Sylvie’s eyelids fluttered open and she squinted and struggled.
“Baby, it’s me, it’s Alex.”
“Alex?” Her voice was hoarse. It sounded like the inside of her throat had been scraped with sandpaper. She focused on his face and smiled.
“I’ve got you, baby. You’re safe. The nightmare’s over.”
* * *
Alex wasin the wrong place. He should have been at Sylvie’s bedside at the hospital in Loveland instead of Lyons’ police substation. A quick look at George told him the sergeant felt the same way. Cynthia was with Sylvie at least, and would update them with any changes. She was stable; the bullet had just missed the top of her lung and damaged only muscle, but she’d lost enough blood to require a transfusion.
Then there was the press. All they knew was that a wounded police officer had been flown to the Medical Center of the Rockies from somewhere in the mountains. Kyle had sent Flint and Charlie to keep the sharks from swimming too close to Sylvie until they all had their cover story straight.
Which was why the rest of the team was meeting in George’s office for Gina to debrief them.
Sylvie’s boss Robert was present and looking subdued. He’d met privately with Gina first. When he and Gina walked in, Robert greeted the rest of them with an apology for believing that Watchdog was connected to the cartel.
“This is how the last forty-eight hours went down,” Gina said as she paced back and forth. “Officers Frank Morris and Sylvie Madden suspected Officer Tom Hicks was corrupt and had been keeping tabs on him until he disappeared right after the festival along with Brianna. They followed a lead up to the abandoned shack where they found Brianna being held hostage. Officers Morris and Madden attempted a hostage negotiation but the situation rapidly deteriorated and they were forced to exchange fire before backup could be called in. Sylvie was wounded,” she looked at Alex, then George, “but she is expected to make a full recovery.” Gina fixed her stare on Robert. “She’s on leave per protocol whenever an officer discharges a weapon, but is expected to rejoin the force, training for the open position on the K9 Unit should she so choose.”
Robert nodded.
“Sadly, Officer Frank Morris did not survive the confrontation. He will be cremated and there will be a service held for him, honoring his bravery and sacrifice in the line of duty. He is survived by his daughter.”
Alex fought the bile in his stomach and noticed the others doing the same. The truth was, Frank would disappear courtesy of Gina’s friends. Alex didn’t envy him, but it stuck in his craw that the man would be honored as a hero and not reviled as a traitor who nearly cost Sylvie her life.
Yes, the truth was so different from the neat and tidy picture Gina was forced to paint. After they rescued Sylvie, Gina made an anonymous call to 911, a call that strangely was not recorded. If it ever came out that a woman called, Sylvie would say it was her and that she’d passed out before she could give her name.
As they waited for the Flight for Life helicopter, one of the bodies was dressed in Frank Morris’ police uniform. Most of the man’s face was gone. When it came time to identify the body, his daughter would do exactly that—as she was even now being instructed to do if she hoped to continue living her life protected and in peace.
When they heard the rotors in the distance, Alex had to do the hardest thing he’d ever done and leave Sylvie as he and the rest of the team disappeared into the forest, then left before more police arrived. She was conscious and was only alone for a few minutes, but he’d never fully forgive himself.
“In the meantime,” Gina continued, “Officer Tom Hicks is still at large and suspected of fleeing the country. Except for Sylvie, no one outside of this office knows anything different.”
“What?” Brock shouted. “Brianna is supposed to just worry that he’s out there?”
Gina looked down. “Sorry, Badger. This is strictly need-to-know, and Brianna is not on that list.” When she met his gaze again, her golden eyes burned. “I hate letting her feel scared too, I promise you. The one consolation is that she knows you all have her six, and you’ve proven that she can depend on you with her life.”
“Not happy, Gina,” Brock said.
Her lips formed a tight, flat line before she sighed. “My hands are tied. I hope one day soon his body will be ‘found’ and you’ll be able to put her fears to rest.”
A look passed between Gina and Kyle, confirming Alex’s suspicions that Gina’s friends had done similar things before. Neither looked happy.
“That goes for Arden, too, doesn’t it?” Kyle asked.
Gina only nodded.
Kyle looked resigned. “I don’t want her knowing what happened, that our home was violated, especially since we’ll be scattering her brother’s ashes in a couple days.” He looked at Alex. “I understand if you can’t make it. Sylvie needs you.”
Alex nodded. His place was at her side, especially now. “We’ll see.”
“And here’s the truth,” Gina said. “That shack was used to stash things the cartel sold—including women destined to be trafficked. They won’t be operating in this area anymore. We’ve saved lives here. Not just women’s lives, but anyone who would have gotten hooked on the meth and other shit they were selling. Robert, you can take whatever credit you want for that, so long as you uphold the bargain.”
“I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” he replied flatly.
“You have exactly the choice I outlined half an hour ago when you and I were talking. Now, for the rumor mill. The officers didn’t actually work completely alone, but were aided by Watchdog.” She held her hand up when Kyle opened his mouth. “None of it will be substantiated, but it will be enough that your company will look good in the community’s eyes. Is that satisfactory?”
Kyle’s mouth snapped shut. “Affirmative, Spooky.”
