Mason slowly finished putting on his coat and set his cowboy hat on his head. It felt lined with lead. “Warn SWAT we might have a hostage situation at the Molalla house. He might have Kelly or Melody there.”

Lacey felt Jack stir beneath her. From his breathing she knew he was awake. She kept her eyes closed, indulging in the moment. He’d cocooned her from reality for a few hours, letting her relax and briefly forget the horrors going on in the outside world. They’d made love for hours and it’d been heavenly. The fire, the snow outside, the amazing man.

Too good to be true.

But it was true. He was here in the flesh and she could hear his heart as her head lay on his warm chest. Lazily, her thoughts swept back over the hot night. She didn’t care if she was just another notch on his belt. It’d been worth it.

Some female instinct told her the night had been special to him. His eyes had told her as he kissed her, entered her. The wanting, the desire. Lust had shined there, but not exclusively. It’d gone deeper than that. She didn’t believe he would break her heart.

But she couldn’t help but feel…optimistic?

Stop analyzing. Just enjoy the moment. Her lips stretched into a smile and she felt his chest rumble with a silent laugh.

She opened her eyes, purposefully dragging out the movement to make a point about her utter physical satiation. Gray eyes sparkled at her, relaxation shining from their depths. Silent happy fireworks shot off in her brain.

He was gorgeous. So entirely male. And right now he belonged to her. She ran her nails through the hair on his chest, making his nipples tighten in response and she reveled in the power of a being woman. The power to arouse a man through the simplest things. It was intoxicating. She lifted her head to smile directly at him, considering making him beg.

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” she whispered back, sinking into those silver eyes. He had the most beautiful eyes. They could shift from the dark gray of rain-laden clouds to the silver hue of sunshine glinting off a lake.

He rolled her onto her back for a deep, arousing kiss, raking his fingers through her hair and crushing her breasts with the weight of his chest. She felt his growing hardness at her thigh. A cell phone rang.

“Shit.”

“I don’t want to answer it.” He tried to distract her with his fingers.

“You need to. It might be important.” She reluctantly sat up, pushing back the comforter, exposing her breasts to the cooler air. His eyes darkened and he cupped one, a wicked slow smile on his lips. Closing her lids, she nearly gave in, but the phone rang again, and she shoved his hand away and crawled over to his jacket on the couch.

“How can you expect me to keep my hands to myself when you look like that?” Glancing back, she saw his gaze focused on her bare bottom as she kneeled at the couch. She gave a teasing grin and glanced at the screen on his phone.

Detective Callahan.

Her smile faded as she sucked a breath.

Her face blank, she silently handed the phone to Jack. He’d sat up with a frown as she’d stared at the caller ID.

As Jack listened, Lacey watched his countenance change. He flinched and the healthy color faded from his skin. Anger replaced the shock, his jaw tightened and lines appeared around his mouth. Lacey’s heart accelerated at the stress on his face, her breathing forced. Her lungs seizing.

He hung up, his gaze on the fire, his face a mess of conflicting emotions. “He’s taken Melody.”

Lacey sat hard on the floor. “What? Your sister?”

He’s grabbed another one. My God. What has he done with Kelly? He’s already moved on to another woman?

With a burst of energy, Jack stood up and strode into the kitchen, returning with his clothes. He dressed with shaking hands, words spilling. “The bastard called to let the cops know he had my sister. Callahan thinks they might know where she is. Your buddy, Brody, got an address from Linda DeCosta. Her son Bobby has a house in Molalla. The police are going in with SWAT in a few hours.” He picked up his socks. “The guy didn’t mention Kelly.”

Pulling her bare legs tight to her chest, Lacey buried her head in her knees.

Me. He was supposed to get me. Not Jack’s sister.

The temperature in the toasty cabin felt like it had dropped to subzero and her teeth chattered. This was her fault. The killer was sending a message to her. Hurting Kelly and Melody because he couldn’t reach her. He was angry and striking out.

She’d pulled Jack into her chaos of a life and endangered his family. Why’d she let Jack stick around? If she’d brushed him off they wouldn’t be in this position. His sister wouldn’t be with a killer.

They’d been literally screwing around and this was the consequence.

Her newfound happiness floated up the chimney and vanished with the smoke.

She shuddered and bit her knee, causing little red dents.

He kneeled in front of her, his shirt unbuttoned. “Lacey, get dressed. I want to be there when they go in.” He looked at the red spots on her knee in confusion. “What are you doing?” His eyes met hers and understanding dawned. “Oh, God. This isn’t your fault.”

She couldn’t answer, and felt tears burn in the back of her eyes.

“This isn’t your fault. I’ve been dragged into this mess by being in the wrong place at the wrong time too many times. It’s not because of you.” He stayed on his knees in front of her, his hands gripping hers.

Unable to talk, she shook her head.