Ash nodded.
Noelle sucked a sharp breath between clenched teeth. “But I lied to you. Deceived you.”
“So?” I hissed when Ash disinfected the wound. “Everyone lies, Little Viper. What matters is why you did it.”
I wiped my thumb over her cheek, cleaning away bits of gravel and tears. “So, why did you do it?”
Rafe appeared behind Noelle.
His legs widened into a defensive stance, and he crossed his arms while staring down at her.
His face could have been made from stone for all the expression he gave.
Noelle took the gauze Ash handed her and pressed it to my wound. “My captain threatened my job if I didn’t make an arrest on Christmas Eve. I knew…”
She blinked a few times. “I knew from the beginning that you were the good guys. The way you treated people, the things you did for the community. The toy drive.”
Her gaze darted behind her, to the warehouse.
Rafe was right in her line of sight, but she didn’t look up.
“But you kept the wire on.” Rafe said it in that deadly quiet voice that made most men turn tail and run.
Noelle sighed and rubbed the back of her hand across her forehead. “You have no reason to believe me, but I was going to tell you tonight. After I heard about the Christmas operation, I was going to come clean to all of you. I love you.”
Her eyes reddened, and it took considerable effort not to yank my arm free from Ash and wrap her up in a hug. “I love all of you and I would never do anything to hurt you.”
Ash’s hands stilled on the bandage.
Rafe’s jaw ticked, the muscle jumping beneath his skin.
I knew his response before the first word left his mouth. “You love us but you were going to arrest us.”
“No.” She exploded upward in a flurry of movement. “I was going to tell my captain I found no evidence of wrongdoing. That you were clean. I only wore the wire to prove I was right.”
“And you’d willingly lose your job?” Rafe bent to bring his face closer to hers.
Anger burned bright in his eyes.
Ash worked double-time to finish wrapping my arm.
Neither of us spoke.
There was still a chance that Noelle could convince him.
Noelle nodded. “Yes. I would have given up my job for you.”
The air shifted.
Rafe wavered, the walls he’d built over the years threatened by her claim.
For a minute, I thought he’d forgive her.
Ash finished dressing my wound and began shoving everything back into the red bag.
“Get out.” Rafe straightened to his full height and glared down at Noelle.
Noelle recoiled much like she had in the warehouse.
