He kissed her lightly. “And I’m calling Simon.”
“NO!” she gasped, horrified at the suggestion. “You can’t!”
“He’s my partner, Sage. I need him on this. I also need to update two other detectives. They’re good people, Sage.”
“No!” she replied firmly. “You can call your other friends, but not Simon! He and Jade are on vacation. If he comes back, it will ruin their vacation!”
He cupped her face with his hands. “If the situation were reversed, wouldn’t you be angry if Jade didn’t tell you when she was in danger?”
Sage sighed. She tried to come up with a reply, but the truth was, if Jade were in danger or hurt or even just feeling sad, Sage would be furious with her older sister for not calling her. Yeah, she had the big, bad, competent Simon for a husband now. But still, there was a special bond between sisters.
“You’re right.” She bit her lower lip, trying to figure out…anything. She was a bit lost here. “Okay, call him. But…would you give me five minutes so I can tell Jade first?”
He kissed her, another one of those soft, lingering kisses that seemed to set her heart on fire.
“Yes. Anything you need.”
She sighed, pulled her phone out, and dialed her sister.
“What’s wrong?” Jade demanded on the first ring.
Sage laughed. “Can’t I just call and check in with you?”
“Yes. You can. But you wouldn’t unless something dire was happening. I’m packing now. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Sage turned and looked over at Arik, nodding to him, silently giving permission to call Simon. Arik immediately pulled his phone out, but before Arik could dial his partner’s number, the cell phone rang. Arik smiled and Sage knew that Simon had called his partner, obviously listening in on his wife’s phone call.
Arik turned and started explaining while Sage watched, admiring the man’s back and shoulders.
“Sage!” her sister called out, interrupting a very nice fantasy about her drawing a line of kisses along those impressive shoulders.
“Right,” she replied, turning away so that she could concentrate. “So…over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a few things that seemed…odd.”
“A few weeks?” her sister screeched. Arik turned and she caught his look. Obviously, Simon had heard the screech as well.
“Yeah, I didn’t want to worry you,” she told her older sister.
“I thought we talked about this,” Jade whispered. “We moved to Wyoming together. We were in this together!”
Sage laughed. “We were. We did. Then you went and got married.”
“That shouldn’t stop you from telling me when something is wrong!” she snapped. “What kinds of strange things? I want details.”
Sage listed out the various things that were going on. “Well, some of my plants have been trampled in the night. A few of the pots on my patio were smashed while I was at the grocery store. There have been times when I thought someone had been in my house. And on Friday afternoon, I found a scorpion in my kitchen. I vacuumed it up but…did you know that vacuum cleaners don’t kill those suckers?”
Jade laughed. “Yeah, I tried to suck up a spider one day. It didn’t die!”
“Right?! It would seem like they should die once they were sucked into the vortex! But they live. I don’t understand how, but…well, I digress.”
“So, is Arik there? Should Simon call Arik? He was supposed to check in on you. I was really…!”
“Arik is here.”
There was a long silence as her older sister processed that. “Really. That’s interesting.”
“Yeah.” Sage closed her eyes, leaning her head back. “Well, about that too. I sort of–”
“You slept with him?!” she gasped.
Sage laughed. “I refuse to answer that.”
“You did! You slept with Arik!”
Arik’s head swiveled around. Sage shrugged as if to say, 'Sisters know everything.’ “Stop talking about this around Simon. It’s not his business.”
“Don’t even go there,” Jade replied. “We’re in the car. We’re heading home. We should be there in three hours. So is Arik going to protect you from whoever is doing this?”
“Yes. I’m staying at his place tonight along with my dogs.”
“Dogs?” she repeated, clearly confused.
Sage looked at the sweet pair watching through the window. “Yeah. Arik suggested that I get a dog, for protection. The dog would bark at night if someone approached the house. So, I thought it was a good idea. One of them is an adorable little teddy bear who thinks he is in charge. I named him Minx.” She smiled, looking at Minx who pawed the window. “The other is a German shepherd mix, named Xena. She allows the little one to think he’s in charge.”
There was a smile in her tone when Jade said, “They sound wonderful! I can’t wait to meet my canine niece and nephew.”
Sage laughed, nodding. “They are adorable! And I’m sure you’ll love them.”
“So I just heard Arik is taking you to his place tonight. That’s good. You’ll be safe there. And the dogs will go with you?”
“Yup,” she replied, glancing over at the man who made her heart pound with happiness. And love?
Yes, she thought. Love. Logically, it seemed too soon for love, but that was exactly what she felt for Arik. She’d never felt this way about Jerry. Plus, her ex had torn her down too often over the year that they were married for her to have thought of him as anything other than her tormentor.
But she loved Arik. He was…everything.
Chapter 8
“Are you sure…?” she asked, gripping the two leashes as if they were a lifeline.
Arik unlatched the leashes. Both dogs immediately started exploring his apartment, familiarizing themselves with his scent. Because their tails were wagging, Arik assumed that they liked what they smelled.
He stood up and looked down at her, stepping
