She set her alarm and climbed back into bed with Rafe, cuddling up against him, sighing when his arms came around her. He held her like he’d never let go. Even sound asleep, he made her feel warm and safe. And happy.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 10:10 A.M.

“Yes, thank you. I’ll be expecting her call.” Rafe ended the call and pocketed his phone, still staring at the new additions to his bulletin board.

Mercy had gotten up sometime during the night and done some amazing detective work. That Aubrey and Waylon had met in prison was breakthrough thinking. That Pastor might have been there, too? That could be the thing that tied it all together.

“Whose call?”

Rafe looked up with a smile. Mercy was barefoot, her hair mussed, wearing her clothes from the day before, and rubbing her eyes like a sleepy kid on Christmas morning. Thankfully, Mercy Callahan was no kid. She was cute and sexy all at the same time.

And she’s mine. Once again he wanted to ask her to stay. Once again he held back. Still too soon.

“One of the deputy wardens at Terminal Island. I found your notes.”

Mercy grimaced. “What time is it? I meant to wake up and call them already. I set my alarm for eight o’clock and everything.”

“It’s after ten. Your alarm went off at eight, and I snoozed it. You’d slept through about four snoozes when I finally got up, had some coffee, then found this. Mercy, this is amazing. When did you get up?”

“It’s after ten already?” she asked dismayed. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Why didn’t you wake me up when you were doing this?”

A shy smile curved her lips. “You looked so peaceful that I didn’t have the heart.”

“Same goes. Besides, you were out like a light. I don’t think a bulldozer could have woken you up.”

“I guess I was tired.” She got a cup of coffee and curled up in the corner of the sofa. “I heard Farrah and André leaving and went out in the foyer to say goodbye.” She held up her hand, staving off his apparently obvious outrage. “Chill, Rafe. I didn’t go outside. I wasn’t even in the foyer when they went out. André made me come in. Damien took them to the airport.” Her cheeks abruptly flushed. “Oh, and he says the floors are really thin.”

Rafe snorted. “So noted.”

“The deputy warden is calling you back? I guess you called the correctional facility this morning?”

Rafe sat beside her, settling when she cuddled close. “I did. I already requested whatever they have on Aubrey Franklin a few weeks ago, but never got anything, so I called back this morning under the pretense of following up. The person I talked to in the office said that she’d been working on the request, but that she’d gotten sidetracked, yada yada blah blah.” He waved his hand in irritation. “She seemed really sorry and promised to get me the information, so I asked if she could include anything about Aubrey’s known associates in prison. Just now she called to say that her boss, the deputy warden, would be calling me directly.”