A/N: I own nothing and please forgive all of my mistakes.

Twenty-one

"Isn't this something the local sheriff lowering herself to come to a Menkins establishment to buy booze."

Cedes had two choices ignore him which could cause an even bigger scene or acknowledge Cooter and get more information about Sander Menkins, her DB case. While she was waiting to decide, Cooter kept talking.

"Tonto ain't got over you since he was a boy which shows he ain't got no sense. He ain't smart where it counts."

From what Cedes could tell, Sam, who wasn't a Menkins anyways, had the most sense in their "family", especially where they counted. He and Stacey and now Stevie gave Cedes hope for the next generation of the family. With Sam in charge and Stacey by his side, they could break the cycle of abuse and criminality that probably went back five generations.

She decided on choice number two because she didn't want to see again to question him, "When was the last time you saw your brother?"

"'Bout two hours ago." He said while walking towards her and then sitting on the seat she was standing beside. "Ain't never seen quite so much of his body before. It was disturbing, a bear tearing into him and all."

"Why didn't you or someone else in your family file a missing person report on him?"

He winked at her. "Cause no one missed him."

"Sure, that makes sense." She said humoring him as she turned to leave.

"Don't go. Why don't you stay and keep an old grieving man company?"

"Thanks for the offer but I have to work."

"It was more of an order than an offer."

"Still, no, Cooter."

When he reached out to detain her, she did the unexpected and got closer to him. So close they were face to face when she spoke again using her personal de-escalation technique that she had to use with people who underestimated her size.

"I know more than one hundred ways to take you down from where I am standing, forty of those involve breaking your hand before you even get a chance to touch me."

She could see his anger and as badly as he wanted to, he didn't try to touch. And Cedes thought Sam, Stacey, and Stevie had hoarded all the intelligence in the family. Maybe she'd underestimated their Uncle Cooter.

"Cooter," came a warning voice from the back unlit part of the room.

They both turned and saw Sam Menkins sitting drinking a glass of whiskey.

How did she not notice him of all people?

Then again, he was seated in the darkest are there. Her eyes hadn't adjusted enough to see him or anyone seated where he was.

The expression on Cooter's face suggested he hadn't known Sam was there, either.

Sam gave him a glance that was part warning and part 'Go ahead lay a finger on her, I dare you'.

Cooter's annoyance was crystal clear when got up and went back to his original seat without another word.

So, what did she do now? She didn't want to be the girl who needed saving she watched Cheetah Girls as a girl and one of her favorite lines from a song was "I rather rescue myself", but she also didn't want to be the girl who said she didn't need saving even when she did. She just knew that she wanted to live in a world where her daughter and other girls didn't need to be saved from the Sandys and the Cooters and the Bastians. She wanted them to live in a world that deserved them.

But here Sam was, ready to play her knight in shining though rugged, and definitely panty-melting armor.

She couldn't think about how sexy he was. She needed to distract herself.

"Did you know that your nephew is at my house?"

He eyed her from her face to her hips before asking, "Stevie?"

"Unless you have another one that I don't know about."

"Oh hell." He got up and grabbed his jacket. "Did he escaped again?"

"He's done this before?"

"Yes, he doesn't like hospitals."

"Well, he must like the gowns because he is wearing one."

"He doesn't take the time to dress when he escapes."

"Wait! I need to get my red wine!" she said as he started for the door.

He turned around and waited for her to buy her precious wine even though it irritated him. Oh yeah. Definitely a knight in rugged, shining, panty-melting armor.

Then, he followed her home where Stevie and Gina awaited their return. Only they found them in her parents' house eating beef stew and homemade biscuits.

Sam took the box she was carrying as she unlocked the door and then they went inside.

"Hey, Mom!" Gina spoke first.

"Hello, daughter."

Gina smiled at her before her jaw dropped to the floor. She'd spotted Sam.

"Uncle Sam!" Stevie yelled. "You found me again!"

Sam put the box down and opened his arms. The teenager, who was almost as tall as Sam, ran into them, but only for a second. He stepped back and asked, "Are you mad at me?"

Sam frowned. "Why would I be mad?"

"Because you had to find me."

"I'm not mad, but your mom is probably really worried about you again."

Cedes' parents gave Sam their attention as well. Her dad stood and offered his hand. "Sam, always good to see you."

