Trading in my car was surprisingly easy. The dealership had a plethora of used four wheel drive SUVs to choose from, and Jake seemed very knowledgeable about cars in general. He asked questions about things I had never heard of and negotiated prices for me. He did such a great job that I even received a check from the dealership because my BMW was apparently worth more than the used gold GMC Terrain I was leaving with.

When we were done, I climbed into the driver's seat, waited for Jake to get into the passenger seat, then leaned over, grabbed his collar, pulled his face to mine, and kissed him.

"What was that for?", he asked with a smile as I released him.

"For making this so easy and stress free. I cannot even begin to explain how much I appreciate you".

"Right back atcha, kid", he said, giving me a wink.

I felt my heart flutter.

"Now I can pay you back for my door and shoes", I realized.

"Don't".

I glanced at him. He was staring out the windshield.

"I don't want nothin' from ya", he said, meeting my eyes steadily. "Woulda never said ya could pay me back in the first place 'cept ya seemed so embarrassed and we didn't know each other like we do now".

I thought for a moment and couldn't come up with a valid reason to object.

"Yer gonna hurt my pride if you try an' give me that money", he pressed.

"All right", I conceded.

"Thanks, babe", he said, dropping his hand to my knee and squeezing slightly as I felt my stomach flutter.

...........................................................................

Will was frustrated. His gut told him that Harrison was behind Rillian's attempted kidnapping, and that the phone conversation he had overheard could have easily been about Rillian, but according to Travis there was not enough proof to even access his phone records. Travis had been trying to get ahold of NYPD for weeks, and when he finally got ahold of someone, he was told that it wasn't a case worth their time.

The problem was that no crime had actually been committed yet, and NY detectives were overloaded with crimes which had happened, but the bigger problem for Will was that if they didn't figure it out, next time the kidnappers might be successful.

Will continued stalking Harrison, asked some questions of his secretary, called offices of places Harrison had been, pretending to be working for him to find out who he was meeting. Travis had all of the names he considered suspicious and was digging as best he could with minimal resources.

After no success and no other ideas, Travis finally told him, "I'm going to discuss this with Jake".

"No! Why?", Will snapped. "Trav, let me do this!"

"You are doin' it, son", Travis said kindly, "but Jake's the one with her. I wanna make sure he ain't lettin' his guard down. Plus, Jake used to be an officer there. He might have some insight or resources we don't".

Will snorted. "Doubtful. He got fired, didn't he?"

"You never know", Travis replied. "It's worth a shot".

Will's brain suddenly filtered through something Travis had said. "Wait, what do you mean he's with her? Are they...do you mean...?"

"Sorry, son", Travis replied quietly. "Deb tells me they're an actual couple".

Fuck.

"He's gonna hurt her", Will said out loud.

"Deb doesn't think so, and I must say I'm inclined to agree. He seems to be quite taken with her".

"His history-".

"His history explains your feelings toward him, not his toward her. People can change", Travis said.

"Not so sure about that".

...........................................................................

Jake watched Riley driving her new SUV with pride. He was deliriously happy. The last time he could remember being this happy was when he found out Liv was finally pregnant.

There was no doubt about it- this girl had saved his soul and he was hopelessly devoted to her...which made him nervous. Being this happy was terrifying because if something happened to her, or to their relationship, he was confident that would land him right back to where he was before he met her.

That dark hole wasn't yet far enough away to not scare him.

As she rounded the bend to veer off the county road onto their obscure dirt road, his phone rang.

It was Travis. Riley barely glanced at him as he answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, son. You alone?"

"Nope".

"Figured ya wouldn't be. Call me back when ya are".

"You got it".

Jake hung up feeling that little fear of his happiness being destroyed increasing to a very real worry.

"Dustin?", Riley asked innocently.

"Yeah, babe", Jake quickly lied, laying a hand on her narrow thigh. "I'll call him back in a bit".

...........................................................................

Jake left a glowing Riley happily doing house chores while he wandered out into her backyard and returned Travis' call.

"Hey, Jake", Travis answered.

