Hartwell was quiet for a moment. I watched her weigh it—the politics, the budget, the precedent.
“That’s a significant expense, Mr. Cooper. I can’t just?—”
“Then I can’t help you.” I held her gaze. “She lost everything because of this operation. Her livelihood. Her equipment.Almost her life. You want my cooperation down the road, you make this right.”
Another silence. Hartwell studied me like she was taking my measure.
“I’ll make some calls,” she said finally. “No promises, but I’ll advocate for full replacement.”
“I need more than advocacy.”
“You’ll get a decision within the week.” She stood. “That’s the best I can offer. Take it or leave it.”
It wasn’t everything I wanted. But it was real, not empty promises.
“Fine.”
Hartwell gathered Brennan’s abandoned files. “You’re free to go. Someone will be in touch about a follow-up, but take some time first. Again, thank you for what you did. We all want to see Oliver’s operation completely dismantled. We’re much closer to that, thanks to you and Ms. Thornton.”
She left.
I sat in the empty room for a long moment. The fluorescent lights hummed. The stale air pressed in. My body felt like it belonged to someone else—heavy, distant, wrong.
But Mia was in Garnet Bend. Travis would have called if something had gone wrong. She was safe.
I needed to see her. Not a phone call, not a secondhand report. I needed to stand in front of her and see her breathing. Touch her face. Know that she was real.
I pushed myself up from the plastic chair. Every joint ached. Every muscle protested.
The hallway outside was empty. Government beige, government carpet, government silence. I walked toward the exit, car keys heavy in my pocket.
Garnet Bend was three hours away. Mia was three hours away.
I started walking faster.
Chapter 21
Mia
I should have been asleep.
After everything my body had been through—running for my life through the Montana wilderness, climbing rock faces until my hands bled, surviving a hunt designed to break me—I should have passed out the moment I got in the SUV.
But I hadn’t slept.
I’d watched the miles roll by instead, my mind locked on a single image: Coop and Oliver grappling on the edge of that tree line, growing smaller through the back window until the road curved and they disappeared.
The SUV hit a bump, and I blinked. We’d entered Garnet Bend. The town Coop had described in whispered words while I’d clung to hope in the darkness of the cabin.
Main Street was lined with shops that looked like they’d been there for generations. Mountains rose in the distance, their peaks still dusted with snow. A coffee shop, cleverly namedDeja Brew, with a cheerful striped awning. Draper’s Tavern with pickup trucks parked outside.
It was the kind of place where everyone knew everyone, where you could walk down the street and feel like you belonged. I wanted to appreciate it. I wanted to see what Coop loved about this place, to understand why he’d chosen to build his life here.
I couldn’t focus on anything except the hollow ache in my chest.
“Mia.”
Lark’s voice pulled me back. She was turned around in the passenger seat, her red hair catching the late afternoon light. Concern etched lines around her eyes.
