"God, I was so focused on my own problems that I didn't see this," Haven said. "I'm so sorry, Cora. What a terrible friend I've been."
"No. Stop that right now. I hid this from you on purpose, and I made up all kinds of reasons why it was a good idea. And you're right. You did ask. I just . . . I wanted to be strong for you, to get us out of all the trouble we were in. And I felt like admitting what'd happened would mess everything up."
"You're the strongest person I know," Haven said. "Seriously, I never would've gotten away without you. Or found Dare, or this place. I just wish I could've been there for you the way you were for me."
"You don't give yourself enough credit," Cora said. "Maybe neither of us do. But it's never too late, and I promise never to keep a secret from you again." Now that she felt the relief of finally coming clean, it was hard to remember why it had ever felt so important to keep her secret in the first place. She should've known Haven would be nothing but supportive, but sometimes your brain was your own worst enemy.
"Me too," Haven said nodding. They both sagged against the couch, as if the conversation had drained them. "Do you think these Raven men have any idea what they're getting into with the two of us?"
Cora grinned, almost giddy at being unburdened by secrets after all these months. "No freaking idea at all."
They were laughing again when the front door opened a little while later, and there was a sudden commotion of voices and footsteps.
"Oh, sorry," Cora called, remembering the mountain of bags she'd left in the living room. "I'll be right there to clean up that mess."
"Don't worry about it," Slider said. The boys laughed, and then there was an excited round of shushing.
What in the world were they doing? Cora pushed off the couch to investigate when she caught movement from the corner of her eye. A dog-Bosco?
"What . . . how? Bosco!" she exclaimed.
Cora sank onto the floor and the height-challenged old man got right into her lap, put his paws on her shoulders, and licked her on the mouth.
Laughter rang out from the doorway, where Slider and the boys had gathered with the happiest, most triumphant expressions on their faces.
Cora hugged Bosco, and Haven chuckled as he licked her hand when she petted his head. "What's happening?" Cora asked, her brain struggling to catch up with this roller coaster of a day.
"Surprise," Slider said, unable to hold back a grin.
"Are you serious? You adopted him?" she asked, so happy she could barely stand it. She hugged and petted and kissed Bosco until he squirmed to get away.
"Look at the name tag," Ben said, coming to his knees beside her.
Cora did, and she couldn't decide which amazingly sweet thing to react to first. T.L.B. The Lovable Basset. Or Campbell. "Campbell. You adopted him . . . for me?"
Slider nodded, his expression so soft and intense her heart almost melted. "He's yours."
"And we'll help!" Ben said, making them all laugh.
"Wow." Cora could hardly believe they'd done this, but it just showed that Slider Evans had a wide streak of sweetness inside him that he didn't let many people see, but she saw it. Oh, man, how she saw it. She looked up at Slider. "Thank you. I can't believe you did this."
Slider held out a hand and helped her up, and then they were standing face to face. "I did it for you."
Cora couldn't hold back. She threw her arms around Slider's neck, making him laugh. "I love him so much."
"I know," Slider said, his arms coming around her, too.
She let go of him before she wanted to, because she didn't know how his talk had gone with the boys.
Slider wasn't having it. He grasped her face and pulled her close. "They're happy," he whispered. "And so am I." He kissed her then, just one soft press of lips on lips.
"Argh, Dad!" Sam said, as Ben wrapped his arms around both of them and yelled, "I want in on this hug!"
Haven laughed out loud. "Y'all are so sweet you're making my teeth hurt."
Slider slanted her a glance. "Don't mess up my reputation with that sweet crap."
Rising from where she'd been petting Bosco, Haven chuckled. "Too late, Slider Evans. I'm pretty sure everyone who's ever seen you with your boys already knows."
He grunted, making Cora laugh. "She's not wrong."
Haven planted her hands on her hips and gave Cora a loaded look. "Now I think it's time you deal with that other thing."
"What other thing?" Slider asked.
Cora groaned, but Haven was right. She couldn't put this off. Slider needed to know. "I had a visitor today. Sheriff Davis."
Slider's brow cranked down. He turned to the boys playing with the dog in the doorway. "Hey guys, why don't you take Bosco out to the kitchen and unpack his new stuff?" The kids couldn't leave fast enough, both of them excited to show their lovable basset his new toys.
"Oh, I want to help," Haven said, very obviously wanting to give her and Slider some privacy.
When they were gone, Slider turned back to her. "What the hell did Davis want?"
"Ostensibly, to go over my statement, but the whole thing was so weird. His tone was combative and dismissive, almost accusatory. He kept discounting what I'd seen and heard. And then he left with this warning about how men involved in dogfighting are dangerous, and that I should be careful."
Slider released a frustrated breath that was almost a growl. "Davis has been a thorn in the side of the club for as long as I can remember. Him coming here about your statement I could almost buy, but the way he talked to you . . . something doesn't add up."
"I can't lie. It felt odd to me, too," she said. It worried Cora all over again as she thought about it. Talking to him had made her want to take a shower afterward. Nothing concrete, just . . . a feeling. A bad feeling.
His hands landed on her shoulders, and his expression was filled with so much emotion. For her. "Why didn't you call me right away? I would've come home."
"I know you would've, and I thought about it. I promise. But I wanted you to have time with the boys. And Davis wasn't even here for fifteen minutes." Cora put her arms around her man, because she could claim him now, right out in the open for everyone to see. And she adored that. "If I'd have really been upset, I promise I would've called."
Slider nodded. "I don't want to be overbearing, Cora, but I care. Some asshole gets up in your face, even an asshole in a uniform, and I want to know."
"Okay," she said, pushing up onto tiptoes to kiss him. "It's nice getting to do this without worrying about getting caught."
"Aw, damn, does that mean no more sex against your car?" he asked with a grin so sexy she wanted to go find her car right now.
She chuckled. "I sure as hell hope not, Slider."
He heaved a deep breath, the smile slipping off his face. "I don't like this thing with Davis. He comes again, don't let him in. You aren't even obligated to answer the door."
"I can do that."
"Good. Because the more I think about it, the more this all feels wrong," Slider said. "But I promise you, Cora, that I'm going to get to the bottom of it."
Chapter 20
After lunch at the clubhouse on Sunday afternoon, Slider and his brothers met up in Dare's office to talk about Davis. The evening before, Slider had texted everyone what Cora had said about Davis's visit, and the wrongness of it had been like shrapnel under his skin ever since.
"I have some news from Marz that's pertinent to this Davis thing," Dare said, sitting behind his desk.
Slider hadn't been around to get to know the Hard Ink guys, but he sure as hell appreciated their expertise and assistance now. Because thinking about Davis being inside his house hassling Cora was making him crazy. Last night, the only thing that made him feel any better was slipping over to Cora's room to sleep. Bosco had lifted his head long enough to grunt an acknowledgment, and then gone back to sleep on her floor. Next to the dog bed. Go figure.
Maverick sighed and dropped into the chair in front of Dare's desk. "Let's hear it."
Dare opened an e-mail on his desktop computer. "I talked to Marz for a long time yesterday. The guys at Hard Ink are opening a security firm of their own, and they've gotten some new toys that he was only too happy to try out on our behalf. He said he'd dig into both of our situations, and then first thing this morning, he sent me this." He turned the monitor so that they could all get a better look.