He leaned over the counter to brush a kiss over her mouth. “No. We’ll tell him if we find something. How’s that?”

She beamed. “Perfect. Feed me breakfast and I’ll change my clothes. We can be there by lunch.”

Rafe plated the bacon. “We should tell Gideon, though. I don’t want to risk getting ambushed by Burton.”

Mercy’s good mood dimmed a little bit. “I know you’re right, but dammit.”

“I know. I’d love to have ten hours alone with you in the car, but I’m also not willing to risk your life. Also, check the weather. Lassen’s a little south of there and some of those mountain roads stay closed through June.”

“Oh. I forgot about snow.”

“I’ve got chains if I need them. I’ll make sure they’re in the back of my Subaru before we leave.”

She glanced at his leg. He was leaning on his cane with one hand, the plate with bacon and pancakes in the other. “Can you drive?”

“Yep. Left leg’s the problem. I’d offer to let you drive, but you forgot about snow.”

“I’ve lived in New Orleans for eight years and we haven’t had snow in all that time. It gets chilly, but nothing a nice Irish coffee can’t fix.”

He took the stool next to hers. “I’ll fill a thermos with coffee. No booze around here, though. Daisy’s eight years sober, so we all abstain. Solidarity, you know.”

“Straight coffee is perfect.” She held up her coffee cup. “To making Ephraim Burton pay.”

Rafe’s expression grew grim as he touched his cup to hers. “To bringing the motherfucker down.”

Mercy nodded once. “I’ll drink to that, too.”

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 7:30 A.M.

Rafe locked his apartment door, a backpack full of supplies at his feet. He glanced up the stairs to where Mercy was changing her clothes in Sasha’s apartment, and wondered what was taking her so long.

It had been long enough since he’d been with Bella that he’d forgotten how much time women needed to dress themselves. And he’d never really had that intimacy with Bella. Their time together had been a series of stolen moments and rushed lovemaking.

When Mercy was ready, he was going to take his time.

And I’m not going to think about that now. Because he had to share a vehicle with her for the next ten hours or so and he was not doing that with a hard-on.

He busied himself in the garage, packing up the Subaru with cold-weather gear. He threw one of Sasha’s parkas in the back along with a few blankets and the tire chains. If they ended up on any of the mountain roads, his Subaru would be fine.

Glancing at his phone, he frowned. Gideon must have still been asleep, because he hadn’t answered any of Rafe’s texts. He started to call him, when he heard voices in the foyer. Opening the door to investigate, he stopped short, surprised. “Erin? I thought you were going home?”