"Whatcha got?"

"We're actin' mostly on instinct here. Will overheard one phone conversation which could implicate him, but-".

"Now, hold up one fuckin' second", Jake cut him off, confused, with his blood pressure rising. "Will overheard who? Who's actin' on instinct? What exactly ya got goin' on here?!?"

"Sorry, son. Don't rightly know where to start. Will's in New York, trailin' Harrison".

Jake's jaw dropped and his heart froze.

"No. Why the fuck would you do that?", Jake gasped. "Will's gonna blow it, put dickhead on the defensive-".

"He's done great, Jake. Really great. It gives him somethin' to focus on, feel like...he's helpin', like he's makin' amends".

"My girlfriend's life should not be risked to repair that idiot's FUCKIN' FEELINGS!", Jake roared.

"I agree", Travis replied calmly, "but I can't leave the town in Will's hands for more than a day or two, and you're protecting Riley. Will was the only logical choice to send".

Jake took a couple of deep breaths. Travis' logic was sound, but...

"He's not trained. He's not competent".

"He's worked with me long enough and done enough of my police work to know what to do. He wouldn't dare do anythin' to risk her life and you know it".

"Maybe not intentionally", Jake muttered, "but he's a fuckin' nut. Completely unstable".

"The same's been said of you. Look, Jake, I ain't callin' to argue. I stand by my decisions. The point is that we're stuck. NYPD don't think me or this issue is worth their time and we're officially operating on suspicions here. Nothin' solid. I wanna see if ya got any ideas".

"Tell me everything", Jake said, removing his faded leather cowboy hat, tossing it on a log, pacing around Riley's firepit as Travis ran through all the details.

Jake felt nauseated as he heard about the conversation Harrison was having with someone on the phone.

"That could mean they still got someone watchin' her".

"Agreed".

"I haven't seen anyone".

"Unless their contact is someone we know, someone who lives here".

Jake thought for a minute then sighed. "If I leave her, I'm leavin' her unprotected, but to get to the bottom of this an' protect her, I gotta leave her. What the fuck do I do?"

"Why do ya need to leave exactly?"

"Apparently there's shit I can do that you two can't... I can get more answers but I can't do it from here and you ain't gonna know 'bout it. For yer own good, of course".

"Jake, that ain't what I meant at all. I was simply wonderin' if you could call someone-".

"Ain't the type of situation a phone call gonna fix. Got people I can talk to, but I need to do that in person, without bein' seen. I gotta think on this a minute. Both of ya sit tight. I'll call ya back".

"Thank you. I'll help however I can", Travis assured him.

"Man, ya already have. 'Preciate it".

Jake hung up and continued pacing. He wasn't worried about getting the information he needed from Harrison, he wasn't worried about what to tell Riley to cover up his absence, and he certainly wasn't worried about being caught. The only thing that was troubling him was how the fuck he was gonna protect her when he was states away.

...........................................................................

I clung to Jake in my doorway, tears stinging my eyes as my cheek lay on his red flannel shirt. I couldn't release him until I was sure I wouldn't cry. He would only be gone four days, after all. This wasn't the end of the world. The man had to work. He had spent nearly every day with me since we met, and every available second with me since Thanksgiving. I had nothing to complain about. However, the thought of being without him for any amount of time was simply excruciating.

"Baby, yer breakin' my heart", he whispered against the top of my head.

"I'm sorry. I know it. I'm trying not to be dramatic", I explained.

He chuckled. "I'm gonna miss you, too. Now, remember, ya promised me you was gonna stay safe and sit at Deb's and be bored without me".

"I will".

When Deb had heard of Jake's upcoming travels, she had insisted I stay with her.

"Oh, my dear, you'll be doing this old lady a favor", she had laughed. "I get lonely this time of year".

I had felt an outpouring of empathy for her being alone during the holidays and immediately caved. Jake had been thrilled when he heard of it, as if it had been a solution to all of his problems. I realized he probably worried about me out here all alone. I could build a fire now but my competence level on all things overall was minimal.

