‘Why did Taryn come back?’
‘For Drew.For her family… And now she’s leaving.’
‘When?’
He glanced at his watch.‘In about ten minutes.’He didn’t do goodbyes, never could, and coming to visit Lydia seemed the best excuse to not watch Taryn leave.
‘But Taryn only just got here.’
‘She’s heading back to Canberra.’They were using the same jet they’d commandeered to bring Drew in from Darwin, with Taryn escorting him to an off-site federal prison where Drew would be held until trial, with no chance of bumping into anyone from his mentor program.
‘She’s going home…’ And from there, they’d coordinate the next wave—using Drew’s own emails, call logs, and Drew’s phone.
The Fed had already given Drew’s PC and phone to Finn, telling him:The bastard used your file as his how-to.You might as well use what he left behind as the roadmap to take them all down.
Finn hadn’t smiled—even though he wanted to kiss her, because damn, it felt like she’d just handed him the keys to his dream Harley.
Every name, every meeting, every shell company—it was all there.And now they were going to burn it down, one contact at a time.Giving him the chance to make up for what Drew had done.
Payback was already in motion, with quiet calls to people he trusted in small towns.Nothing official.Not yet.Just eyes and ears on the ground.The kind of justice that moved slow, struck hard, and ended with everyone in cuffs.
Sure, he could talk about work with her.Butthe baby?
That was the bit he couldn’t touch.
And yet with Taryn leaving, it felt like the end of something he hadn’t even had a chance to start.
‘Why is she leaving so soon?’Lydia asked.
‘Work.Taryn’s been offered a promotion.I heard her talking to her boss about it in the Batcave…’ The woman was going places, especially after this bust.Although they were doing their best to keep it quiet for now, only the trusted were called.
Taryn didn’t need someone like Finn holding her back.
Not when she’d been working nonstop, helping the rest of the team push through the mountain of arrest charges, and the ton of paperwork that came with arresting Drew and his local crew.They’d been at it all night, taking turns to make tea, with no coffee for her.He’d even muttered decaf during a brief lull between them, right before they were interrupted.
Finn was the first to hit the food van when it opened.Not for bacon—anything but bacon, as the only other clue he had about her pregnancy, in a conversation that needed to happen, but never did.
He’d done his best to keep an eye on her, making sure she had the good chair, with plenty of water on hand.He just didn’t get too close to her, thinking he might break her, or ruin what they had.
Even now, Finn didn’t move.He couldn’t.
Taryn was leaving…
And he still hadn’t told her how he felt.Or even discussed her pregnancy to find out what she wanted.
‘She’s going places.Taryn doesn’t need someone like me slowing her down.’
He didn’t say it for the sympathy.
Hell, he didn’t even mean to say it out loud.It just came out.But it was the truth.
She was leaving.
And he hadn’t told her a damn thing.
Not about the house that he’d always wanted as a home—where maybe… he wanted her to stay.There.With him.Before he’d even known she was pregnant, because he’d never dared entertain the thought.
And now?When he didn’t even know if he had a permanent job, what kind of future could he offer her?Especially when she was pregnant.
