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Dominic accessed the closed-circuit television feed from his front gate, almost dropping the phone when Presley whipped to the side of the road. “A little warning would be nice.”

“Sorry. Let me see.”

He held the monitor so she could view the video with him, only there was nothing there. He manipulated the camera to rotate from left to right.

“Does it tell you where the breach is happening?”

“Yeah. There are fence sensors.” He switched to a different screen and located the one that had alerted. “It was the south side. There aren’t any cameras back there.”

His phone rang, and he checked the caller ID. “It’s the monitoring service.” He answered and told them he wasn’t home. They contacted the police department to investigate.

“What happens when the sensors alert?” asked Presley.

“They’re up high, so it means someone was trying to climb the fence, not simply an animal brushing against it. Bright lights snap on.”

“Most likely scaring the perp away.”

“Probably. The house is wired, too, so if he managed to climb the fence, there’s another layer of protection.”

“That’s some pretty advanced security for Serenity Shores,” Presley noted.

“My dad was a judge. He had his fair share of enemies. I upgraded when I moved in.”

“How are your parents?”

“My mom passed from cancer six years ago. Dad died the next year in a skiing accident.”

Presley placed a hand on his arm and squeezed. “I’m sorry. That’s rough to lose them close together. They were always so nice to me.”

That made him smile. His parents had been the greatest. “They were incredible people. I miss them every day.” He wished Gia had been old enough to remember them. He’d made sure to tell her stories and show her pictures.

“Has anyone tried to break into your place before?”

“Once. Dad had sentenced a teenager to six months in jail for repeated offenses, including theft and drug possession. When he got out, he tried to climb the front gate, but the cameras captured his image. When the cops found him, he had a gun on him. He admitted he wanted to shoot my dad. Another judge sent him away for seven years.”

“Did he finally learn his lesson?”

“He got into a fight his second year in and was killed.”

“It’s a shame he couldn’t be rehabilitated. He was young.”

“Yeah.”

Presley shifted into drive and pulled back on the road. As they were motoring up Kurtis Ponds’s driveway, his phone buzzed. It was the monitoring company. “Hello?”

“Mr. Bianchi, it’s Clay from SecureStar. The police checked out the alarm. There was no one around. We’ve reviewed the security footage leading up to the alert and picked up an image of a person. It’s impossible to distinguish features or details. I’ll email it to you anyway.”

Dom thanked them and opened his message. He played the video, but Clay was right. He couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. They had been wearing all black with a hoodie and sunglasses. He showed it to Presley after she backed into the garage and turned off the engine.

“Forward it to me. I’ll see if my office can clean it up.”

He did so, and she tapped out a text before sending it on.

Dom’s gut tightened as they entered the house, thinking about how they’d spent the afternoon and evening. He should be exhausted. He wasn’t a spring chicken any longer. Instead, he felt rejuvenated and alive. Dominic winced. Poor choice of words when Charmaine had died tonight.

That sobered him. Presley needed to mourn the loss of her old friend.

Presley ensured the alarms were set, and they climbed the steps together. He was prepared to part ways at her door, but she grabbed his hand and tugged him into her room.

#

Presley woke, acutely aware that she was naked and not alone. She wasn’t used to it and panic shot through her until she realized it was Dominic’s muscular arms wrapped around her. She relaxed into his hold.

He hummed and gripped her tighter. She wanted to stay like this all day, but something had awoken her. Her watch beeped again, and she shot up, dislodging Dominic’s arms and the blanket simultaneously.

“Presley? What’s wrong?”

“My coworker is here. Get up.” She smacked at him. “I don’t want him to find us like this.”

“You want to save water and shower together?”

“Dominic! Stop. Go.”

“Which is it? Stop or go?”

That wicked, dimpled smile, along with the mouthwatering view of him in all his very impressive naked glory, almost did her in. She could stare at him all day. Those muscles begged to be touched.

Presley shook her head and shoved him. “Both.” Leaping out of bed, she darted into the bathroom and showered in record time. After drying off, she brushed her teeth and tried to run a comb through her hair, wincing at the knots. Sticking her head out the door, she was relieved to see Dominic had listened to her and returned to his room.

Her supply of clothes was dwindling fast. She’d either have to do laundry soon or hit up a mall. Shopping was one of her favorite things, but she preferred doing so online instead of in person.

Presley slid on a pair of running shoes and jogged down the steps, where she found tousled black hair face down on the sofa, arms and legs akimbo.

“Kayne?”

His head shot up and seafoam-green eyes blinked at her. “Huh?”

Presley crossed her arms. “I see you made it.”

He pushed up into a sitting position and finger-combed his silky locks. “I drove all night to get here. Sacré , that was a long haul.”

“Thank you for coming.”

He glanced over her shoulder and then flashed that devilish grin that made women young and old fall under his spell. “Anything for you, cher .”

Presley knew without looking that Dominic was behind her. She’d felt the air around her shift as he silently descended the steps.

“Cher? As in Sonny and?”

Presley chuckled. “No, sometimes Kayne’s Cajun roots show, especially when he’s tired. Dominic, this is Kayne Serruto, former Navy SEAL and current CObrA Securities coworker. Kayne, this is Dominic Bianchi. He’s the fire captain of Serenity Shores.”

