Caitlin glanced around the dark lawn. “It just occurred to me that you could get in serious trouble if we get caught.”

He pressed himself against her. “I could get in trouble just for kissing you.”

She felt the urgency of everything great in his slacks. “You’ve been warned.”

She walked him to the place she and Darren Thompson rocked the world, introduced him to the limestone rhino. Pants around his ankles, her panties to one side, Greenwood gave her the best orgasm she’d had in a decade. No tears riding the statue this time.

Nor the time after.

When Greenwood finally joined her, Caitlin had lost count.

Pants reassembled, shirts located, they landed on a park bench, his arm around her shoulder, her feet pulled up beneath.

“Obviously, this won’t change anything between us,” he said, kissed her head.

“Please, Greenwood. You’re not my first officer of the law.”

“I could tell. No fear in the line of fire.”

She craned her neck, kissed him again. The man’s lips tasted like her. She came up for air, stared out to the swaying branches of a maple tree, the sole witness to their session.

Greenwood rubbed his fingertips on her forearm. “Want to get breakfast?”

Caitlin found her phone, checked the time. “At one AM?”

He laughed. “In the morning. You can tell me what you and Mary found at Amireau’s farm.”

Caitlin kissed the man again. “I’ll call when I wake up.”

Chapter 30

CHAPTER

30

HE WATCHED THE lovers part through the lattice of the park’s gazebo, then checked the time. 1:12 AM. Almost five hours off schedule.

Between his societal obligations, grooming and feeding Paige, and the regrettable human necessity of sleep, he’d only allocated one hour that afternoon to following Caitlin.

Crouched in the bushes outside the guesthouse, hearing her hum, then watching her dress, then change, only to settle finally on her original outfit, he decided to stretch the hour until he saw the person Caitlin wanted to impress. Once he spotted the detective, the schedule went out the window. When the pair reached the park, nothing could drag him away. He was breaking his own rules, reckless.

You’re reckless too, Caitlin, but wonderful. Do you know Greenwood’s using you? That he’ll hurt you? I wouldn’t. I’d protect you.

First, he reminded himself there was no room for Caitlin in his collection; then he focused on the reason she’d made the schedule at all.

Self-preservation.

He needed to know if her investigation was getting close.

Fucking the detective seemed pretty close.

Seemed.

But the detective had never found Angela. And if he couldn’t find Angela, he certainly wasn’t going to find Paige.

Chapter 31

CHAPTER

31

JUST AFTER TEN the next morning, Caitlin reached for her phone. She’d told the man she’d call, so she did.

Greenwood answered via speaker. “What can we help with, Miss Bergman?”