"You, too, sir." He nodded to Minnie. "Mrs. Jones."

"No, Mrs. Jones," she said as though indignant. "Just call me Minnie, and please join us. You've had quite a day."

"Thank you, ma'am." His looked at Gina, who was still staring at him with her mouth wide open.

When her shock wore off, she got up and threw her arms around his neck. He swung her off the ground and let her feet dangle as he held her, and the sight of their affection made the air leave Cedes' lungs.

Sam had saved her life. Her daughter loved him. These thoughts replayed in her head all day long because she'd never even known. Maybe Sam was right she didn't see everything.

"How are you, Gee?" he asked into her.

"I'm so much better now."

Seeing how her daughter clung to Sam made Cedes remember how she had pondered the idea of a father figure, and the consequences of the lack of one, had affected Gina's life. But it had never hit her quite so hard as tonight.

Had she been selfish to focus so much on her career? Should she have at least tried to find a husband so, that Gina would not miss out on the everyday normality other kids had?

Not all kids, of course, but there was no denying the immense advantages for a kid with two supportive parents in the home. She didn't know where she would personally be without her father because her mother drove her batshit crazy as a teenager.

Stacey showed up a few minutes later, and because of their secret pact, she could not stay for dinner. Sam, however, could. Stacey thanked her parents and Gina and then whispered a soft thank-you to Cedes before taking a very disappointed and disgruntled Stevie back to the hospital.

"You better stay in that hospital, mister man," Gina said to him. "I promise to visit you first thing tomorrow."

He stop protesting and smiled at her daughter's words, and Cedes felt assured that her single parenting wasn't totally awful if her daughter could have an effect like that on her friend. Gina was a good person.

When Stacey and Stevie said their goodbyes, they sat down to eat, and Cedes was so distracted by Sam's presence that when the same daughter she'd just said was a good person, snuck off to look at the evidence on the Ashlyn Caswell case, she'd brought home in the box that Sam carried in for her.

While her parents made talked to Sam about his businesses, Cedes drank almost a half bottle of the red wine and enjoyed every sip. Drinking helped her to not stare at Sam. It also, helped her to not dwell on how he'd looked in bed that morning or the words he said to her when she'd left.

She was thinking of all the excuses she could come up with to invade his bedroom again when Gina walked into the kitchen holding a copy of the letter Ashlyn sent.

"Mom," she said, her eyes like saucers.

"Gina, you are not supposed to see that." Cedes jumped up to take it from her, knocking her wine over in the process, but the expression on Gina's face stopped her. "What is it, ladybug?"

"Why didn't you show this to me earlier?"

"Gina, you can't know about that. It's part of an ongoing investigation."

"But I think there's a message for me in this letter."

"What message?" She ran to her, and they looked at the letter together.

"Remember when I told you how I met Ashlyn and how we hit it off and talked about everything under the sun?"

"Yeah."

"Well, her letter says, 'Please thank Gina for being my friend for a whole week. I've never known anyone like her. We were hoping we would have at least one class together, like first period, but just in case we didn't, we came up with a way to pass notes to each other like spies sending secret messages. Maybe we can still do that someday. I hope she liked me as much as I liked her.'"

"I forgot to tell you that part, honey. With everything else going on, I just—"

"I understand, but you should know that I found out something today." She sat in the chair next to Sam, and he immediately put his arm around her daughter's shoulders.

She stopped thinking about Sam when she heard Gina say, "I had to practically threaten this kid today."

"You had to what?"

"Remember the boy who was very interested in the fact that we wanted Ashlyn's schedule printed out?"

"I do," she said, thinking back. "Average height, half black and half Asian maybe, probably no more than a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet. Hundred thirty at most."

Gina laughed. "Yes. Jet Huang. He told me he was nervous about getting caught because he'd printed out a schedule for Ashlyn. She negotiated a trade with him to print out my schedule before winter break."

"Your schedule?"

"Yes, she already knew my schedule. She knew it before meeting me."

Cedes sat beside her. "Wow."

"So, first off, she initiated a conversation with me, something that she never did with anyone else at school. Ever. She was too shy. Secondly, she already knew my schedule when we met and knew if we would have any classes together. She'd gotten that information from Jet."

