South, West, and East stormed into the room, weapons up.

“Eddie, down!” North yelled and the dog let go.

I tackled Julian to the ground and grabbed the gun. Knelt on his back and yanked his wrists behind his back. I slipped cuffs from my back pocket and put them on him as I ducked my head and peeked under the desk. There was North, big eyed, watching.

Eddie crawled toward me, tail thumping, then licked my neck.

I laughed at Eddie’s surprise burst of energy and affection as I gave her a wink.

South hauled Julian up.

“He hated you!” Julian shouted, his cool veneer cracking. “All of you.”

The local police had been outside—the patrol SUV tucked into a garage stall out of sight—in case we needed them. They stormed through the door as they must’ve heard the shot. Two in uniform stood in the open doorway. They knew I was FBI and what was going down and were waiting for instructions from me.

I went around the desk as North stood, wrapped her in my arms.

“Yeah, fucker. We knew that already,” South said. His jaw was clenched, and I’d never seen him so pissed. I didn’t blame him.

“You don’t know why. Why he hated all of you,” Julian spat. His groomed hair was messy, locks falling every which way. His face was red, eyes narrowed and full of anger.

“Because we’re not his kids,” North answered, her cheek pressed against my chest.

19

NORTH

The police took Julian away. The FBI was arresting the head of Caston Logging. Jed’s boss had been debriefed. I was officially cleared.

Jed was officially unemployed.

He didn’t seem to mind.

Finally, we were all on the patio that overlooked the pool. Not to be mistaken for the patio off the dining room or the patio off of the great room. South, East, and West were sprawled out in comfortable wrought iron chairs with thick cushions. East’s feet were on a low coffee table. South had a beer in his hand. West had reheated the uneaten chicken enchiladas and we’d plowed through them as we should have the other night.

I was on a lounger tucked against Jed’s chest. His Stetson was on the small table next to us. The sun had dipped behind the house and there was a gentle breeze. All was quiet and for once in my life... peaceful.

Jed hadn’t stopped touching me since Julian had pulled out his gun, and I was fine with that. It seemed I wanted the contact just as much. Needed it.

Eddie and Boozer were sleeping at our feet. Eddie was snoring, and if the scent I caught was right, Boozer had farted. Eddie’s little spurt of fierceness earlier had surprised us all and we’d be giving him extra treats for a while.