Calder jerks, but I’m already moving, stepping away from him with the device clutched in my fist. He stares at me, confused, mouth opening to ask what I’m doing.
I don’t give him the chance.
There’s a glass of water on the table. Sawyer’s, probably, still full and untouched. I cross to it in three steps, drop the wire into the liquid, and watch it sink.
The tiny device fizzes once, twice. Then goes dark.
“What did you just do?” Calder’s voice is low. Dangerous in a different way than Roman’s ever was.
I meet his eyes. “Protecting you.”
“Saint.”
“They have enough.” I gesture toward Roman’s body, toward the blood pooling on the floor. “They have him. They have Kade’s confession about what just happened. They don’t need whatever else was on that recording.”
“I had immunity.”
“Did you?” I keep my voice steady even though my hands shake. “Or did they promise you immunity and plan to use whatever you said tonight against you later? I’ve seen enough crime shows to know how the FBI works. How they make deals that fall apart in court.”
“Reese gave me her word.”
“And Roman gave you his word too. Multiple times. How’d that work out?”
The words hang in the air between us. Harsh but true.
Behind us, footsteps pound through the house, heavy on the hardwood. Voices shout FBI identifications. The cavalry arrives too late to do anything except clean up the mess.
Calder stares at me like he’s seeing me for the first time. Really seeing me. Not the frightened girl he kidnapped, not the wife he tried to protect, but someone else entirely. Someone who just destroyed evidence to save him, who crossed a line she can’t uncross.
Someone who loves him enough to risk everything.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he says quietly.
“Probably not.” I walk back to him and take his hand. “But I did. And I’m not sorry.”
“Saint.”
“I’m not sorry Roman is dead either.” The admission comes out easier than it should. “I know I should be. I know I should feel something other than relief. But I don’t. He was going to kill us. He was going to kill you. I would’ve watched him bleed out on this floor for hours if that’s what it took to keep you safe.”
His hand tightens around mine. “You’re not that person.”
“Maybe I am now.” I glance toward the window, where red and blue lights are painting the driveway. “Maybe you made me into someone who can watch a man die and feel nothing but relief that it’s over. Or maybe it’s just that he was a bad person and I don’t think a single soul is going to miss him.”
“No.” He pulls me close again, and this time when his arms come around me, it feels different. It feels like he’s the one seeking comfort instead of providing it. “No. You’re still you. You’re still Saint. Don’t let this place, don’t let me, turn you into something you’re not.”
It’s too late for that. Has been too late since the moment he pulled me into his truck and drove me to that cabin in the mountains. Since the moment I fell in love with my captor and chose to protect him instead of myself.
The dining room door slams open, and agents pour in, shouting commands with their guns drawn. I recognize Agent Reese among them, her sharp eyes taking in the sceneefficiently. I’ve seen her a few times at Porter family parties. She spots Roman’s body. Kade on the floor. The rest of us standing in various states of shock.
Her gaze lands on Calder and me, and something flickers across her face. Understanding, maybe. Or suspicion.
“Where’s the wire?” she asks, moving toward us.
Calder opens his mouth, but I speak first.
“It came off during the struggle. I don’t know where it went.”
It’s a lie. An obvious lie. But Reese doesn’t push. She stares at me for a long moment, then nods and turns away to coordinate with her team. Sawyer had taken the device while Calder questioned me. We met eyes over Calder’s shoulder in a moment of understanding.
