“Thanks,” Troy told him, then leaned in to kiss Dani’s cheek. “Be careful. Don’t go doing anything stupid like going after this King guy or the boys’ mother, okay? I don’t care how justifiably furious you are.”

“Okay,” she said. “Thanks, Troy. And thanks for the cookies. The boys will love them. So will Diesel. Thank you for stopping by, Quincy. I’ll make sure Diesel knows about Akers, too.”

Quincy nodded and Troy gave her shoulder a final squeeze before following Quincy out the door.

Dani sat for a moment, letting the new facts percolate through her mind. “This really changes nothing,” she said after a moment. “We knew the killer was, y’know, a killer. We knew he might come after Michael. We’ve been keeping the boys safe. We’ll continue to do so. The only thing that’s new is that now we know all the protection really is necessary. Right?”

“Right,” Stone said. “So do you still want to go to Diesel?”

“Oh yeah,” Dani said darkly. “It’s even more important now that he not go after King on his own.” She stood up. “Let’s go.”

Stone put his hand on her back as he walked her to his Escalade, watching the street as cautiously as Deacon or Adam would.

“Thank you, Detective Stone,” she said sweetly, knowing it would get his goat. At the moment, she needed a little levity.

Sure enough, he gave her a dark look that was as fake as a three-dollar bill. “You want to go back inside, Dr. Novak?”

She sighed. “No, I’ll be good, I promise. Just take me to him, okay?”

“Okay,” he conceded grumpily. He opened the car door and helped her in. “Buckle up. Click it or ticket and all that shit.” He slammed the door hard, then climbed in his side and slammed his own door. “You’re mean.” But his eyes twinkled and Dani had needed to see that.

“I’m so mean,” she agreed, then sighed again, because she was only partly joking now. “We should hurry. No telling what the man’s gotten himself into in the time he’s been alone.”

Chapter Sixteen

Cincinnati, Ohio
Monday, March 18, 12:20 a.m.

Cade breathed a sigh of relief as the black Escalade pulled away from Dani Novak’s house. The place was fucking Grand Central Station. He’d parked far enough away that he wouldn’t be seen by the people constantly coming and going from the house, but close enough that he could still hear outdoor conversations with his long-range mike. He settled in, then waited and waited for her to come out.

The Escalade had left earlier, driven by the burly guy who’d been talking on the front stoop when Cade had first arrived. He’d run a search on the plates, but came up with nothing useful. The vehicle was registered to a nonprofit called Patrick’s Place, which was a dog shelter.