Page 173 of The Woman By the Lake

“What did Harry say?” Nadia asked Riggs.

“He’s pissed you didn’t use the resource I paid fifteen large for in order to protect your ass.”

He heard Maribeth’s gasp from the closet.

“You paid already?” Nadia demanded.

“Nadia,” he said slowly, then thumped his fist twice on his chest. “You’re right there, honey. But, Jesus, fuck, I’m in no mood right now.”

Maribeth stuck her head out of the closet. “You tell her, brother.”

Her head disappeared.

“Thanks for the help!” Nadia shouted toward the closet.

Nope.

He was in no mood.

And with this situation, she needed to be in the same mood as him.

“There’s a message for you outside in the dirt,” Riggs told her.

She looked back at him. “What’s it say?”

“Get off our land.”

The color drained from her face.

“Yeah, princess. Now…pack.”

She dashed to the closet.

Gia sat her ass beside him.

He looked down at the dog.

She looked up at him, panting, but she closed her mouth to swallow before she opened it to lick his hand.

He scratched her head for a while then, not long later, he adjusted the driver’s seat of Nadia’s Range Rover to accommodate his longer legs and cracked a window in the back for Gia to sniff at when he drove all three females to his house.

THIRTY-SIX

More Happy

Riggs

Riggs didn’t want to do it.

But he had to do it.

So, while his son was wolfing down breakfast the next morning (both women were upstairs getting ready to hit the road), he leaned into his forearms on the counter across from his boy.

“I told you when I woke you up, Nadia had another situation at her cabin last night,” Riggs reminded him.

“I know,” Ledge said, shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth. He chewed maybe twice, swallowed, then looked to his dad “That’s why MB is in the guest room and Nadia is up with you. And Gia is here.”

His kid aimed his eyes to the floor where Gia was lying at the foot of the stool by her boy.

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