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T hey didn’t make it to a bed the next time. Or the time after that. Once they’d climbed from the hot spring, Stone hadn’t been able to keep his hands—or other parts of his body—to himself. Snacking on the picnic he’d packed clad in nothing but towels proved too much of a temptation. And after distracting Sherman with a peanut butter-filled toy, he managed to convince Juliana that a second round, surrounded by sunshine and wildflowers, was well worth her while. He’d thought to take it easy on her after that, but then, when they returned home, she stepped into the shower and held the door open for him. An invitation he’d never turn down.

Now, at barely nine o’clock, she lay curled next to him, drifting in and out of sleep, as he watched a documentary about the ancient Maya empire. An interesting show, but mostly he was killing time for another hour or so before he’d be able to sleep. There were other ways he could think of to spend that hour, but he’d exhausted Juliana and in truth, he liked the soft warmth of her body draped over his as she slept beside him.

The host of the show was describing an ancient game the Maya played when his phone vibrated on the bedside table. Swiping it up, he connected the call without looking at the number on the screen, assuming the only people who’d call him at this time of night were his brothers.

“Yeah?” he answered.

Silence greeted him, followed by a woman’s voice. “Mr. McLean?”

No one called him Mr. McLean. “Who’s calling?”

She sighed. “This is Special Agent Callie Parks from the FBI; is this Mr. McLean?”

“Yes,” he said, pushing himself up to lean against the headboard. Juliana’s eyes opened, and she rolled onto her back to watch him.

“Anna Palmer gave me your name and suggested I speak with you and Dr. Juliana Morganstern.”

“About?” he asked, not willing to give anything away.

She sighed again. “Aaron Lowery, Dean Polinsky, and Brian Gregor. I’m with one of the white-collar crime units. Gregor—along with the other two—has come to our attention. Anna is a longtime friend of mine. As I said, she suggested I speak with you.”

He believed her, but he didn’t trust people he didn’t know. “Call me back in ten minutes,” he said, then hung up before she could object.

“Who was that?” Juliana asked, rising. The sheet fell to her waist, and he was grateful he could type without looking at the tiny keyboard—now he could both send a message to Leo asking him to verify Callie Parks’s identity and admire the view.

Juliana rolled her eyes at his overt distraction and pulled the sheet up.

“That was someone claiming to be from the FBI. Says she got our name from Anna. I texted Leo to ask if he can confirm her identity, and now I’m calling Anna.”

Eight minutes later, he had confirmation from Leo that Agent Parks was who she said, and confirmation from Anna that she’d given her friend their names and contact information. When the phone rang two minutes later—on the dot—he was ready.

“Are you satisfied I am who I say I am?” she asked without preamble.

“You can never be too careful,” he countered.

“I’m not judging. I applaud your caution,” she replied. “Are you willing to talk with me?”

He glanced at Juliana who, tucked against him, could hear the conversation. She nodded.

“We are,” he replied.

“I’ll meet you tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll come to you.”

He frowned. “My contact said you’re based out of DC.”

“Your contact is right. I just testified in a case being heard in the federal court in Sacramento. I’m in your backyard.”

“You’re going to drive down here?”

“It’s less than three hours, Mr. McLean, it’s hardly a trip to Antarctica.”

The way she said it made him wonder if she’d been to Antarctica. After a sum total of three minutes of conversation, she struck him as someone who’d go there for vacation. The type of person who ran ultramarathons for fun and thought hiking Mount Whitney relaxing.

“Fine,” he replied. “I’ll text you an address. What time?”

“Will ten work?”

Juliana nodded against his shoulder.

“Yes, ten will work,” he answered

“Great. I’ll see you both then,” she said, then hung up without a goodbye.

“Well, that was interesting,” he said, setting his phone back on the bedside table.

“I wonder why Anna didn’t tell us she was going to talk to her,” Juliana mused as she slid back down, resting her head on the pillow.

“Who knows,” he replied, sinking down far enough to gather her to his side. “Anna strikes me as a woman who likes to do her own thing. Maybe she figured this was an easy way to help us without having to pull herself away from her own story.”

Juliana didn’t answer, and he glanced down. Her eyes were already closed and although she wasn’t asleep, she was headed there.

“Mmm,” she said with a slow nod. Her soft skin brushed across his chest, and her hair fell onto his arm with the movement.

“Sleep,” he said, pressing his lips to the top of her head before resting his cheek there. A few minutes later, her breathing evened out as she drifted off to Lily White’s Party.

As the host moved on from talking about the games and entertainment of the Maya people to their religious rites and ceremonies, his mind drifted to Agent Parks. He was still wondering what she might be able to do about the triad when he, too, slipped into sleep.

