Reckonings. Cynthia Eden

now.”

      He tensed. “Jamie?” Davis didn’t like the sharp edge of fear that he’d heard in her voice.

      She shoved her phone back into that hidden pocket and hurriedly scooped up her shoes. She didn’t even pause to put them on before rushing toward the line of parked cars up on the crest.

      “Jamie, wait!” He ran after her. Caught her arm and spun her around to face him. “What’s happening?”

      “The alarm went off at my place. It could be a break-in.” She pushed his hand away. “I have to go. I’m sorry, I—”

      Davis swore. “Don’t be sorry. But let me come with you.” A break-in...and she thought he was just going to stand back while she raced home? That wasn’t his style, not at all.

      “No, no, you don’t have to—”

      He caught her hand in his. “I want to. You take your car, and I’ll follow behind you, okay? But when we get to your house, don’t even think of going inside without me.” Because he’d witnessed too many bad scenes before. “I need to make sure you’re safe.”

      “Why?”

      He just stared at her.

      “Why does it matter to you that I’m safe?” She seemed legitimately confused about that point.

      “Because you matter.”

      She laughed. “No, I don’t.” Jamie pulled away from him. “The kiss was great, amazing really.”

      Yes, it had been.

      “But I have to go. Good night, Davis.” She was running away from him. Literally.

      He shook his head. She really thought he was going to let her walk—run—into danger?

      Not this time.

      He started jogging after her. And his brother stepped into his path.

      “Whoa, whoa, slow down man,” Brodie said. Brodie was Davis’s twin...and folks often mistakenly thought Brodie was the more easygoing of the two. Those people were wrong. Davis knew that neither of them had the word “easy” in their vocabulary. “Where’s the fire?” Brodie wanted to know.

      Davis elbowed him out of the way. “At the doc’s place.” He pointed after Jamie. The woman had moved fast. She was already at her car. “She just got a call from her alarm company. Something set off the system. I’m going over with her.”

      “You need me?” Brodie shouted after him.

      Because that was the way it was with his twin. Brodie had his back, always.

      “Not this time,” Davis called. “I’ll check in when I know she’s clear.” He gave a quick wave over his shoulder. “It was one hell of a wedding!” And I still can’t believe our baby sister is married. Sweet Ava...she’d finally found happiness. He’d worried about her for so many years. The pain in her eyes had torn at him. But that pain was gone now. Ava was happy. The demons of her past had been put to rest.

      He knew Mark Montgomery would do everything possible to make sure that Ava never had another moment of fear or pain in her life. Mark loved Ava. She was his number one priority. A good thing...because if she hadn’t been, then Davis would’ve needed to knock some sense into the guy—friend or no friend.

      Davis reached his truck. He jumped inside and caught the flash of Jamie’s taillights. The woman was driving hell-fast. She needed to slow down. “Be safe, sweetheart,” he muttered as he cranked up his ride. Jamie didn’t realize how serious the situation could be.

      He knew that danger waited, though. Even in the so-called safe places, like in the home where you let down your guard, danger could be hidden.

      Once upon a time, he’d thought his ranch was the safest place on earth. He’d left the ranch, gone all over the world to fight and taken on so many dangerous missions...

      Then he’d gotten the worst news of his life. His parents had been murdered in their own home. Ava had been the only witness, and she’d been shattered.

      He drove away from the ranch, following behind Jamie.

      Jamie. Now, that woman was a mystery to him. Beautiful, smart...

       And...sometimes, I can see pain in her eyes. Pain and fear.

      The same stark expression that he’d caught in his own sister’s eyes. Jamie had a dark past, one that she hadn’t shared with anyone. He knew the signs.

      He also knew... I don’t want anyone to hurt her again.

      Jamie wasn’t like other women. There was something different about her. Something that pulled at him. Something that called to him. Not just desire, though he sure felt plenty of lust for her.

      The woman had made him laugh that night. Since his parents’ death, he hadn’t exactly had a whole lot to laugh about. Jamie—she was just different.

      He sped up a bit as he headed toward her place.

      Whatever was waiting for Jamie, he wanted to be there with her. She might not be used to threats, but he was.

      His truck ate up the miles. Her home was a little cottage nestled on two acres, a place that gave her plenty of privacy. When he pulled onto her lane, he didn’t see the flash of police lights, and he knew they’d beat the cops there.

      Jamie was already exiting her vehicle. Hurrying to the house.

      Dammit. Davis jumped out. “Jamie, stop!” The burglar could still be inside the place.

      Jamie whirled toward him. He stalked toward her. As he approached, he could easily hear the blare of her alarm and the frantic barking of a dog.

      “You should wait for the cops.”

      Jamie looked over her shoulder. “I have to make sure it’s not him.”

      Him? “Jamie?”

      She pulled away. “You didn’t need to come. I—I’ve got this.”

      Then she was rushing toward her house again. This time, he ran right with her. She unlocked her front door. Stopped that blaring alarm. A big brown dog ran forward, and when the dog saw Jamie, its loud barks gave way to softer cries as the animal pushed his head against her.

      “It’s okay, Jinx, I’m here.”

      Davis eased deeper into the house. He made sure to keep Jamie within his line of sight. Nothing looked disturbed. No furniture overturned. Nothing smashed. Nothing—

      He saw the shattered glass on the floor. “The window.” Davis headed toward it. “The guy probably thought he’d break the glass and unlock it. Then your alarm went off.” He slanted a quick glance at Jinx. “And so did your dog.”

      Jamie had bent near the dog. She was stroking the animal’s broad head. “Jinx is a great watchdog,” she said. “He’s—”

      Jinx snarled and lunged away from her. He raced right out of the front door and into the night.

      “Jinx!”

      Davis was already running after him. “That great watchdog has a scent,” Davis said. And that meant...Is the burglar still here? Now, that didn’t make sense. The guy should have fled the scene as soon as the alarm went off.

      But...

      Davis ran toward the woods on the right of Jamie’s property. The dog was bounding up ahead, and Davis heard the growl of an engine in the air. A rumble... The distinct rumble of a motorcycle.

       He is still here.

      The burglar had been hiding in the dark...waiting for Jamie to return?

      Davis lunged forward, following that sound because his instincts had just shot into overdrive. If the guy had been hanging