I swept my thumbs across her cheeks. “Of course, it did. You’re human.”
Shiloh straightened, and as my hands fell away from her cheeks, she linked her fingers with mine and squeezed.
Hayes cleared his throat. “Can you walk me through it? I need to get it down for the report.”
I bit back the curse I wanted to hurl at him, reminding myself that Hayes was only doing his job.
Shiloh nodded and started talking, slowly at first and then picking up speed. Each revelation had fury burning brighter inside me. I gripped the arm of the chair with my free hand as Shiloh described Ian grabbing her.
Hayes looked up from his notepad, his mask firmly in place. “It could’ve been him who grabbed you last night. Could you tell if it was the same person?”
Shiloh shook her head, frustration lighting her features. “It could’ve been him, but I can’t say for sure.”
Hayes nodded. “And you didn’t recognize the other man?”
“I’ve never seen him before. He was older. Maybe in his forties or fifties. Dead eyes.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Hayes’ eyes flared. “Hold on.” He searched a stack on his desk, pulling out a folder. He thumbed through it and plucked a photo from the pages, turning it around to face Shiloh.
She sucked in air. “That’s the guy. How do you have a photo of him?”
Shiloh was right. The mandidhave dead eyes, the kind of hollow that made you wonder if a person had a soul.
Hayes’ silence had me glancing up. A look of worry passed over his features before he covered it with the mask again.
“That’s August Ernst. Howard Kemper’s old cellmate.”
“Are you sure about this?”Shiloh asked, worrying that spot on the inside of her cheek.
I couldn’t deny the twitchiness that had taken up residency in my muscles, but that didn’t change my resolve. “I’m sure.”
She glanced in the direction of the front gate. “It’s not like you don’t already have security in place.”
And that security was decent, but it wasn’t the best. Beckett’s friend, Holt, had assured him that he worked with someone who could give us the best. “I’ve been wanting to beef up my system, and I looked up Holt’s security company. He’s the real deal. And he said he’d bring a friend who knows the technical pieces of security systems, inside and out.”
Shiloh was quiet as her gaze traveled around the ranch, landing on Onyx. After her run-in with Ian and August yesterday, she hadn’t wanted to talk about it anymore. She’d lost herself in working with the mare, deepening their bond and giving the horse the gift of understanding and the knowledge that she wasn’t alone.
I hadn’t pushed to talk more last night. I’d simply held her on the couch as we watched the fire dance in the fireplace. I did my best to keep any evidence of worry from my face.
But the fact that I’d agreed to let strangers onto my property was evidence enough that fear had ground its way deep into my gut—terror that someone could get to Shiloh when I wasn’taround. She didn’t leave my ranch much. And, usually, it was to go and see her family or run to the store. She wouldn’t be making those trips alone anymore. And if I could make my property a fortress, whoever was responsible wouldn’t have an opportunity to get to Shiloh. Because, after two attacks in twenty-four hours, I wasn’t taking any chances.
I moved towards her. The pull to wrap my arms around her was too strong, and I had to give in to it. Shiloh felt so damn small in my hold. Fragile. But I knew that was only an illusion. She was fire and steel, and I had to remind myself of that.
My lips ghosted over her hair. “I’d do anything for you.”
She swallowed hard. “But you shouldn’t have to. I can go back to my family’s place if that’s easier—”
My arms tightened around her, cutting off her words. I forced myself to loosen my hold, tipping my head down to take in her face. “Do you want to go back?” I couldn’t bring myself to sayhomebecause, in my mind,thiswas her home. With me.
Emotions warred on her face. “No. But I don’t want to be a burden on you either.”
I brushed the hair away from Shiloh’s face, aching to kiss her. “You could never be a burden.”
She stretched up onto her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to mine. It was a featherlight contact, but heat still swept through me, my entire body going taut. Her fingers twisted in my flannel shirt as she lowered herself back to her heels. “Thank you. I know this isn’t easy. But I don’t want to leave, and this will put my family’s minds at rest.”
“It’ll make me feel better, too.”