He had given me keys to his cabin, showed me where extra guns and ammunition were kept, and insisted that I keep the .22 I liked armed with the safety on in my car's glovebox, my purse, or on the nightstand. I promised but it was a little nerve wracking. The guns still intimidated me. I kept envisioning me accidentally shooting someone or myself.

Jake released me from the enfolded protection of his arms. I tipped my chin up to peer into his scruffy face. He had a stern expression on his.

"I mean it, baby. I don't want ya even comin' out here 'till I'm back. It might snow and there's no one else around to see if ya went in the ditch or anythin'".

"I know. You said all that. I was listening and I promised".

"Well, I'm real fuckin' serious 'bout it", he added, furrowing his brow into a scowl.

I laughed lightly. "You don't say?"

"Riley", he pressed sternly.

"I promise to stay in town and text you every step of the day", I said, smiling. His concern for me did warm my heart.

He kissed my forehead then held my face between his large, warm hands and brought his face down close to mine, our noses nearly touching. His blue-gray eyes were soft and filled with concern.

"Bye, beautiful", he said.

"Bye", I replied, feeling my eyes fill with tears against my will.

Jake leaned down and kissed me in his gentle yet persistent way- the way that always had me reeling with emotions and never wanting it to stop.

Then he was gone.

...........................................................................

Jake had opted to drive to New York versus fly for a couple reasons. One- no record of his having been there, and two- it was cheaper.

He slept for four hours across his bench seat at a truck stop in the middle of the night, and finally rolled into the big city mid-morning. He had no plans to see Will, or utilize his help, but he knew where to find him if he needed him.

He drove directly to a seedy neighborhood, parked confidently on the side of the road, locked his doors, and pressed an apartment buzzer on a familiar building while keeping his eyes peeled all around him. Jake was typically armed, and even moreso on today's adventures.

"Yeah?", a surly half-asleep male voice called through the buzzer in reply.

"It's Jake".

"Ha ha ha, well, hell, brotha! Git yo ass on up here", the voice replied.

Jake grabbed the door and pulled it open as his compatriot hit the electronic door release from within his apartment.

Jake quickly dashed up the faded, worn, sickly green stairs inside that door, ignoring the smoke smell in the hallway and the sounds of arguing and children crying behind poorly insulated walls.

At the top of the stairs he veered to the right and saw Trey had propped his apartment door open a crack, which meant Jake was to simply walk in without knocking.

Trey greeted him like a friend as he entered, shaking his hand while swinging the other arm around Jake's shoulders, clapping him on the back. The men were exactly the same height, though Trey was a slimmer athletic build compared to Jake's solid, muscular frame.

"My man!", Trey said, releasing him. "Look atchu! Just look atchu, all hairy and shit! Where ya been?"

"Tennessee".

"Back to your roots".

"I s'pose so. Hey, I apologize for bargin' in but I need help".

"This business or personal?", Trey asked, giving him a knowing smile.

"Business for you, personal for me".

Trey's glossy white grin stretched further.

"Say no more", the dark skinned man said, rubbing his hands together briskly at the prospect of an opportunity. "I got you".

Trey was a genius at all things electronic and was also hugely knowledgeable in underground gossip. Unfortunately, Trey also had a rap sheet pages long, which made him unemployable. Therefore, Trey's talents were wasted on criminals and desperate law abiding citizens whom were struggling with the law's ability to help.

Jake had sought him out time and time again when he was NYPD, and Trey had always delivered.

Jake explained the situation without using names and Trey's advice was- "Get me that phone and I'll getcha the proof you need".

"That's what I figured. How about tracking devices? One for his car, one for his coat?"

"Sure, and when ya steal me that phone I can install a tracker on that, too. The tricky part just gonna be stealin' it in a way he don't know it's stolen, so he's not suspicious when he finds it back where he don't remember leavin' it".

Jake pondered that for a minute. "I can do it".

Trey laughed and nodded, his bushel of curly black hair waving like the leaves at the top of a tall palm tree. "Figured you could".

Trey gave him two tracking devices which Jake paid cash for, then he was on his way.