"Why?"

"This might sound insane, but I think she left a note for me. At school."

If her daughter was right, then she did have a little Nancy Drew on her hands. She was a great girl detective. "What do you suggest we do?" she asked, seeing if her daughter's detection skills were similar to her own.

"We go and look for it."

"We should; what I don't get is why she just didn't tell you? Why go to all this trouble?"

"I thought about that, too. I think it's because no one believed her, and she was worried what I would think. If I would see her as a freak and not want to hang out with her. We have to get to that school and check, please Mom."

"Yes, we do." She agreed with her daughter and picked up the phone to call Hunter.

"Hunt, who's the SRO at the high school?"

"Dave Karofsky. Why?"

"Do you have his number? We need to get inside of the school. Gina caught something in the letter we didn't see."

"Figures, but why call Dave, we have a key somewhere. Or call Rashad."

"Why can't I just call Dave he is an officer of the Lima Springs Police Department?"

Gina was waving her arms and shaking her head.

"Do you remember Barney Fife?" he asked.

"Really? He's that bad?"

"Oh no. You misunderstand. He makes Barney Fife look like Eliot Ness."

"Interesting."

"I'll call Rashad and meet you at the school probably with the key." Hunter informed her.

"Okay, and Hunt," she added, "radio silence on this, okay, don't tell a soul."

"Ten-four."

Sam stood and followed them as they were leaving out of the door.

"Thank you again for everything," Cedes said to him dismissing him.

He looked at Gina, winked, and continued walking out with them, only he didn't go to his truck. He went to her department issued SUV. He looked over his shoulder and said, "Shotgun," to Gina.

Gina laughed and happily got in the back seat.

"Um, what do you think you are doing?" Cedes asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You are not allowed to go to the school with us. This is an official investigation."

"Yeah, I don't know if you know this, but I'm a bona fide, sworn-in deputy."

"The hell you are."

"I am. Ask your boyfriend if you don't believe me."

"I don't have a boyfriend to ask."

"Clarington," he said.

"He's not—"

"He was there when I was sworn in for a special assignment."

"What kind of special assignment?"

"I'm not sure that's within your pay grade to know about."

"You know what?" she asked, frustrated. "It doesn't even matter. You can't go. You could be Ashlyn's kidnapper, for all I know."

"I'm a suspect?"

She stared at him. "Everyone is a suspect until they're not."

"Well, stop suspecting me, because I'm going."

"Why?"

"Because Em, are taking Gee into a potentially dangerous situation, and I happen to like her."

When it took her a moment to get inside, he leaned over and asked, "Do you want me to drive?"

"Hell no, I don't want you to drive." She got in, slammed her door shut and put her seat belt on. He made her sound like a bad mother. She'd only sent Gina in undercover the one time when there was a zero percent chance of danger. She wasn't a bad mother.

"You said earlier Ashlyn traded something for a copy of your schedule?" she asked Gina trying to ignore Sam's presence.

"What?"

"Yeah, she got him wine from her family's vineyard."

"Makes sense."

"Why didn't you want Hunter to tell anyone where you were going?" Sam asked her.

"I don't need to explain anything I do to you."

"Please just tell me."

"Because this guy is clever and good with technology. Surely, he's keeping tabs on the investigation. I'd like to keep my daughter's name out of it, to keep her safe, too."

"I never doubted you wanted to keep her safe."

But he did. She could see it on his face. Either that or she was projecting her own guilt onto him.

As soon as she parked, Gina practically ran towards the faculty entrance when Principal Rashad opened it and gestured for them to come inside.

"First period," she said to the principal, while hurrying down the hall.

Cedes and Sam followed her. Cedes could feel his body heat how close he was to her. That man was a walking distraction, and she needed to think clearly, Ashlyn's life was the most important thing that should be on her mind.

Gina stopped in front of a classroom and checked the doorknob while Hunter emerged from the same hall Rashad had come from. "You okay, Gina?" he asked her daughter when he walked up to them.

"Yes." She said before giving him a hug. "And I'll be even better when we find Ashlyn."

"Me, too, kid, me too."

Hunter acknowledged Sam with the barest hint of a nod. Sam didn't return the favor. Their rivalry was ridiculous.

