“I'm gonna snap that finger off if you point it at me again,” Jake growled. “Snap. It. Off.”

Hackerman wisely dropped the finger.

“We are leaving,” I said to Jake, enunciating each word. He didn't make a move, just stood there with his arms tight at his sides, his fists clenched. “Right now, if you ever want me to speak to you again.”

Jake stared at me for a long moment, then finally grunted, turned and walked out of the pavilion toward the road.

“So hot,” Rhonda murmured again.

I turned to her. Part of me wanted to snap her fingers off—or her boobs—but I chose a different tactic, instead. “He really is, isn't he?”

She blushed. Maybe she'd thought I couldn't hear her. Or maybe she just didn't think I would acknowledge her comment.

I plastered a bright smile on my face. “You wouldn't believe the kind of sex we have when he's angry,” I told her. Her eyes widened and I added with a giggle, “Can't wait to get back to the cabin!”

I turned away before she could respond, hoping her jealous little mind would fixate on that image for the rest of the night.

TWELVE

The sun streaming in the window warmed my face and I squinted as I tried to open my eyes. Jake and I were both cocooned underneath the sheets. He was flat on his back, his eyes shut tight, his arm tucked behind me. I snuggled in closer to him.

We'd walked back to the cabin after the karaoke night, Jake stone-faced and pissed off. I'd grabbed his hand and asked him to tell me everything that had happened. He told me, his voice measured and even, and I flashed back to the clerk at the store. He said Hackerman had grabbed him first and that he'd had no choice but to fight with him. I believed him. He may have had a hair-trigger temper, but he wasn't a fighter. He'd walked away from plenty of confrontations before. But he was about as mad as I'd ever seen him. He'd downed a beer as soon as we'd gotten back to the cabin, draining the bottle in two long swallows. After, it had taken nearly fifteen minutes for my feminine wiles to kick in and for me to lure him into the bedroom for some much-needed distraction.

If Rhonda had gone back to the black monstrosity and listened closely, she might've heard us.

I hoped she had.

Jake stirred next to me and threw his other arm over my chest. He opened one eye. “Hey.”

I smiled at him. “It wakes.”

He grunted.

“I need coffee,” I whispered.

He grunted again.

“I'm assuming you don't want any yet?” I said.

He closed his eye.

If there was one massive difference between Jake and me, it was that I was an early riser and liked to get out of bed and start the day. He did not.

I kissed his shoulder and slid out from under the covers. I pulled on a pair of shorts and the T-shirt Jake had worn the night before. The scent of his deodorant and aftershave clung to it and I breathed it in, the familiar smells enveloping me. I padded the short distance to the kitchen, the smell of brewing coffee scenting the air. I was glad I'd had enough forethought the night before to set the timer on the pot before we'd retired to the bedroom for camper-rattling sex.

Priorities.

I pulled a yellow ceramic mug from the cabinet, yanked the pot from the warmer and filled the mug. I grabbed the creamer from the fridge and added that to the coffee, silently thanking Delilah for stocking the cabin with food and beverages. And creamer.

I set the carton back on the counter and held the cup to my lips.

And froze.

There was a window above the sink that looked out over the deck.

And on the deck were two men.

One wore cut-off denim shorts and a dirty gray tank top. His long stringy hair splayed out from under a gas station hat that sat backwards on his head. He was short and squat, a small roll of fat visible beneath the tank top. The wish of a beard shaded his bony face.

The other guy was taller, lankier. His black hair was cut in what could only be described as a serious mullet—bowl cut bangs in the front, long curly tendrils down to his shoulders in the back. He wore wraparound sunglasses, a black T-shirt and dirty jeans. I could see the outline of a large pocket knife in his front pocket. He was moving slower than the other guy, disinterested in whatever it was they were looking for.

I ducked beneath the window, set my coffee on the counter and hustled back to the bedroom. I jumped on the bed. “Wake up!”

Jake jerked to a sitting position. “Huh?”

“Wake up,” I said, looking over my shouldering and whispering in his ear. “There are two guys out on our deck.”

He rubbed at his eyes. “Two guys?” he mumbled.

“Yes!” I said, pushing on his back to get him moving. “They're going through the cooler and the storage bench! And they are creepy!”

“I thought you didn't want me getting in any more fights.”

“This is different!” I whispered. “Go see what they are doing. Scare them away or something.”

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “You make them sound like raccoons.”

“Just hurry up!”

He pulled on his shorts and sat there for a minute.

“What are you doing?” I hissed.

He looked pointedly at the shirt I was wearing. “Looks like someone else was grabbing things that didn't belong to them.”

I pulled it over my head and tossed it at him.

“I didn't mean...” he began.

I reached for my own shirt and tugged it on. “Shh. No time.”

He shook his head, sighing, but he stood up. I tucked in behind him and followed him out to the kitchen.

The guys were still out on the deck, nosing around.

Jake paused at the kitchen sink, frowned, then walked around through the eating area and living area.

“Are you just going to go out there?” I asked.

“You wanted me to do something, didn't you?”

I felt a little twinge of panic. “What if they're armed?”

He rolled his eyes. “You watch too much TV.”

“I don't watch any TV.”

He yanked the curtains open to the slider. “Then you're just crazy.”

“Hey,” I started to protest but he ignored me.

He jerked the slider open and both of the intruders froze and turned toward the door.

Jake stepped outside and, after a second of hesitation, I sidled out next to him.

“Help you?” Jake asked.

The two men looked at one another, clearly confused. I wasn't sure if it was because they'd been caught or because they didn't understand the question. Or both.

The one with the backward hat said, “Uh, no.”

“Then why are you on my deck?” Jake asked.

“It's not yours,” the one with the sunglasses said. “It's Delilah's.”

“I'm staying here,” Jake said. “At Delilah's invitation. So it's mine right now. What are you looking for?”

They exchanged more confused looks.

“We're lost,” Hat said.

“Lost?”

“Yeah. We were out for a walk—”

Jake stared at the guy in jeans, his eyes zeroing in on the belt buckle looped around him. “You and...” he said, squinting. “Jaw? Is that your name?”

Jaw paled, tugging his shirt out of his jeans and pulling it down over his belt buckle.

Hat's cheeks flushed. “That's not his name...that's his...uh, nickname.”

“Thanks a lot, Chuck,” Jaw sneered. “Jesus.”

“Dude!” Hat, aka Chuck, eyes were bulging. “Now you said my name!”

Jaw's face colored.

“Chuck and Jaw,” Jake said. A thin smile appeared. “Or maybe your name was Jesus? I think I heard him call you both...”

Chuck stared blankly at him.

“I'm gonna go with Chuck,” Jake said, winking. “Anyway, now that we've been properly introduced, let's get back to the question. What are you doing here?”

They looked at one another.

Chuck folded his arms across his chest, trying to look tough. “I told you, dude. We're lost. We've, uh, never been here before.”

“But you know Delilah,” I said, now confident that they weren't armed. I stepped out from behind Jake. “You know this is her cabin.”