“Hook it up to the computer in her office in the morning,” Mac ordered him. “I’ll put her to work on that program she installed on my laptop and see what we can pull up. I want you to call the director, let him know what’s going on, and have the files sent here by overnight courier. This time, that bastard is mine.”
“We can do all this in the morning, Mac,” Jethro said quietly, nodding toward her. “She’s exhausted, and I’m betting she still hasn’t eaten.”
Keiley shook her head quickly. “I’m not hungry. I want to know what’s going on first.”
“You’re too tired to make sense of it, Keiley. And we’re too damned tired to go any further tonight,” Mac sighed, moving across the room as Jethro began to pack up the equipment. “We have the prints from here and the balcony door. Tomorrow we’ll courier them out to the Bureau and see if he got sloppy.”
“I can’t sleep.” Keiley shook her head quickly, panicking at the thought of even trying to sleep.
“You’re going to eat first.” His arm went around her, and the warmth of his body immediately began to seep into her. “Then we’re going to lock the doors, rig a few alarms, and pile into Jethro’s bed. Jethro and I will take turns listening for anything and you will sleep.”
She shook her head again.
“Grab the pizza, Jethro. We’ll eat in the kitchen. I need to check on the dog anyway.”
“Pappy?” Keiley glanced at him in concern.
“I just want to make sure he wasn’t hurt. I just remembered that he tried to attack the bastard.”
He should have thought about the dog earlier. If anything happened to the mutt, Keiley would be inconsolable for days.
“Stay here, Kei.” He pushed her into a kitchen chair and bent to her, staring her directly in the eye. “Right here. You don’t move. Are we clear?”
She grimaced, her lips pursing in defiance.
“Keiley. Don’t push me right now.”
Her jaw clenched. “Fine. But you better hurry.”
“Mac, the dog is right by the door,” Jethro informed him. “I’m going to let him in long enough to check him out.”
Mac turned, watching as Jethro opened the door and clicked to the dog to enter.
Hesitant, watching the room warily, the shepherd mix crouched and slunk into the kitchen. Closing the door, Jethro ran his hands carefully over the dog’s large body, checking for wounds or any sign of pain.
“He’s fine.” Jethro opened the door.
Pappy had no intentions of leaving as easily as he had entered, though. Whining, he crouched again and pushed himself further into the room.
“Let him stay,” Keiley ordered them both. Her voice wasn’t pleading and she wasn’t asking. It was a demand.
Mac stared at the animal. Sure as hell if he let it stay in the house tonight he would never get it back out of the house.
“Keiley—”
“Forget it, Mac. I’m not leaving Pappy out there for some crazy idiot to take potshots at. He’s staying in the house.”
The dog disappeared under the table, his head showing up on Keiley’s lap as he whined again, his brown eyes adoring.
“Hell.”
“Live with it,” she whispered. “I won’t let him get hurt.”
“All right, he stays in the house.”
He glanced at Jethro wryly as Keiley opened the pizza box and slipped the dog a slice of pepperoni, mushroom, and double cheese.
“And stays, and stays, and stays.” Jethro grinned as he locked the door and dragged a chair from the table before pulling another slice of the pizza free and pushed it to Keiley. “Now you eat. And don’t argue.” He held his finger up as she started to do just that. “Eat or I’ll personally escort that mutt into the garage and lock him up there. Unlike Mac, it doesn’t break my heart when you don’t get your way.”