It was also her fault. She should never have confessed to Hunter about their make out session and how her her heart broke when Sam had ignored her afterward.

Her BFF could hold a grudge on her behalf for an eternity.

Principal Rashad unlocked and opened the door, and Gina ran inside, checking under the desks until she found the one she was looking for.

"There is something here!" she shouted, and Cedes didn't even have to tell her not to touch anything. Gina knew better.

Cedes and Hunter kneeled and looked at the underside of the desk. There was a note taped to it addressed to Gina.

They turned the desk over and carefully removed the note by cutting around it with a pocketknife. Then she handed her daughter a pair of gloves.

Gina took the blue gloves, and slipped them on. With some help from a chuckling Sam.

"Okay, sit here and let's see what it says," Cedes said.

Gina sat down and took the note. And was surprised to see a drawing of her name, graffiti-style. Underneath the drawing was a short note.

"This is the only thing I see clearly. I knew when we met that my premonition was real. I hope you find this. If not, please don't be sad. I'm just grateful we got to be friends."

"Mom," Gina said, her eyes watering. "I don't understand what this means. What if we don't find her?"

Cedes sank to her knees beside her, but so did Sam. He put a hand on Gina's shoulder and turned her face toward his. "Deep breaths, Gee. Remember what we talked about."

Gina drew in a deep breath as she looked into his eyes. Surprised, Cedes sat back as Gina and Sam breathed together. Cedes could see when Gina's anxiety had lessened. She was visibly relaxed, and Cedes sat there looking too stunned to move or speak.

"Good job," he said, his voice so serene. "Now take another look at the picture."

She nodded then turned it around. Then she ran her fingers over not her name but the background of the picture.

"It's textured," she said. "Like a cinder block or stucco or something on a wall."

Her eyes widened, and she gasped when she recognized it. Tears on her face she screamed from behind her hands, "I know exactly where she is!"

When they left the school, it finally fully dawned on Cedes the bond that Gina and Sam had was so much deeper than Cedes could ever imagine. She'd been shocked when he'd averted Gina's panic attack, something she was only successful at about half of the time. But the way he looked at her, the warmth in his expression, the knowing grins he cast her way made a tightness form in her chest.

Who was this man, and where could she find one of her very own?

Common sense would tell her, he was Sam Menkins and right the in front of her, but things in the real world were not quite that simple.

And yet, there they were. Sam leading them across a frozen field, his tracking skills undeniable since no one, not even Gina, really knew where the well house exactly was.

She'd only been there once when she was in the sixth grade with Stevie, but after they made a quick stop at the hospital, Stevie couldn't remember where it was, either. He only remembered it was near a spot the kids call the clearing.

While they were at the well house, Stevie and Gina had found an almost empty can of spray paint, and she'd graffitied her name onto a cinder block wall in a tiny room. Cedes couldn't believe her daughter was in Lima Springs at twelve years old was defacing property, but thank God she had indeed done exactly that.

Cedes dropped Gina off at her parents' house and told them that under no uncertain terms was she to go back to their place alone. She was to stay the night with them under lock and key.

They stopped by the station for supplies, picked up Jay and Special Agent Campion on the way, and headed out, all while maintaining radio silence. They could not tip this guy off.

The minute they got close to the clearing, Sam picked up tracks. They followed the footprints until the well house came into view.

"Okay," Cedes said as they huddled in the trees nearby. "He's probably in there with her now."

"The freshest prints would suggest not," Sam said.

"What do you mean?" Agent Campion questioned Sam.

"The tracks are leading away from the shed. If I had to guess, he came to check on her earlier today, then left while the sun was still out and hasn't been back since."

"Someday, you're going to have to teach me how to do that," Cedes told him.

"Someday, I will, Em." he promised her.

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Okay, let's go rescue Ashlyn. I'll take point."

Cedes nodded. Surprisingly, Agent Campion allowed her to take the lead and followed her commands accordingly. "Jay, how is your visibility from up there?"

"Great, except there are no windows."

"If you see anyone approaching us, press the Talk button a few times."

"And then?"

"Can you get a nonfatal shot out of that?" Cedes asked.

"With Nellie here, I can."

Assuming Nellie was Jay's gun, she said, "Then blow his ass away. Just try to keep him barely alive."

Sam had armed himself with a hunting knife that could be a sword on Game of Thrones.