Seated in the lodge room of the clubhouse, Stone sipped his coffee while Dottie gave Juliana and Sherman a tour of the kitchen and gardens. Every so often, he’d hear the echo of laughter, making him smile as well.

“Sorry I haven’t been around much,” Mantis said, joining him.

Stone lifted his shoulder. “Not a problem. With Philly, Viper, and Monk, we’ve more than gotten by.”

“How’s Juliana?”

Stone smiled. “She’s good. Worried about how to end all this, but good.” Mantis had been with him at the library the day he’d met Juliana for the first time. Stone didn’t believe in love at first sight, but it had certainly been something at first sight. And Mantis had watched it all unfold. Even if Stone wanted to downplay what was happening between him and Juliana, he couldn’t. Mantis had probably known that Stone was a goner for the sexy librarian before he had.

“And Charley?” Stone asked. Never in their wildest imaginations would any of the Falcons have thought one of them would be dating the granddaughter of a former president. But there was no denying that Mantis and Charley were good together. Really good.

“A little stressed, but great. She’s at the warehouse this morning getting everything ready for the long trip.”

“You going this time?”

Mantis shook his head, surprising Stone. Charley led both day and overnight hiking trips, and Mantis had joined her on more than a few of the overnighters since they’d started dating.

“It’s a five-night women’s-only trip. Tia and Cass are going, though,” he added. Tia was Charley’s cousin-in-law and a former CIA operative, while Cass was the head of security for Tia and her family—a family that consisted of her country music megastar husband, who also happened to be Charley’s cousin, and their twin girls. The security team wasn’t as active while the family was in Mystery Lake, which gave Cass time to join Charley on several of her trips.

“I hear Juliana is staying with you. You going to try to make that permanent once everything is resolved?” Mantis asked.

Not bothering to hedge, Stone nodded.

Mantis grinned. “Good. I’m happy for you.” Like him and all the other men in the club, Mantis’s early years had been shitty, with his father ultimately killing his mother. If it hadn’t been for a certain psychologist, Dr. Morgan Leventhal, who’d invested in each of them at one point or another, they’d all be very broken men. She hadn’t “fixed” them, but thanks to her, they had the means and structure to address the traumas of their pasts. And she’d helped them find a place where family—of choice—was their strength. Something none of them ever forgot.

“Me, too,” Stone replied. “Me, too.”

Sherman came skittering into the room, paused when he saw Mantis, then trotted over to Stone and flopped onto his feet.

“How’s he doing?” Mantis asked with a nod to the puppy.

“Got a clean bill of health from the blood work the vet did yesterday. He has anxiety, but the vet thought that would fade with time and consistency.”

Mantis sighed. “I get that sometimes shit happens that makes it so people can’t care for their pets and that sometimes, they can’t even drop them at shelters because the shelters won’t take surrenders, but I wish people would think about these things before getting a pet.”

Stone did, too, but like Mantis, knew that life sometimes threw curveballs and you didn’t always have time to dodge them. At least the vet assured them that, based on her interactions with him, she believed that Sherman’s prior owners had treated him well.

“Well, he doesn’t have to worry about any of that now,” Stone said, reaching down and scratching his mane.

“Doesn’t have to worry about what?” Juliana asked, walking into the room carrying a tray with cups of coffee and, if he wasn’t mistaken, several plates of coffee cake. Mantis hopped up and took it from her.

“Sherman doesn’t have to worry about being abandoned again,” Stone said, tugging Juliana down for a kiss before she slid onto the seat beside him.

“Is that coffee cake?” Viper asked, strolling in from the west wing of the building that housed the members’ rooms.

“I’ll go grab more,” Mantis said, setting the plates on the table.

“Monk is on his way, too,” Stone said. “We have a meeting with that FBI agent in a few minutes.” Mantis nodded and left the room. Stone had called their president early that morning to give him the heads-up. No one was worried about one showing up on their doorstep, but Mantis liked knowing what was going on with the club.

By the time the agent’s rental car turned onto the drive—the security footage displayed on Stone’s phone—Monk had arrived and was digging into the last piece of cake.

Stone leaned over so Juliana could watch the approach with him, but deep in conversation with Viper about the lyrics to some old pop song, she waved him off. With another glance at his device, he realized she had a point—he didn’t need to watch the agent’s every move. She wasn’t an enemy; she wasn’t there to do harm. He could let her knock on the door and announce her arrival the old-fashioned way.

After sliding his phone back into his pocket, he laid his arm over Juliana’s shoulders, the silky strands of her ponytail brushing against his skin. The way she accepted his casual touch, welcomed it by leaning a little closer to him, sent a whorl of satisfaction through him.

He was still smiling when Special Agent Callie Parks walked through the door.