Delta Five packed up the evidence in silence.
Aaron clapped me on the shoulder. “Nice work, Jensen. Could’ve gone worse.”
“Yeah,” I said, glancing toward Julia, who stood near the edge of the clearing, staring at the bloodstained dirt. “Could’ve gone better too.”
“She’s tough,” Aaron said quietly. “But she’s got a lot more to lose than you think.”
“Tell me about it.”
He gave me a knowing look. “You two ever gonna stop dancing around it?”
I sighed. “Not today.”
“Better make it sooner than later, you know how our work is,” he said, and walked away.
I watched Julia a moment longer before joining her. The moon had come out, pale and cold; her black hair shone in the moonlight.
“He’s stable,” I said softly. “They’ll keep him under guard until we know who else was involved.”
She didn’t look at me. “He almost died because of this.”
“Because someone used him,” I said. “And whoever that someone is—we’ll find them.”
She turned then, eyes fierce and shining. “We? You’re not law enforcement, Hawk.”
“No,” I said. “But I’m not leaving you to fight this alone.”
Her breath caught, and for a heartbeat, she didn’t answer. Then she whispered, “You already promised me that once.”
“Still stands.”
“Frank said Deputy Torres brought him out here.”
The wind shifted, carrying the smell of smoke and gunpowder. Somewhere beyond the trees, thunder rolled again.
This war wasn’t over—not by a long shot.
And neither was she.
12
Julia
The hospital smelled like antiseptic and rain.
Frank was undergoing surgery. The hallway outside the operating room was silent except for the rhythmic squeak of nurses’ shoes and the hum of the fluorescent lights overhead—too much like the station where all of this started.
I sat alone on a vinyl chair, my hands still streaked with his blood. Every time I blinked, I saw the way his eyes had gone glassy before Hawk pressed his hand over the wound.
A soft knock pulled me out of it. Hawk leaned against the doorframe, jacket half-unzipped, hair damp from the storm. His voice was low.
“Doc says he’s gonna make it. Bullet missed anything vital.”
Relief hit me so hard it almost hurt. I pressed a hand over my mouth, nodding.
“Thank God.”
He stepped closer. “He’s lucky you were there.”