...........................................................................

I spent four days working, petting Eddie, and enjoying Deb's companionship in the evenings. We watched television together, a luxury I didn't have at my cabin, and she spoiled me with so many desserts and snacks I was worried I wouldn't fit in my jeans by the time I got Jake back!

Much to Deb's amusement, precious Eddie chose to sleep with me in one of the spare bedrooms rather than with her- directly in my bed, head on my pillow, snoring into my hair. I had never spent this much time around dogs, or really any animal, and his human-like behavior floored me. I thought he was terribly cute but it was difficult to sleep with his snoring and how he crowded me to the edge of the bed.

"You just tell him no and shove him over", Deb instructed, laughing.

"I can't do that!", I gasped horrified. "He's so sweet and adorable!"

That sent her into peals of laughter. "That's why he loves you", she said. "Because you won't tell him no!"

She went with me down the mountain to visit some stores. She had last minute items to stock up on, and I wanted to get Jake a Christmas present, which was difficult because the only thing I could think of that he needed was a new truck, and I couldn't afford one of those. I settled for a new, thick flannel shirt in a dark blue and light gray pattern which would look amazing with his eyes. I even got one for myself in emerald green and blue, and wrapped it in the same box as his because it was more for his benefit than mine. I knew he would get a kick out of it.

In any down time I had, I thought about Jake- his blue-gray eyes, his muscular physique, what he looked like naked, the thick black lines of a tribal tattoo wrapping around his left bicep, the American flag on his perfectly round and muscular right buttcheek, a rugged cross tattoo on his defined right pectoral muscle, deer antlers on his right upper arm, memento mori in cursive script along a sculpted rib on his left side, his wavy dark blond hair, the way he held me, the way my body responded to his touch with coursing electric goosebumps and tingles.

I would have never thought I would fall in love with a scruffy, gruff, wild mountain man, but he treated me with more consideration and respect than any of the prep-school well-groomed boys I had grown up with. Allowing myself to love Jake and to cross the line into having sex with him...that was simultaneously the most terrifying and most rewarding experience of my entire life. I couldn't imagine being happier. I couldn't possibly be more grateful for anyone than I was for him. In a way, I was thankful for all of the horrors I went through with Harrison, and for the awful divorce. If I hadn't been treated terribly, and if I hadn't been left with no choice but to move here, I would have never connected with Jake.

...........................................................................

Jake was scoping out Harrison's place of business, sitting kiddie corner in a cafe across the street with a steaming black coffee and a breakfast sandwich at a table in the window.

At five after twelve, Jake watched a passel of white men with brown hair in virtually identical black suits and peacoats pile out of the building and head down the street, assumedly for lunch.

Jake easily identified Harrison as one of the clones, and felt his pulse increase as he envisioned smashing his skull against the curb until he died.

Jake continued eating his sandwich without moving to follow. What he needed to do couldn't be done in the middle of the day.

One minute after the group of men had disappeared from his line of sight, he noticed another familiar figure loping down the sidewalk and chuckled to himself.

Not half bad, Lemke, he gave his nemesis silent praise.

The tall black man was well blended into the crowd, walking at a normal pace, not appearing to be following, or searching for, anyone. His height would give him a natural advantage to be able to keep an eye on his target, but overall Jake had to give him credit. If he didn't know what Will looked like, he wouldn't have picked him out of the crowd.

In exactly one hour, the passel returned, and one minute later, Will walked past.

Jake got up and left with the remainder of his coffee.

...........................................................................

Will was annoyed and cold but he wouldn't give up. He owed it to Riley after everything he had put her through.

So far today he was able to get close enough to hear Harrison speaking only once, and the conversation was irrelevant. He was talking with several coworkers about how hot his new assistant was.

Will strode past Harrison's office building without glancing inside or pausing, then turned left at the corner, crossing the street, intending to head over to the cafe nearly exactly across the street for some coffee. New York was a great deal colder than Tennessee. Will liked the coffee more for warmth than energy.

As he approached the cafe, he realized he recognized the man with a stocking hat approaching him.