Dominic walked over to shake his hand. “Thank you for your service.”

Kayne nodded his regards. “Same to you.”

“There’s a suite upstairs if you want to take a quick nap,” she told him.

“Nah, I’m good. Give me the scoop.”

“I’ll make breakfast while you fill him in,” Dominic offered.

While Dominic retreated to the kitchen, Presley told Kayne everything, starting with her cousin, Gwen.

“How did she die?” Kayne wanted to know.

“It was the week after she graduated from high school. Her group of girlfriends, the Cheerios as they were called, crashed a party several guys were having at a cabin. The boys were drinking by the lake, and the girls went to join them. Gwen turned back to the cabin to use the bathroom. She tripped over a rug and slammed her head into the stone hearth. Jerrod Moran, the boy whose family owned the cabin, had started a fire to warm it up, but he didn’t cover it adequately. Sparks caught a stack of newspapers used as kindling for the fire. The cabin went up in flames with Gwen inside.”

“Aw, Presley, that’s awful.”

“It was, made even worse when Jerrod killed himself the next day.”

“What an all-around tragedy.”

One Presley wished she didn’t have to recall. It was still painful all these years later. Then came another dark time in her life. She told Kayne about Ed Smith’s attack when she’d been a detective.

“I knew something had happened to you, but I wasn’t going to pry,” he said as he pushed to his feet and cracked his knuckles. “Now, give me his address so I can beat the shit out of him.”

Between Dominic and Kayne, she felt loved. Presley pushed him to sit back down. “Luke took care of him. Now, listen to what’s been happening here.” When she finished, she asked his opinion.

“Full disclosure, I wouldn’t have thought Margy’s death had anything to do with Gwen’s, simply because it’d been too many years between incidents and the cause of the fire was plausible. However, when the second blaze happened, oh yeah, that’s a huge red flag. The third one confirms it. Your instincts are spot on, Presley.”

She couldn’t bask in the glow of his compliment because her phone buzzed. She pulled it out to see Reggie Branch’s name and answered. “Hey, Reggie.”

“Presley, I have something to show you. Are you at Dominic’s house?”

“No. It was compromised.” She wasn’t about to tell him where they were staying. Not that she didn’t trust Reggie, but she didn’t trust Reggie. Only her coworkers earned her confidence. It didn’t matter that she’d known him for years. “We can come to the station.”

“Get here as soon as you can. I’ll be waiting.”

#

Dominic scrambled eggs and fried bacon as he listened to Presley explain what had been happening to her coworker, Kayne Serruto. The man was too handsome for his own good and he knew it. When you added that he’d been a Navy SEAL, the baddest, most elite group of soldiers in the world, and he had that Louisiana accent, Dom did not doubt that he had a legion of women falling at his feet. Thankfully, it didn’t appear that Presley was one of them.

Planning ahead for dinner, he whipped up his famous meatballs and sauce and set them to simmer all day in the Crock Pot. He had breakfast on the table when Presley’s phone rang. She disconnected and said, “Reggie needs to see us.”

“We’ve got time to eat,” Kayne insisted, sliding into a seat and digging in. “Um, this is delicious.”

Presley followed suit, and Dom sat across from her. They devoured the food. When they finished, they headed to the garage. “I’ll drive,” Kayne offered.

“Did you bring the supplies?” Presley asked him.

“Sure did.” Kayne opened the back hatch.

Presley dug around inside and produced a vest, handing it to Dom. “I’m going to need you to wear this.”

He took it from her hands. “Is this bulletproof?”

“It is.”

She lifted her shirt to show him the one she was wearing. It was so sleek, he couldn’t tell she had one on. He yanked his T-shirt over his head, reveling in Presley’s avid interest. Taking his sweet time, he fastened the Kevlar around his chest.

She made sure the binds were tight, her gaze seeking his. If they didn’t have a rapt audience, he’d capture her lips in a bone-melting kiss.

Kayne cleared his throat, and Presley jumped as if shocked. She patted Dom’s stomach and stepped back. “Ready?”

For you? Always . Instead of voicing his thoughts, he nodded in agreement.

Presley claimed shotgun while Dom climbed into the backseat. He wasn’t used to the view since he always rode in the front of the fire trucks. Presley guided Kayne to the police station, and he found a spot to park.

Denea Sipes greeted them when they entered the building. “Hey, Dominic. Presley. Good to see you again. And who are you?” Her eyes ate Kayne up.

“Kayne Serruto.” He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, cher .”

“Oh, my,” Denea twittered, fanning her face. “Aren’t you the handsome devil.”

“We’re here to see Detective Reggie Branch,” Presley interjected, shoving Kayne out of the way with a hip bump, much to his chuckling delight. “Can you let him know we’re here?”

“What? Oh, sure.”

Before she could page him, Reggie appeared. “Hey, guys, follow me.”

He led them to a conference room and closed the door. Presley introduced her coworker, and they shook hands.

Reggie smoothed his tie and sat in a chair. “I noticed something at the church last night. A substance on the ground.”

He took out a photo and slid it across the table. Presley gasped. “It’s Cheerios.”

“Correct. I reviewed the photos from Margy and Nancy’s fires and found these.”

He pushed two more pictures showing blown-up shots of the same cereal.

Presley surged to her feet. “This proves it. I was right all along.”