“I know.” He stroked her hair. “You’re tired, and maybe deep down you know I’d keep you safe while you slept.” He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I would. I’d watch over you. I’d kill for you.” His pulse thickened. “I’d die for you.”

Especially kill. Mac wanted to find the man who’d shot at her and slowly squeeze the breath from his throat.

She slid up on the bed until their faces were inches apart. “I’d do the same for you. It’s a little scary.”

No kidding. “For me, too.”

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, except for my family.”

Mac nodded. “Same here.”

“So what do we do about it?” she asked.

Mac leaned forward and kissed her, a gentle and tender caress of his mouth on hers. His lips brushed her cheek. “I don’t know. First time for me.”

“Me, too.” Stella’s phone rang from the kitchen. Hooking her towel around her breasts, she went to get it and brought it back into the bedroom.

Mac could hear a male voice. “We narrowed the list of Spivak’s pals down to the most likely candidate. Cyrus O’Neil. He lives on a farm on County Line Road, and he’s also a member of the White Survival Alliance. We’ve had some complaints over noise and odors on the property, and one of the neighbors says they saw Spivak on the property. I’m going over there to see what’s what as soon as the search warrant is signed. You want to come?”

Stella straightened. “I’m in.”

“Meet me at the station in thirty.”

“OK.” She turned to Mac. “Did you hear all that?”

“I did.” And he’d hated every word. Mac wanted to be the one raiding a farmhouse instead of Stella. But he respected her enough to let her do her job. “Maybe Gianna will be there.”

“Maybe.”

“No chance I could go with you?”

“None. Sorry.” She was off the bed and looking for clothes.

He took a clean T-shirt from his drawer. “You don’t want to put the blood-stained shirt back on.”

She tugged the T-shirt over her head, then went into the bathroom where her slacks were still puddled on the tile.

Mac caught her around the waist. He drew her close, pressing his body to hers from thigh to chest. She was warm and soft. He wanted to tug her back to bed and keep her there all night. “Back to what we were talking about before your call.” He tucked a long hair behind her ear. “The first thing we have to do is stay safe.”