His team had scattered, entering the house silently, making their way to their rooms, where they showered and changed to warm, dry clothes. He stayed close to Saria, knowing she was exhausted. It had been a long, rigorous night. She hadn’t complained once about being soaked and cold when he knew she had to be chilled all the way to the bone.

Saria went up the tree like a small monkey. Drake was right behind her, just in case of a misstep, but she eased her way across the thick limb and then jumped onto the balcony. “You locked it last night,” she said and sank down into the corner, uncaring of the rain. Her hair was plastered to her face and she shivered constantly.

Drake stepped up to the door and quietly picked the lock, pushing the door open before turning back to her and extending her hand.

She smiled up at him without taking his help. “I think I’ll just sleep right here.”

Drake simply lifted her into his arms. “I can’t let you do that, honey. You’re shivering nonstop. Let’s get you into a hot shower.”

He cradled her close to his chest, nuzzling the top of her head. “If you prefer, I can go down without you. You can stay upstairs and go to sleep after we get you warm.”

“I’m not sure it’s possible to ever be warm again.” Saria rubbed her face against his soaked shirt. “But if you’re goin’ downstairs to face the firin’ squad, I’ll be there with you.”

“They can’t possibly know we were investigating them,” Drake said. “Not this fast.”

“What are you goin’ to tell them? They’ll know we were out in the swamp.”

“It’s always better to stick as close to the truth as possible,” he told her, setting her down in the bathroom. “They’re leopard. They’ll know we just came in. It was just easier to get warm before facing them. We’re going to tell them we spent the night in the swamp. I’m the new leader. My men are here with me and we’re familiarizing ourselves with the area, as well as taking care of the business Jake Bannaconni sent us to do in the first place.”

She regarded him shrewdly. “You like to use his name because he’s leasing most of the properties they use and they’re a little afraid to lose their lands.”

He smirked just before kissing her. His woman was smart and he liked that. He peeled the soaked shirt from her body while she stood there shivering almost uncontrollably. He had to crouch down to unlace her boots. He doubted if she could have done it, her fingers were like ice. Steam from the hot water filled the bathroom, helping to heat the room as he stripped off her wet jeans and underwear and helped her into the shower.