She leaned into the kiss. Energy radiated through her, and he sensed she was lowering her guard to him. He liked that she had decided to trust him.

He deepened the kiss, savoring the taste of her mouth. He tasted beer. His hand slid to her shoulder and then along her waist. He then realized he was not so different from Shepard. Self-imposed exile for the sake of work and a constant need for justice had also left him isolated.

He reached for the next button on her shirt and carefully unfastened it. “So much for going slow,” he said.

“I don’t do patient.”

His gaze was drawn to her delicate bronze skin, which reminded him of honey. He kissed her naked shoulder and then the hollow of her neck before dropping his lips to the crest of her full breasts.

Melina drew in a breath, threading her fingers through his hair and arching toward him. Neither spoke as they continued to kiss, touch, and strip clothing that dropped to the growing pile on the floor.

Naked, she was not shy and made no attempt to hide from him. She took him by the hand and led him toward the bed. With the goofy sitcom now muted but still playing in the background, she crawled to the center of the bed and propped herself up on both pillows.

Ramsey’s grip on his control shattered. All he could think about now was being inside her. He followed her and slowly straddled her. She shifted, moving him to her moist center as he slid inside her.

She drew in a breath, rubbing her hands over his back and then over his buttocks as her excitement rose. He waited as her body adjusted and then very slowly began to move. She arched toward him, wrapping her legs around him and pulling him in deeper.

There were always real monsters in the shadows, waiting for Ramsey to lower his guard so they could claim another victim. He had been warned by a veteran officer that he could not save everyone and to try to do so would be his ruin. He consciously chose not to heed that advice. All could be saved. His duty was to be forever vigilant in the hunt for monsters.

But in this moment, he let his guard slip. He allowed the sensations of pleasure to satisfy the longings and fill the loneliness that had hollowed out his insides.

Shepard closed her eyes, and he knew she was headed to a similar place filled with hungry desire that pushed away all her worries and fears. He gratefully followed.

He moved faster, and her moans turned more urgent. She was here for herself, not for him, but he did not care. She was here, and she would take him out of the darkness and toward the light for just a little while.

When she climaxed, arching her back, he tumbled right after her. For a blissful split second, they were one.

He collapsed on top of her, their hearts pounding in a rapid drummer’s beat. She caressed her hand along his back, and he allowed his face to rest in the hollow of her neck.

“Stay for a couple of hours,” he said.

She was silent for a moment, as if she did not quite know how to take it. “Are you sure? It’s okay if you want me to go.”

He rose up on his elbow and touched her chin. He stared into the warm brown eyes that searched his with the same intensity she gave a crime scene. That thought made him smile.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“You’re back to analyzing.” He moved a strand of hair off her forehead and tucked it behind her ear.

A lazy smile coiled the edges of her lips. “And you aren’t?”

“Maybe a little.” He liked having her close and feeling her warmth.

“It’s nice,” she said.

“Nice?”

“I mean being here. The other part was pretty great. It’s been a while. Glad to know all the parts still work.”

He chuckled. “Like riding a bike.”

“Something like that.” She squirmed, and when he rose up to give her space, she slid out from under him. He lay on his back, tucking the pillow behind his head. He was curious about what her next move would be.

She rolled on her side, facing him. She smoothed her hand over his flat belly, drawing small circles. Her fingers moved lower and lower until they skimmed the top of his now-returning erection.

Her smile turned mischievous as she straddled him. After guiding him inside her, she moved up and down. He watched as she cupped her breasts and then rubbed them against his chest.

Once again, he could feel the desire and emotion rise up in her like flames from a pyre. It seemed to consume her, burning into him in a way he had never experienced before. With hands on both sides of her narrow hips, he held on as she rode him hard until finally the heat rushed over him.

She rested her head on his chest, damp with sweat, and leaned forward and kissed him. “Very nice.”

“So you’re staying?”

“Round three?” she teased.

He chuckled. “How about you lay beside me?”

She regarded him and finally nodded. “Just for a little while.”

She nestled her body beside his, and he curled his arm around her waist, taking in her restful breathing. For the first time in years, he did not spend the next hour overanalyzing events. He simply drifted off to sleep.

It didn’t take Sonny long to find Bonnie. Over their years together, he had learned her patterns cold. He began visiting likely motels, stopping at the front desk, showing her picture and his fake police badge. Three hours into his search, he found her South Nashville motel.

He paid the manager twenty bucks and then knocked on Bonnie’s door. Inside he heard a television blaring some kind of game show. Bonnie loved those damn things. When they had been in California, she had put in applications for at least a dozen of them but had never gotten picked. “Just as well,” she had grumbled. “Got to pay taxes on those winnings. And never a good idea to hook up with the Tax Man.”

The curtains fluttered and he knew Bonnie was looking out the window. Fuck. She could be so smug when he had made a mistake. And he had made a few too many since her return.

The latch scraped free and the door opened. She greeted him with a wide smile. “You’ve been a bad, bad boy,” she said.

He looked from side to side, fearing someone might be watching. “Can I come in?”

“I don’t know, baby doll. You weren’t so kind to me.”

“We have a mutual problem, thanks to that little car accident of yours.”

“Shit happens.”

Of course, she would be gloating. She never could resist. “If you want to stay out of prison, let me in.”

Her smile widened as she stepped back. “You don’t have to get all pissy with me, Sonny. You know I would never leave you out in the cold.”

He stepped over the threshold, brushing past her as well as her comment. He searched the room, saw a pair of men’s underwear.

“Are you alone?” he asked.

“I am now. You picked a good bail bondsman. Full service.”

“What did you do to him?”

“Nothing that didn’t leave a smile on his face.” She grinned. “Don’t worry. I took a few pictures. He’s not going to say anything. He would end up in trouble with his boss and his missus if the pictures got out.”

Ignoring her comment, he locked the door and slid the chain into place. From inside his coat pocket, he removed the pair of new gardening shears.

Bonnie inhaled her cigarette, and as she blew out the smoke, that trademark grin faded. She took a step back but to her credit showed no fear. She carefully stabbed out the glowing tip. “There’s no reason for that, baby doll.”

“It’s long overdue,” he said more to himself.

“You think killing me is going to make you right in the head? It won’t. In fact, it will drive you over the edge. There won’t be enough women in the world to kill if I die.”

He advanced on her.

Instead of shrinking back, she took a step forward and put her face within inches of his own. “You’ve been pissed at me since I left your sister on the side of the road.”

The image knifed through him. “Shut up.”

“I still remember how she used to scream when she didn’t get her way. That kid could shake the bloody rafters with those lungs of hers.”

“It wasn’t her fault. She just wanted attention.”

“Who doesn’t want attention?” Bonnie asked. “We all want it. Those first months on the road with the three of us were pretty sweet. We had some good times. Remember that yellow Cadillac we picked up in Salt Lake City?”

Picked up. Bonnie had hot-wired it. But it had been one sweet car. With the top down and the warm air on his face, it was the first time in his life that he had felt free and really alive.

She grinned, staring at him intently. “You remember, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“You could have it again,” she said. “That freedom and that fun.”

The pain that he had so carefully locked away crawled out of the shadows and howled, its doleful sound scratching the underside of his skin. God help him. He had dreamed of those days.

She pointed at him. “And you want it all back, don’t you?”

He dropped his gaze, feeling weak and ashamed. Yes. He wanted it.

“All we have to do is get Elena, you give me the key, and I get the money.”

“There is no money,” he said.

“What?”