“Hey, sleepy head. It’s almost time for me to head out. You on night shift again?”

He rolled over and got his first look of the day. He liked starting the day alone with her and finishing it off the same way. Even when she was asleep when he came in. He’d snuck into bed at four a.m. and she’d turned as though even in her sleep she’d known he was there. She hadn’t opened her eyes but had let him wrap her up in his arms as he’d gone to sleep. “I am. How did last night go?”

“Good. Noelle worked on her history project and then we watched a movie.” She was dressed in scrubs, her hair up in a neat bun that made him want to sink his hands in and mess her up a little. She looked gorgeous right after sex, when she was completely open to him. He’d come to understand that was a side of Lila Daley that was saved for him, a gift to him.

“I’m glad to hear it. My night was all about the damn golf carts. I swear those damn things are a menace. Arnold Butler kitted his out with twinkle lights and oversized tires. He was going fifteen miles an hour and holding up traffic.” And that old man knew a whole lot of rude hand gestures, all of which he’d used on Armie when he threatened him with a ticket.

“We were fine, so you can probably pull Major off sentry duty so you can stop working like a crazy man,” she said pointedly. “You can go back to day shift and let Major deal with the crazies.”

He wasn’t sure about that. He’d had Major or Roxie doing regular drive-bys when he wasn’t at home. So far everything had been quiet. According to the reports he’d gotten, Bobby and Donny Petrie had been getting on their boat every morning to head out into the bay to shrimp and going back to the island at night. “He doesn’t mind. Neither does Rox.”

She sat down on the bed beside him. “I know they don’t, but it isn’t necessary. The arson inspector said his results were inconclusive. Unfortunately, Bill stored gasoline in the garage, and that was right next to the laundry room. I hadn’t even started to explore that garage. I was intimidated by it.”