Hunter held up a hand. "Hold up there, kemosabe."

"Really?" he asked Hunter.

"I don't think our insurance would cover—"

"I have my own. Let's just go and rescue this girl."

They all left to do exactly that. Hunter in the lead and Sam at their six.

When they got to the well house, the only door sat on the side opposite of them. They had no way to see inside, to make sure Ashlyn was alone She couldn't risk it. They needed another plan in case Sam was wrong—

"I'm not," he said beside her.

"How did you know what I—?"

"There's only one suspect. Male, size nine to ten shoe, one fifty to one seventy pounds. No one else has been out here, and he is gone."

"Do you know what he ate for lunch?"

He smiled at her. "Go get your missing girl."

She tapped Hunter on the shoulder. He raised his gun to advance. Cedes had only drawn her gun thrice in the line of duty, but she had never shot anyone. This would be her fourth draw. She hoped her record would continue.

Hunter got to the door, listened, then shook his head, indicating no sound. Cedes and Agent Campion crept to the door, and after a three-count, Hunter and Campion kicked in the door together.

Hunt raised his gun and yelled, "Lima Springs Sheriff's Department! Hands up!" The night lights on his gun showed no other people in the room. "Sheriff!" he cried.

Cedes rushed inside and found a Ashlyn wedged as far into a corner as she could get.

She knelt down. "Ashlyn, I'm Sheriff Porter, Gina's mom."

Her eyes were huge circles on her face, but even in the light, her pupils were dilated like she had been drugged. She raised her hands to defend herself. Way to go. Never stop fighting.

"What did he give her?" Hunter asked.

"No idea. Could be molly, morphine, or Rohypnol."

Agent Campion knelt down and found a clear vial. "Rohypnol."

"I think it's time," Hunter said to her.

"Call them in."

As Hunter called in a rescue team, forgoing radio silence to get Ashlyn to the hospital, Cedes tried to reach the girl. "Ashlyn, you did it. You led us straight to you. You and Gina. You two are brilliant."

She finally blinked and tried to focus. "Gina?" She pointed to the cinder block.

Cedes turned to see Gina's name written in graffiti. No wonder she could see it in the windowless room. The paint was glow in the dark.

"Gina," Ashlyn repeated, nodding as though needing Cedes' approval.

"Yes. Gina."

Sam took off his jacket and wrapped it around Ashlyn's body while Agent Campion called in to report that was found alive.

"You and Gina." Cedes drew her the long girl into her arms, and while one might imagine she would break down, she was simply in too much shock.

"We can't wait on the rescue team," she said to Sam.

He nodded and lifted the girl who was no lightweight into his arms like he probably did Stevie earlier that day.

"Jay, I need you and Hunt to get the ATV."

"On it," Jay said.

"Hunter, we don't know if this guy is out there. Stay sharp and don't let him get away."

Hunter gave Cedes a nod and took off in the direction from which they'd come, gun exchanged for a rifle for distance shooting if necessary. Sam carried Ashlyn, and Agent Campion took point as they followed her team out. They had a state police escort to the Lima Springs Urgent Care Center where Sam sat in the backseat with Ashlyn. She clung to him, her dirty hands and broken nails digging into the flesh at his neck. He didn't seem to mind.

Emergency vehicles in every size and shape were waiting for them when they arrived. A medical crew had a gurney at the door as soon as they showed up. They didn't know yet if they'd have to transfer Ashlyn to the children's hospital in McKinleyville or not.

The mayor was there, speaking to news crews. The press called to Cedes, but she walked right past them.

She watched the medical team work on Ashlyn as she called Gina.

"You found her. Thank you, Mom."

"Thank you, ladybug, but I didn't do it alone."

"You have to tell me everything as soon as you get home."

"No, because you will be in bed asleep."

"Tomorrow, then. First thing. Promise me."

"Remember that whole no-more-secrets thing?"

"Yes."

"I'm pretty sure it applies here as well."

Cedes hung up and looked around for Sam. He was gone.

Afterwards, she'd been dealing with doctors, the Caswell family, and reporters. Rachel Berry even gave her an approving nod.

The Caswells hugged their daughter like they would never let her go. She had lost so much weight, her mother kept saying over and over. And the doctors assured them that Ashlyn would be alright despite being near hypothermia and suffering from dehydration.

