10:00 a.m.

This was the first time Jess had had the opportunity to have a real look around the yard of her new place. Technically it wasn’t her yard, but she got the benefit of the picturesque view without the physical labor involved with upkeep. Louis certainly had his hands full with maintenance. The man had endless flower beds. Some raised stone beds. Brick ones. And lots of different sizes, shapes, and colors of flowerpots.

Despite the heat already building and with a glass of iced tea in hand, she strolled. The sweats and tee and flip-flops made for the perfect Saturday morning attire. There was no one to impress and no need for a place to carry her weapon. Her case was closed and she was ready for a nice weekend break.

Jess paused at the most recent flower bed she’d noticed Louis working on into the late evening hours the other night. Seemed a little late in the summer to be planting, but then what did she know? She had no green thumb. Maybe she would ask Lily, just out of curiosity. The way the bed was mounded reminded her of a grave. She shuddered. Just went to show she spent too much time around bodies. Jess crouched down and plucked loose the little plastic tag stuck in the ground to see the type of plants he’d selected. Lantana. Plant in full sun.

“That tells me absolutely nothing.” She tucked the tag back into place.

“They love the sun and the heat.”

Startled, Jess pushed to her feet. “Good morning.” She gave herself a mental pop against the forehead. “I was just admiring your lovely gardens.”

“This spot was looking a little lonesome for company.”

He smiled at her. Jess was pretty sure he didn’t do that often. “You have an amazing talent for bringing an outside landscape to life.”

“Not so much talent as time on my hands.” He surveyed his work. “You run out of things to do and well… you know what the Bible says about that.”

“Idle hands are the devil’s tools.” It had been a long time since she’d gone to church but she remembered the basics.

“That says it all, doesn’t it?”

“I guess it does.” Jess kicked herself for not having done this already. “Thank you so much for the glider. I love it. I really do.”

“As I said, it was gathering dust in the garage.” He waved his arm wide. “What is mine is yours, to quote Shakespeare.”

With that he turned and disappeared back into his home.

“What is yours is mine,” she finished the quote. What a peculiar man.

Jess climbed the steps and returned to her little haven. Maybe today she’d go in search of a couple of side chairs and a sofa. Birmingham had plenty of neat thrift stores. She didn’t dare invite Lily. If she even mentioned she needed furniture her sister would have the whole church rushing over to donate to the cause.

Her apartment was cool inside and it smelled like the fresh blossoms candle she had lit. It hadn’t taken her five minutes to do a little straightening up. She didn’t have enough stuff to make a mess yet.

Her cell chirped at her and she walked to the table to check it. Voice mail. She tapped the screen. Not a number she recognized. Just the same, she hit play.

A woman cleared her throat. “Jessie Lee, this is your… aunt Wanda.”

Anger stirred instantly at the sound of the woman’s voice.

“I’ve done some thinking and you’re right about needing some family history. So I made a list of everything I know about our folks. I’ll mail it to you if you want. Or you can come by and pick it up. I don’t know where you live but I could bring it to the police department I guess. Just… let me know… ah… bye.”

Jess played the voice mail again. She started to delete it but decided not to. She needed whatever she could get from the woman for Lily.

Her cell clanged. Jess jumped. “Damn it!”

She stared at the screen. Another number she didn’t recognize. “Harris.”

“Chief Harris, this is Hector Debarros.”

Jess tensed. “Mr. Debarros, hello. Do you have a message from Mr. Lopez?” Hearing from him at this point about the Norwood victims was pretty much a moot point but she wasn’t about to say as much.

“The two executions were carried out by rebels against our clique. They have been taken care of.”

She supposed, like Captain Allen said, that saved the taxpayers the cost of an investigation and a trial. Not to mention housing in whatever jail the perps ended up in. But that view was wrong.

“Mr. Lopez also said that I should tell you that the problem you had in the BPD has resolved itself. You are no longer in danger from that source. He believes you have yourself an angel de la guarda.”

Another wave of tension rippled through her. “What does that mean, Mr. Debarros?”

“You need not worry, Chief Harris, you have a guardian angel.”

The call ended.

Jess stared at the phone. She stamped her foot. “What is with all this angel talk?” Frustrated, she tossed her phone into her bag and grabbed her keys. “Shopping is what I need.”

If she found a sofa she’d have to call Harper. Unless the store provided delivery. She laughed at herself. She’d never heard of thrift stores providing delivery services but who knew.

Maybe she could rent one of those trucks by the hour from the Home Depot. Couldn’t be that different from driving a car. Then again, she’d still need Harper’s strong back.

Or Dan’s.

She’d figure it out.

She opened the door and instantly jumped back.

“I was just about to knock.”

Daniel Burnett stood in her doorway. “You can’t call before you show up at my door?” What was it with men these days? They thought women were just moping around the house waiting for them to appear?

“I had to drop off a couple of antiques in the neighborhood from the silent auction the other night. I thought I’d stop by and see if you wanted to have an early lunch.”

“You making deliveries in that fancy Mercedes of yours?”

He shook his head. “I’m using my dad’s truck.”

“Your dad has a truck?”

“Ford F150. Crew cab. 3.7 liter V-6. Flex fuel,” he bragged, though she had no idea what all that meant.

“Yes,” she enthused. “Lunch would be awesome. You don’t mind helping me run a few errands, do you?”

His gaze narrowed with suspicion. “What kind of errands?”

“I need a few things.” She smiled. “I promised to make you dinner here tonight. I’ll make it extra special.”

“Is that a bribe?”

She nodded. “Absolutely.”

He came inside, forcing her to back up a step, and closed the door behind him. “Give me a little preview and I might be persuaded.”

She dropped her bag to the floor and reached for the buttons of his shirt. “I’ll take my time undoing every one of these buttons.” She kept going until she’d reached the one that disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. “Sorry I can’t get to that one.” She gave him a wicked look. “Unless I do this.” She tugged the button at his waistband loose. The sound of his fly lowering made him groan. She pulled his shirt loose and finished the unbuttoning.

“Then,” she flattened her palms on his chest. He shivered. “I’ll explore all this delicious territory.” She smoothed her palms over his chest, down his rib cage, her heart ached at the feel of the scar Eric Spears had left him with. She banished thoughts of that bastard. This was hers and Dan’s time. No one else mattered. He was breathing heavily. The idea that he was so ready for more had her burning up. A fire for him had been smoldering deep inside her all week. “But I’m a little greedy so that will never be enough.”

She pushed his jeans and briefs down his thighs. “Hmm.” Her fingers wrapped around him. He shuddered.

Just to torture him, she backed up a step and kicked off the flip-flops, slid her sweats and panties down her thighs, leaving them in a puddle on the floor as she reclaimed the space between them.

She leaned against him. “Then…”

“Then,” he echoed as he grabbed her up and twisted around until her back was against the door. “I’d do what I’ve been dying to do all week.”

Her body melted against the hard planes of his. “And what’s that?”

He pressed into her, filling her slowly and completely. “Make love to you.” He kissed her nose. “Again.” He kissed her chin. “And again.”

Her hips moved against his, pressing him deeper. She moaned with pleasure. “Good answer.”

Her phone chirped, signaling she’d received a text, but she didn’t care. All she wanted right now was all of Dan.

It was so good to be home.