Page 81 of You Can Make Me

The men didn’t speak for several beats. Ryan cursed and stood from the table. He squeezed Kal’s shoulder. “I’m grabbing some water. Anyone want any?”

Dane and I both raised a hand, but the silence hovering above us was ominous.

“You mean the carnival or the board?”

Cooper put his hands in his lap. “I don’t know what’s okay to ask. I want to help, but after last night… I feel like the hair is still standing up on the back of my neck. Something changed last night. I’m…afraid.”

I rested my arm on the back of Cooper’s chair, and he leaned closer to me. I could do so little to support him through this part. All this woo-woo shit was giving me fucking heartburn.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, baby,” I said, kissing his forehead. “This motherfucker will never get close enough to even breathe the same oxygen as you. I swear to God.”

He nodded, but his eyes were wide as if we both knew I might not be able to keep that promise. He started to speak, but there was a knock at the door.

“I got it,” I said, when Dane started to stand. “And listen up. While Walter’s gone, I’m going to keep tight security on this place. No in or out without checking with someone else, and no one goes anywhere alone, got it?”

Kal’s eyebrows rose. “What about you?”

I lifted the hem of my shirt to show my Sig Sauer in my belt holster and winked at him. “I’ll clean up the dishes when I’m done, Dane. You guys just relax.”

He smiled at me, but the fear was there in his eyes, just like Cooper’s.

Fuck.

This needed to end.

I walked into the foyer and checked the app Walter set up on my phone. I clicked through all the cameras. The front door camera showed?—

Dax?

My stomach turned sour.Shit.I knew the guys had talked to him and that he was back at work, but what was he doing here? I didn’t want him having anything to do with the guys at all.

I used the mic on the porch camera.

“Detective Brown, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

I watched as he looked around and then at the camera with a frown.

“Den! Hey, man. You guys okay? Walter sent me to check on you.”

“You’re a little out of your jurisdiction, Detective.” My tone was teasing, but this felt all kinds of wrong.

He chuckled and stepped back a bit. “I am, yeah. Man, it’s good to hear your voice. I’ve got the results of the ID. I was headed to meet with Detective Ramos from LAPD. Walterthought you might want to join me, get caught up on the investigation.”

That sour feeling was not eased by his words. Walter asked me to stay, to keep our men safe. He would have called me himself if the plan changed. Or Gene would have. I double checked to make sure they hadn’t, and I did see a missed call from the sheriff’s department main line.Huh.

I certainly wasn’t going to have Dax in the house. Whatever the situation between him and Walter, I knew damn well Dane would not feel comfortable around him, and no way did I want him around Cooper.

I opened the door and stepped outside, locking the door behind me with the keypad.

Dax’s eyes flared and he smiled.“It’s so good to see you.” He stepped forward to hug me, but I stiffened and reached out a hand instead. His smile fell, but he took it and tried to recover. “Congrats on your retirement, too. That’s huge. Thought you’d work forever.”

His laughter was forced, and I noticed a bead of sweat on his temple.

The churning in my gut was strong. I wished I’d checked my trusty pain-in-the-ass oracle on the shelf before I opened the door.

Look at me gettin’ down with the woo-woo.

“Guess not. What information did you have?”