“Bye, Warrant.” Feeling miffed, she bent and ruffled the dog’s ears. Releasing a happy huff of air at the attention, he flipped over onto his back. His ecstatic reaction made her feel a little better, and she gave his upturned belly a few final scratches before straightening. Setting the alarm, she headed out the door.

The neighborhood was quiet, warm sunlight streaming through the tree branches and mottling the yards. Molly still had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched, however, no matter how idyllic it seemed. There could be that enemy army waiting just inside the cover of the national forest, biding their time until she looked away to charge.

“What is it?” John must’ve sensed her tension, since his voice lowered and his head turned on a swivel, trying to find the threat.

“My wild imagination,” she said wryly, although she didn’t lower her guard, just in case. “All the burglars and lurking cars have made me jumpy.”

“Understandable,” he said as he opened the passenger door for her. “A lot has happened.”

As she climbed in, she almost laughed at his understatement. “Yeah. It’s been crazy.” She waited for him to close her door and circle the car before she asked, “Why are you sticking around?”

“Warrant,” he said, looking completely serious. “He’d pine for me.”

She actually fell for it, staring at him wide-eyed for a long moment before the joke clicked in her head and she smacked him on the arm. It was hard to refrain from shaking out the sting in her fingers. The man must’ve been made of iron.

“You’re an idiot,” she said, although she couldn’t bring herself to put any real heat into it. She knew that she was the idiot. If John Carmondy did rediscover his sense of self-preservation and bailed on them, her dog wouldn’t be the only one pining. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she knew that she’d miss him, too.

Chapter 18

As the car started to roll forward, Molly felt her eyes drift back toward the forest. The ever-present wind rustled the tree branches, creating movement and shadows that could easily hide any number of villains—burglars and treasure hunters and criminals who wouldn’t hesitate to kill every member of Molly’s family in order to get their hands on that necklace. All sorts of ruthless thieves could be sneaking through the woods at this very moment.

The car abruptly veered over and stopped by the curb.

She looked over at John, startled by the sudden stop. “Forget something?”

“Yeah.” He put the car into park and shoved open his door.

“What?” He’d only been at her house one night. How much stuff could he have left there? She knew she would have to watch him, or he’d have half her drawers filled with his clothes before she could blink. He was already laying claim to her bedroom, after all. It was becoming more and more apparent that John Carmondy was a nester.

“To check out the forest.” He started getting out of the car, but she grabbed a handful of his shirt to stop him.