"Nice work", Jake simply said. "Keep walkin'".

"Wait, but-", Will protested, pausing.

"Keep walkin'", Jake repeated, already past.

Hell.

Trav had called him after all and Jake was now here to step on his toes. Fantastic.

He's gotta do everything better than me.

It was like Jake relished in shoving Will's nose in everything he did wrong, like he enjoyed pointing out his incompetencies.

Will no longer felt cold as his blood began boiling.

About five minutes later, Will's phone rang.

Jake.

"Yeah?"

"What time does he leave?"

"Anytime between five and seven. Sometimes he comes back after bein' gone a couple hours, also".

"What time does the building lock?"

"Five sharp".

"And to enter that building do I need to be dressed yuppie?"

"Not if yer makin' a delivery".

"Good thinkin'", Jake gave him unexpected praise, then just as unexpectedly hung up.

...........................................................................

Jake had been silently observing a UPS hub on the outskirts of the city for an hour or so. The employee door in appeared to be locked, requiring a badge to open, but there was also a service door which was definitely unlocked. He had seen one customer and two employees enter that way.

After silently weighing his options which didn't give him a definite answer, he dropped all logic and went with his gut, confidently striding in through that service door.

No one was at the front desk, but there was a bell he could hit to get service. He ignored that, ducked his head to avoid the clearly visible camera, striding right past the desk into the back room.

It was so chaotic, unorganized, and swarming with people running behind schedule, no one even gave him notice as he veered to the left where a bunch of brown coats were hanging against the wall.

Jake had bet on exactly that, so he had come in without his winter coat, and quickly slipped a large brown jacket on. He strode right to a pile of parcels stacked half-hazardly against the wall, quickly grabbed a medium sized square one, then went back out the door he had come in, grabbing a invoice pad from the counter on his way out.

He got into his truck outside and left. The entire incident had taken three minutes.

Back at Harrison's office building, Jake was polite and friendly to the security guard at the front door, who trustingly sent him in with directions to Harrison's office.

He easily charmed Harrison's assistant. She would have been pretty had she not felt the need to put on the costume of a blond beach babe rather than embracing her natural beauty. With her dark eyes and eyebrows there was no way that light blond was natural, her tanned skin was a little too orange to have come from the sun, which clearly wasn't currently shining here in the dark of winter, and the overly round breasts fighting to escape the shirt they were pinned down in definitely didn't belong on her thin frame.

She tried signing for the package, but Jake insisted it be Harrison himself, implying it was from a company known for erectile dysfunction, and that discretion was needed.

She giggled and covered her mouth, then led him to Harrison's office.

She knocked lightly before opening the door.

Harrison was on the phone sitting behind an expensive looking dark wood desk. He glanced up, wrinkled his face slightly in disgust, then motioned him in as he kept talking. He looked exactly like his picture- slim, athletic, dark brown hair short and styled well, clean shaven, pale skin, dark brown eyes.

As Jake approached, his heart started beating faster, adrenaline flooding his body as he struggled to suppress the rage which was building in him. This evil fuck had abused his precious Riley, left her destitute, and was likely planning to do something unspeakable to her.

He focused hard on his plan. If he killed him here, all that would happen would be he would go to prison.

We need that the other way around, he told himself.

It was still difficult to rein in his urges for vengeance.

Jake plopped the UPS pad in front of Harrison. He had scrawled some information from the package on it, but Harrison didn't even read it as he continued talking about numbers and scrawled his name quickly next to the X.

Jake set the package down between Harrison and the cell phone which was conveniently laying on the desk, collecting that in his right hand, tucking it up into his sleeve as he took the paper pad back in his other hand and departed.

He didn't relax his guard or breathe until he was back in his truck, heading back to Trey's. His brow was covered in sweat, his hands shaking- not because he was scared of being caught but because with each step he took he had been fighting against every instinct he had to murder that man right then and there.

...........................................................................

Late afternoon, Will answered his phone to Jake again.

"Yeah?"

"You know his vehicle?", Jake asked abruptly.

