“What’s the matter, sweetie? Did a leaf spook you? Is there a frog deserving of your wrath?” Often, when Dare was away, the dogs spooked easily. “Doesn’t say much about your trust of my abilities, does it?”

The lake grew turbulent, rushing up to the shore to splash over rocks and plants before ebbing out again. Fish jumped. Birds circled, swooping low.

He loved nature. He loved his place here.

If Molly became a permanent fixture, would it change anything for him? He liked her. Dare more than liked her.

Damn it, he didn’t want to be a third wheel…

The sound of a car sent the dogs bounding away and around the house in barking excitement. Chris was quick to follow. It had to be Dare, because no one else could get past the gates.

But when he saw Dare leaving the car, he knew something was wrong. The look on Dare’s face said it all.

Molly, bless her, didn’t appear to notice. She took her time greeting the dogs and laughing at their enthusiastic welcome.

Quietly, Chris said, “What is it?”

“The gate was tampered with.”

“Shit. How so?”

“Looked like someone tried to pry open the control box. The plants on the ground around it were trampled.”

Chris chewed his bottom lip as he thought. “Everything flickered twice, but came right back on.”

“Yeah.” Dare looked around, then got knocked back a step when Sargie jumped up to greet him. Because Molly was watching, Dare laughed and let Sargie snuffle around his face before dropping down again, racing off and back from Molly to Dare. She even included Chris in her gusto, though he’d been with her the whole time.

Tai came over and leaned on Dare until she’d had her fill of gentle attention.

Molly looked up at the sky. “It’s going to be a storm.”

“Storms on the lake are something to see,” Dare told her.

Tai grabbed her attention by turning and presenting her butt for Molly to scratch. Chris laughed. “On her back just above her tail is her favorite spot.”

Dutifully, Molly bent down to scratch.

Turning his back on Molly, Dare asked, “Everything secure inside?”

“I was in there until just a few minutes ago. No one could have gotten in.”

“What about your place?”

Damn. “The dogs were barking…” He shook his head. “But you know how they get spooked when you’re not around, and then with the storm… I didn’t see anything or anyone.”

“I don’t want to take any chances.” Concentrated in the way he got while working, Dare searched the immediate grounds. “Take Molly inside while I look around.”

“Not a good idea.” Chris stopped him. “If something comes up, you should be with her. If someone has intruded, she’s the one they want.”

Dare looked downright lethal over that possibility.

“Go get her settled,” Chris said. “I’ll check out my place, lock it up and come right back.”

He knew Dare didn’t like that plan, but Molly joined them, and, given that she was the priority right now, he gave in. “Finish up and then come back to the house, ASAP.”

Molly frowned over the curt order, so Chris was quick to say, “I’ll give you a full report on the dogs in just a few minutes. Coffee is ready to go—all you have to do is switch it on.”

“Thanks.” Dare gathered Molly close into his side. “Come on. Let’s get in before it starts to rain.”

“What about our stuff?”

“My job,” Chris said, walking backward a few steps. At the side of the house, he turned. Damn it, now Dare had him feeling anxious when he doubted there was reason to be. “I’ll be right back.”

Because he jogged off, Sargie decided to follow him. Usually she’d be glued to Dare’s side, but she thought Chris was playing, and honestly, he didn’t mind the company. “Come on, girl. We’ll get this over with before we get soaked.”

Telling himself that everything was fine, Chris went down the lighted path to his front door. Tall budding trees, swaying in the wind, surrounded the perimeter of his smaller home.

Sargie found a stick, tossed it and then chased it down again.

Though the dog was no longer concerned, Chris felt an eerie sense of uneasiness edge up his spine. He looked at the curtains on his front windows. He was almost certain that he’d left them open, but now they were closed.

His jaw locked. With Sargie right at his side, he opened the front door, deliberately making noise. Stealth was Dare’s thing; he’d prefer to confront any intruders head-on—or better yet, give them the chance to hightail it out of there without any confrontation at all.

A flip of the wall switch showed that the combined living room, kitchen and dining room was empty.

Now.

But footprints on his carpet meant that someone had been inside. They came from the hallway leading to his back bedroom. Crushed leaves, dirt, mulch—all the things around the outside of his windows at the back of his small house.

Chris stared down the hall toward the bedroom, took one step in that direction—and smelled the smoke.

“Oh, shit.” He stepped back to the front door to yell for Dare and found him already coming down the slope.

Dare had the Glock in his hand, and he looked really, really pissed.

“GET OUT OF THERE,” Dare shouted to Chris. Tai followed on his heels, but Dare knew he wouldn’t be able to dissuade her from following. After Trace’s call, it was all he could do to give strict orders to Molly before going after Chris.