Never one for publicity, even when it came to promoting his own business, Sam disappeared before she'd gotten a chance to thank him.

"Around the clock protection?" Hunter asked her before leaving.

"Around the clock," she confirmed. With the kidnapper still out there, they'd have to keep a very close eye on the teenager. In the meantime, Cedes would contact some of her friends in the Eureka Police Department to see if they could borrow a safe house, although the Caswells might just want to take her somewhere safe with all the connections they had with the FBI and Governor Newsome.

"Not sure I could keep my eyes open, but I can take over first thing."

"Thanks, Hunter. I'll stay tonight and work on getting her moved somewhere safe. You go home and get some rest."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

He started to walk away when she added to let him know she had forgotten, "You know who would be the perfect person to stay here all night with me?"

"Who?"

"Undersheriff Biff McIntosh. We could really use his help, don't you think?"

Hunter frowned and asked, "Who?" before turning around and walking away.

Expecting nothing less, she gave his back the finger, swearing to get to the bottom of the missing deputy as soon as she had time to breathe, that is.

After grabbing a cup of coffee, she sat across from the state trooper who'd joined her on the night watch. There were only a couple of hours before dawn. She just hoped she could stay awake for that long.

Of course, the fact that a tall, dark, and handsome U.S. Marshal sat down next to her would definitely help. He handed her an egg salad sandwich that he gotten from a machine, then stretched out his legs, clasped his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes.

"Come here for dinner often?" she asked him as she took a bite of the sandwich.

"Every opportunity I get."

She moaned, having had no clue how hungry she'd been. "I don't think you understand what carbs do to my ass."

"Nothing I wouldn't like to do to it, I assure you."

What was going on. She currently had not one, not two, but three sexy men propositioning her. This was just weird.

But, it could all be Sam's fault. Every time he looked at her, every time he got near, she felt sexy, desirable, and deprived, so she could be giving off some kind of pheromone to attract them.

"Do you mind?" the trooper asked, motioning toward the vending machine, she guessed looking at her sandwich made him hungry as well.

"Not at all. We'll hold down the fort until you return."

"Thanks. I will be back in ten."

Cedes took another bite, then balanced her coffee cup with her sandwich and massaged her neck with her free hand.

"I can do that for you," Rutherford offered, though how he knew what she was doing stunned her because he had yet to open his eyes.

"Go ahead."

A grin slid across his face. "Not here."

She lifted a brow in question. As though he could sense her inquiry, he gestured toward an empty room.

She scoffed, shook her head, then took a page out of his playbook. She leaned her head against the wall behind them and closed her eyes.

But all she could see was that man. That infuriatingly exquisite man she'd loved for as long as she could remember. The way he carried Ashlyn through the snow. The way she'd clung to him.

And he'd let her. Cradled her. Whispered soothing words into her ear.

The clang of metal crashing onto the floor startled her out of her thoughts. "What was that?"

When she didn't receive an answer, she turned to Rutherford, but he was gone.

"Marshal?" she called into the empty hall. "Hello?"

Another sound whirled her around. It came from one of the empty rooms. She put her sandwich and coffee on the chair and walked toward the noise, carefully. The flickering lights enveloped her in for a few seconds at a time.

This is not creepy at all.

"Are you okay in there?"

When she didn't get an answer, she drew her gun and held it down and to the side with both hands.

"Marshal? If that's you, respond if you can."

Could the kidnapper have come after Ashlyn? A hundred scenarios flashed in her mind. None of them good.

She walked closer and closer to the door. "This is Sheriff Mercedes Porter. I have my weapon drawn. I am giving you one final warning to identify yourself."

She heard the sound of paper ripping when she opened the door, only to find Sam Menkins sitting on the hospital bed, shirtless trying to wrap his ribs with a blood-soaked bandage.

"Sam?" She holstered her weapon and ran to him. "What happened?"

He glared at her and then asked, "Don't you remember, Em?"

What in the hell? Blood soaked through the bandages from three distinct puncture wounds at an alarming rate. She covered them with her bare hands and applied pressure, but it only seeped through her fingers.

"I need to go and get a doctor."

He caught her arm to stop her. "It's too late."

"What do you mean?" She was confused.

