“What are you doing here?” I close the door behind me with one quick glance out onto the street. Ryan’s vehicle is parked in my drive.

Trace jumps up against his legs. The little dog’s paws barely strike above his calf. Ryan bends and picks him up, maybe to prevent stepping on him. He holds Trace easily in the crook of his arm and lifts his chin up, out of the way of Trace’s lapping tongue. Trace calms and sets to sniffing all along his chest.

“Do you mind if I sit?”

In three strides, I’m on the sofa, my legs up under me, and I point at the other end. “Have you eaten?”

“There were some leftover sandwiches from a meeting at the office. You?”

“Yeah.” I look down at my outfit. Heathered gray pajama pants and midriff tank. “Has the FBI learned anything more? Did you get updates from Ryland?”

“Spoke to Ryland on my way over. They don’t have any new leads. Still searching for the man who drove away last night. No headway on tracking the reward payment.”

“Great. We don’t know anything.”

“We don’t. But whoever orchestrated Reyes’ death may not know that.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

He lifts his gaze from the floor to me.

“You know, you don’t need an excuse to come over. You are more than welcome anytime.”

“Good to hear. Would you mind if I stay over tonight?” I study him. He’s a difficult person to read because he restricts his movements. But regardless of the toe-curling kiss earlier today, he strikes me as the kind of guy who would take things slow in a new relationship. Which means he’s here for a different reason than simply wanting to spend time with me.

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

He lets out a loud exhale. “My gut tells me this is unsettled. We’re working blind. Too many unknown factors and players. You asked about my reasons for leaving the military. One of the factors, a big factor, is that I felt responsible for taking my team into an ambush. If I had listened to my gut, those men would still be alive.”

“But in the military, you have to follow orders.”

“You do. That’s why I didn’t re-up. I promised myself I’d listen to my instincts moving forward. I wouldn’t put myself in a position where I couldn’t.”

“So you started your own company?”

“Exactly. I call the shots at Arrow. And right now, I don’t like this. I’ll sleep better if I’m with you.”

“And you only want to sleep?”

Last night we only slept, but we crawled into bed at three a.m. Within minutes, sleep took us both. I inch forward on the sofa. My heart thuds a million beats a minute as his gaze wraps around me. His dark strands are combed in place, his broad shoulders erect, his shirt and pants wrinkle-free. He could walk out of this house and address a crowd or lead a meeting. He’s so put together at all times that I feel this need to run my fingers through his hair and mess it up, to loosen him up.