"'Course".

"Describe it".

"Black BMW. Looks like Rillian's".

"Riley's", Jake immediately corrected him, "and ain't she ain't got that no more. We traded it in".

Will ground his teeth. Several parts of what Jake had said infuriated him.

"Plate?", Jake asked next.

Will rattled it off for him.

"Where's it at?"

Will told him. He knew exactly where it was at this moment because he was watching it in case Harrison left earlier than normal.

He wasn't surprised when Jake simply hung up on him without saying goodbye, but he was curious what he was up to, and bristling from the implications of his relationship with Rillian.

Not even twenty minutes later, Will spotted Jake walking down the street. He wouldn't have recognized him if he hadn't met him on the street earlier. The blond hair sticking out the bottom of the stocking cap was the only real indicator it was him. He watched Jake pull out his phone as he neared the BMW, then watched Jake fumble, dropping the phone as he was about to walk past it.

Jake's phone conveniently bounced underneath Harrison's car. As Jake bent to collect it, Will was able to see him peer underneath the car, but he grabbed his phone and was upright heading on his way within a short moment later.

What was he looking for?

...........................................................................

Jake had no issues getting the tracker placed underneath Harrison's car. Trey verified that the tracker was active, so at least one of the three was planted. Trey was still trying to get into Harrison's phone. Thankfully, it was a numeric code, not a fingerprint, so Trey could get it. It simply took time.

"Tell you what", Trey said. "How 'boutcha get us some chow an' I'll work my magic while you're gone".

"Deal".

On his way to pick up take out, Jake decided to give his girl a call.

"Jake!", she answered breathlessly on the third ring.

"Hey, baby. Whatcha doin'?"

"Playing catch with Eddie outside!"

She sounded so excited and happy, Jake chuckled out loud.

"It's so fun!", she added. "He's so smart! Have you ever done that before?"

"What, played catch with a dog?", he laughed. "Uh, yeah".

"Did you love it?!? I love it!!!"

He started laughing harder. She was so adorable and had been so sheltered.

"I'm real sorry ya didn't get to play with dogs when you was younger".

"That's all right", she replied quickly. "I'm so happy I'm doing it right now".

"Yer outlook's damn positive, sweetheart. Dunno how ya do it", he mused.

She was silent for a moment then said in a more subdued tone, "I don't feel positive when I think about how much I miss you".

That statement pierced his heart like a knife.

"I miss you, too, darlin'. If I weren't so busy, I'd be strugglin'. Ya stayin' busy?"

"I am. Deb is fantastic! Though...she does make me eat an awful lot".

Jake chuckled at that. Deb didn't typically have anyone around to cook for, besides her customers, that was, so he could bet she was taking advantage of Riley's bein' there.

"Honestly, I can't say no because it's so delicious, but I'm nervous about gaining weight", Riley continued.

Jake snorted. "Baby, you could gain twenty pounds before anyone'd notice, and even then you'd still be gorgeous. Yer such a bitty lil' thing, it ain't gonna matter".

There was a long pause, long enough that Jake began worrying that he maybe shouldn't have said what he did. As he opened his mouth to apologize, Riley spoke.

"Do you really think that?"

"'Course I do!", he scoffed. "I ain't sayin' shit I don't mean. Ya know me better than that!"

"I know", she quickly agreed, "only...I've always been cautioned against eating too frequently, limiting carbs, avoiding sugar. Everyone was worried about gaining weight and I was told I could gain easily because I'm petite. I've literally never heard anyone say for me to eat what I want and that it wouldn't matter if I gained weight".

"That's 'cause ya grew up around superficial assholes", he was quick to point out.

"I know", she said. "I know now. I guess...I still don't know what's normal or not. I'm sorry. I must seem so strange to you".

"Not strange, baby, just confused. That's what I'm here for. To straighten ya out. I got ya".

"Thank you", she breathed. "I appreciate you so much".

"Back atcha, kid".

...........................................................................

* Deb is so fantastic, I wish she were MY mother! She's not modeled after anyone I know, either! :) *