The lights began to flicker again. When they came back on, his entire demeanor had changed. He seemed inebriated, though she didn't smell alcohol. He let his gaze wander up and down her body.

"You're hurt." She looked at his torso, but the bandages were gone. All she saw was his defined chest and eight pack abs she'd dreamed of more times than she could count. "I—I don't understand."

He wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him. "You have to remember to understand," he said.

Her gaze wandered past his chest to the fullness of his mouth. The very one that sent tiny quakes shooting through her body like a freak electrical storm every time he was near.

He bent his head and pressed his lips to hers, parting them with his tongue to explore her more fully.

She sank against him. Wrapped her arms around his neck and let her head fall back when he kissed her throat.

When he pulled her onto the bed, she tried to protest. Not very hard, but still.

"Wait," she panted. "We can't do this here."

He removed her shirt and trailed kisses over the naked skin, before asking, "Where should we go?"

The heat of his mouth was something she never wanted to lose. "Don't pay me any attention. Here's good. Shouldn't we close the door?"

"Be quiet. I'm concentrating."

And magically her pants were gone. His mere presence did things to her that she only thought about when she was alone.

Only she wasn't alone. At least she hadn't been.

"Where did Rutherford go?"

"I need these off." He tugged at her panties.

"Sure." She lifted her butt so he could slide them off. "You know, there are nurses walking up and down these halls all night."

"They won't interrupt us." He said then began licking her clit.

Her gasp was so loud that she covered her mouth with both hands, but only for a moment before she grabbed his hair. His tongue stroked the most sensitive area of her being. The feather-light touch caused wave after wave of pleasure that soaked into her like rain in the Mojave desert.

"Who am I?" he asked her again.

"Why do you keep asking me that?"

He climbed on top of her and pushed two long fingers inside her. "Who are you with?"

She caught his wrist stopping him. "I don't understand."

"Sure you do." He pushed his long fingers deeper, rubbing her clit with his thumb, the friction spiraling through her. "Who am I?"

"Sam," she said moaned. "Sam Menkins."

"Right," he said with a grin. "I wouldn't want you to forget again." His lashes dipped as he studied her, then he wrapped a hand behind her knee and lifted her leg, sliding back down and reapplying himself to the task at hand. He was eating her out like she was the best meal he ever had.

She twisted her fingers in the blanket underneath her as the pressure inside her grew. Like a tide, the promise of a climax pulsated and swelled until it exploded and flooded her entire body in sweet, sharp spasms of untold pleasure.

She couldn't help it. She cried out, riding the waves crashing into her until she jerked awake. Coffee spilled over her hand, and she'd dropped what was left of her sandwich.

"Crap," she said, bolting to her feet. But the orgasm was still rocketing through her. She stilled and let the it run its course. When the currents subsided, she turned to see both the state officer and Marshal Rutherford watching her with something akin to shock and awe as if they were watching a live porno.

"Sorry," she said embarrassed, but they both shook their heads.

Rutherford stood to steady her. "I don't know what you were dreaming, but I'd like to place my order now."

She tried to laugh it off but couldn't. "I have to get this cleaned up. I'll be right back."

"Sheriff Porter," Rutherford said, stopping her with a hand on her arm. "You should go home. We've got this. You've been up for days and I heard you have two blows to your head."

"It's okay. I won't be going back to sleep."

And she wouldn't. She'd had that dream before. Maybe not in that particular setting, and the wound and bandages were new, but Sam Menkins in her bed? His fingers inside her? His mouth on her clit? Oh yeah. She'd dreamed that scenario countless times.

One aspect of this dream was certainly new, though. The fact that she'd she'd had an orgasm while dreaming. That had never happened before.

Cedes got home in time to grab a shower hurriedly dress and take Gina to school. "When can I visit Ashlyn in the hospital?" Gina asked as she stole a huge drink from her coffee. Again.

"Let me check with her parents. Let's see how Ashlyn is doing before we throw her a welcome-home party."

"But I already bought the balloons," she whined. "And hired exotic dancers. Seriously, how did she look?"

"Frightened, ladybug. Terrified." There was no reason to lie. The world could be a terrifying place. "I need to get everything situated, and then I need to find her kidnapper."

Gina smiled. "I am sure you will, Mom."