Luke joked, wincing.

They got out the footage and she pulled the screen closer. Maybe she’d be more useful this way. But as minute after minute scrolled by, she didn’t hear or see anything that reminded her of the man in the apartment.

It was mind-numbing to sit there and watch it all. She had no idea how the guys did it.

She was only an hour or two in before her back was a tangle of knots and everything hurt. She leaned back in her chair and grimaced at the sharp ache in her muscles. Of course, her nursemaid saw and immediately swooped in.

“Alright, you’re done,” Chance said, ushering her out of the building and into his SUV, barely giving her time to grab her things and say goodbye.

She didn’t even argue. She was exhausted.

And even worse, she hadn’t been useful at all.