The Colton Cowboy. Carla Cassidy

were you talking about when you told your brother that last night you proved you could take care of yourself?”

      She blinked at the abrupt change of topic. She explained to him about the warehouse stakeout and the takedown of the man who had been about to attack her. “I handled the situation without anyone else’s help. I might just be a rookie, but I’m good at what I do,” she said with a little more confidence than she felt.

      “I have no doubt of that,” he replied.

      “I’ll need to leave for a little while this afternoon so I can go by my apartment and grab some additional clothes.”

      “Why don’t I swing by there now so you don’t have to go back out?”

      “Okay,” she said, unsure how she felt about Anders seeing her personal space. She gave him the address to her apartment and within minutes they were there. He carried the baby and Merlin followed behind as they climbed the steps to her second-floor apartment.

      The door opened into a fairly large living area with an island separating the living space from the kitchen. Her furniture was simple, a black sofa with bright yellow and turquoise accent pillows. A large wooden rocking chair sat in one corner of the room. Her flat-screen television was small and in a large bookcase that also displayed a few other items, including lots of books, both fiction—mystery and crime drama—and nonfiction police procedurals.

      “I’ll just be a few minutes,” she said as she left the living room to go into her bedroom.

      “Take your time,” he replied.

      She grabbed a duffel bag from her closet and opened it on her bed. She then returned to the closet and began to grab T-shirts and jeans along with several more clean and neatly pressed uniforms. She added underwear and two nighties. She wasn’t a girlie girl, but she did love sleeping in silk nighties that made her feel wonderfully feminine.

      She grabbed some toiletries from the bathroom and then zipped up the suitcase and carried it back into the living room. Anders sat in the rocking chair with Bonnie in his arms. “She’s starting to fuss a little bit,” he said as he stood.

      “She’s probably getting hungry again.” Elle set her suitcase down and then dug into the tote bag to find the pacifier she’d bought. Once she found it, she quickly took it out of the packaging and then took it to the kitchen sink and ran it under hot water. Bonnie’s fussing turned into full-fledged wails.

      “She definitely has a good pair of lungs on her,” Anders said.

      “Let’s see how this works.” Elle placed the pacifier in Bonnie’s mouth. She immediately latched onto it and sucked happily.

      “That’s a magic cure,” he said in obvious pleased surprise.

      “It’s a cure that will only last so long. We should get going back to the cabin. I’m sure she probably needs a diaper change, too.”

      “Here, you carry her and I’ll get your duffel bag,” he offered. As she took the baby from him, his inviting scent filled her head.

      It continued to be with her in the car as they traveled on to his cabin. “I hope I didn’t overstep by suggesting I continue to stay with you and the baby,” she said when they turned into the Double C Ranch entrance.

      “Not at all,” he replied. “I’m grateful to have you with me, not just to help with the baby but also to help me figure out what that man last night wanted.”

      “You know if I see Demi, I do intend to take her down.” She looked at his profile as she spoke.

      “I know.” He released an audible sigh. “To be honest, I almost wish she was behind bars. At least I’d know she was safe there. I worry about her being out on the run and trying to prove her innocence. What happens if she does manage to find the murderer?”

      “Demi’s tough and she’s obviously smart and lucky. She’s managed to evade arrest for the last six months,” Elle said.

      “Yeah, but sooner or later her luck is going to run out.” Anders pulled up in front of the cabin. They had just gotten out of the car when Merlin alerted and stared at the cabin.

      “Stay here,” she commanded. She pulled her gun, grateful that he’d grabbed the baby and she hadn’t yet gotten her duffel bag.

      She approached the cabin cautiously, her heart leaping into her throat as she saw that the front door was ajar. In a defensive crouch with her gun leading the way, she swept into the living room.

      Chaos greeted her. Sofa cushions were on the floor; the contents of Anders’s desk were dumped out. It was obvious a search had gone on, but was the intruder still in the house?

      She checked her bedroom first. Merlin was on point next to her, his quickened breathing letting her know he was alert and looking for trouble.

      Her bedroom was trashed as well, but there was nobody in there. The bathroom took no more than a glance to clear and then she headed for Anders’s bedroom.

      Her heart beat frantically and even though Merlin gave no alert, she didn’t know if somebody was in there or not. His door was closed and as she curled her hand around the doorknob. her heartbeat accelerated even more.

      She twisted the doorknob and mentally counted to three and then exploded inside the room. Her breath whooshed out of her in relief as she saw there was nobody there.

      But somebody had definitely been there. She had no idea what Anders’s room had looked like before it had been tossed, but now the king-size mattress had been displaced and all his dresser and end table drawers had been dumped on the floor. Clothes had been pulled out of the closet in what she was fairly certain had been a search. But a search for what?

      Was this the work of the man who had come in last night? Whoever had been here hadn’t been looking for Bonnie. He wouldn’t have found her in a desk drawer or a closet. So what had he been looking for? And was it possible Anders wasn’t telling her something?

      She holstered her gun and headed back outside where Anders remained standing next to the car with the baby. “Prepare yourself,” she warned him. “The whole place has been ransacked.”

      He frowned and she followed him back inside. He paused on the threshold and looked at the shambles. He shook his head and walked on through. He came to a halt at his bedroom door. He turned back to look at Elle. “What in the hell is going on here?” he asked, his eyes narrowed with anger and his jaw tightened.

      At that moment Bonnie spit out her pacifier and wailed as if she wanted an answer, too.