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Recognizing the signs, Arlene moved in to try and loosen the muscles in her neck, but Emma couldn't stop thinking of the mess her house was in. What in God's name would someone want with her, and how the hell had she gotten herself into this mess in the first place?
    "One more thing," Gus broke through her depressing thoughts, "I went ahead last night and called a security company I've worked with before. I noticed you don't have a security system on your house, and you don't have any direct neighbors –"
    "Wait a minute." Holding up her hand, Emma interrupted Gus. "Let me get this straight. You called someone to put an alarm on my house?"
    Regarding her calmly, Gus simply said, "Yes, I did, and I also told them to be on standby and wait for my call to confirm." Leaning across the table, he pinned her with his gaze. "I wasn't going to have them come in without your say so, darlin'; no need to get all worked up. The guys are good and they owe me one. Seemed like a good opportunity to call it in, but it's entirely up to you, of course."
    "Great idea, right, Ems?" Arlene turned to her with a big smile on her face. "It'll sure make me feel a shit load better having you a bit safer in your home."
    And with that, all of her resistance disappeared. Last thing she wanted was to have Arlene worry about her even more than she already did. Dammit, the woman already helped her out so much, so what if it had been a bit presumptuous of Gus to make the arrangements; it was also kind of nice if she was being entirely honest for someone, other than Arlene, to actually consider her wellbeing.
    With a stern look at Gus, Arlene said. "Well, if we're done discussing stressful stuff, I'm going to give Seb a hand bringing out the food. We are going to eat, have another coffee, and then we'll be off and get the sheriff done with. Giving yourself a migraine is not gonna help any... you got your meds on you?"
    Flicking her eyes up at Arlene, who was getting up out of the booth, Emma replies snidely, "Yes, mother."
    "Don't be a bitch, Ems. The day is long yet, so let's eat."
    "Fine."
    Gus looked at Arlene giving him the evil eye, and then glanced over at Emma who didn't look so good across the table from him. He reached over, grabbing her hand. Startled, she looked up, but didn't pull back.
    "Don't worry, we'll figure it out; I'm not gonna leave until we do. I won't let you deal with any of this on your own – trust me on that." A very slight hint of a smile flicked over her lips as she mouthed the word " Thanks. "
    Moments later, when Arlene and Seb brought plates of food to the table, Gus found himself still holding her small hand, rubbing the palm with his thumb and staring into those incredibly blue eyes, set in a strong, gorgeous open face. He was totally losing track of time and place... Christ, get a grip already.
    *****
    S tanding outside the sheriff's office after giving his statement, Gus was waiting for Arlene and Emma. He was pretty sure Arlene would need to go back to the diner, and he really wanted the opportunity to get Emma alone for a bit; there were things they needed to talk about. He just dodged a bullet in Frank's office when Arlene was urging Emma to say something about “that phone call.” He had a feeling it wouldn't be long before that little minor lapse in judgement would turn into a big clusterfuck. Luckily, Emma told Arlene to hush up before she could go any further, and Frank had been distracted by one of his deputies, otherwise, it would have been quite embarrassing for them both. Crap. Just thinking back on it made his cock come to life.  He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was about her that got under his skin. Perhaps it was the contradictions she seemed to embody, the vulnerability she already hinted at on the phone through her self-deprecating comments, countered by her quick wit and courage to dive off the deep end. They were a heady mix of nice and naughty. Those first short impressions had only been