Gina laughed and waved her hand. "Dom is really nice."

"Yeah. Sure," Anessa said, pretending to fold a takeout doughnut box.

"Really. It's going to be fine," Gina said.

Pearl laughed first. It started quietly and built in intensity and volume. Anessa went next. I watched the two of them and finally experienced a tinge of relief. Gina would keep us safe. She wouldn't let anyone kill us. Probably.

I giggled. It was close to a full laugh. I mean, the thought of Gina calling Dom "really nice" was just too much.

A motorcycle revved its engine somewhere down the road.

The laugher cut off and we froze.

Dominick had come to kill us!

I dropped behind the counter. Anessa ran into the kitchen.

"What are you two doing?" Pearl yelled. She hadn't moved a muscle.

The motorcycle came closer. It shook the glass in the front window.

"Hiding," I yelled from my spot.

"Why?" Gina asked.

I tucked myself under the register. "So, Dominick doesn't kill me."

Were they not listening to the approaching motorcycle? Anessa's boyfriend had the bakery wired with cameras, but could the SEAL Squad make it here in time?

"You should get in the bathroom or escape out the back door," I yelled, hoping Gina heard me and helped Pearl make a getaway.

Pearl snorted and her tea cup made a ding as she set it against the saucer. I didn't peek out to confirm. "He doesn't have the balls to take me out."

The motorcycle shut off.

"Let's not test it." I leaned against the back of the wall and barely missed a dust pile in the corner. Someone really needed to sweep better during nightly cleaning.

The bakery door opened, the bell acting as our harbinger, and I tensed. I'd never eaten those cupcakes. Now I'd die without the taste of chocolate on my tongue. What a horrible way to go.

"Vonnie?" I recognized the voice.

And it wasn't Dominick.

"Broadrick?" I crawled out from my hiding spot and peeked my head above the counter. "Oh, hey."

He stepped in more and let the door close behind him. "What are you doing?"

Why was his face all scrunched up like that?

"Me? I'm cleaning the floor." I stood up and brushed off the front of my jeans and then my ass.

He watched. "By hand?"

"Yeah. Anessa is a real stickler for cleanliness."

Broadrick crossed his arms and watched. "Where's the mop?"

"I left it down there," I said, pointing to the floor.

He shook his head but didn't question. He was learning. "Can you go?"

Anessa returned from the kitchen. "Sure."

"I need to get Gina home." She might have been ready to talk back to Dominick, but I wasn't there yet. If I left, I had to make sure she made it back to him in one piece.

She frowned. "Already?"

"Sorry, sister. We'll come again." There hadn't even been time to get more of her story from her. We weren't finished here.

"I'd better take something home with me," Gina said and I didn't miss how she said "home."

Anessa gestured toward the cases. "Anything you want."

"Dom loves chocolate chip cookies." Gina pointed toward the far end of the display.

Dominick The Impaler liked chocolate chip cookies.

Interesting.

You learned something new every day.

Anessa finished folding the box she'd started earlier and then loaded it up with cookies.

"I have to take Gina home," I said to Broadrick.

He nodded. "Meet me at my office?"

"Sure."

Ten minutes later, the stuffed box of cookies bulged on Gina's lap as she rode in my car.

"I think Anessa gave you enough to feed the entire gang," I said as we turned, and she had to readjust the box.

Gina laughed. "I doubt they'll last long."

I slowed in front of the farmhouse and then turned in and drove to the porch. The front door opened and Dominick stepped out. His hair was messy on the top, and he had a half a cow of leather on him. He crossed his arms and glared at me with his feet spread.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" I asked before I unlocked the doors.

Gina hit the button on her side with a laugh. "Yeah, I have cookies."

She opened the door and walked out. Dominick met her at the bottom of the porch and took the box from her before helping her up the steps.

Super interesting.

It seemed Dominick had a soft side. Well, at least for one woman. And maybe cookies.

I waited until they both made it inside the house and then backed out of the driveway. The Pelican Bay Security offices were close to my building but in a much nicer building. The drive lasted less than six minutes.

Nothing but gray met me as I opened the main glass door. Gray walls, floors, even the chairs were nothing but gray fabric. Ridge probably had to have them special ordered to be bland. Sadly, they weren't decorated in any tasteful version of fashion.

The tall, muscular body of the man himself stepped into the hallway and frowned. "You're not allowed in here."

I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth. "I know."

Ridge made that known often. Just because he came into town and hired a bunch of former SEALs to solve crime and stuck them in this boring building didn't make him the boss of everyone.

"Just so we're clear, you are also not allowed in my office either," I said. We had to keep things equal.

Ridge laughed but didn't move. "Sure."

"You won't move until I leave. Will you?"

He lifted an eyebrow at me but didn't answer.

We stood off against each other.

And then an idea hit me. "Hey, do you really not have cameras at the high school?"

He had them everywhere else. Why not there?

Ridge shook his head, stretching the sleeves of his black polo shirt. "Nope. They have all these rules about children and their privacy."

"Even on the ball fields?" A door opened further down the hall. I had to act fast.

He nodded. "Principal Rafferty has very vocal opinions on it."

I wasn't sure if I believed him. In February, he'd had video evidence of the chief of police shooting one of his henchmen and he'd pretended it didn't exist. He'd totally do the same thing again. Especially if he knew I wanted the videos.

Broadrick waved at me from the hall and I stepped forward. Ridge repositioned himself to be right in the middle.

I rolled my eyes. "Really. You're going to be this way?"

"You are public enemy number two."

Number two? I pursed my lips. Why wasn't I number one? "Who bested me?"

Ridge smiled. "Katy."

Ohhhh. "Well, yeah, duh. She's had more time."

Ridge shook his head and stepped out of the way for Broadrick. "I'm sure you'll get there, eventually."

Now I had goals. "Me too."

Broadrick waved a piece of paper in his hands as he passed Ridge and made his way to me. "I got you a gift."

"Oh, paper. How fun," I said, smiling.

He held the door open for me, and we walked back into the street. The sun was getting ready to set, but we were having a warm spike, so I only half zipped my fleece coat. "What's up?"

Broadrick handed me the paper. "This is my official date for being military free."

Oh. I brightened up as I followed him toward the water, and then we turned left. "What the heck is this? Is it in English?"

The paper was just a conglomerate of boxes and numbers. None of them meant anything to me.

"It's my date of separation," he said.

"Which one?" There were at least five dates on the paper. I flipped it sideways. No, six.

"It's this one here," he said, pointing at the paper.

I squinted. "December?"

"There are still some classes to take and this deployment, but if all goes well, I'll be out by Christmas."

"Wow." Merry Christmas to me. Us.

I still had a smile on my face as we turned right toward the lighthouse. Once Broadrick left the military, we had the entire world in front of us. And now it was only a few months away.

"Where are we going?" I asked when I figured out where we were.

Broadrick pointed straight ahead. "The boats."

The boats? Only one thing happened on the boats.

I missed a step. "Are you planning to kill me and dump me in the ocean?"