Andy scoffed. “You can’t just dump me here and go charging off like I don’t matter. This ismyfault. Diego textedme. Tess is there because of?—”
“Stop.” The word cracked through the cab, final and absolute.
Andy froze, shock flashing across his face, his mouth still open. Rafe turned slightly in his seat, eyes flicking back, assessing, ready to step in if needed. Brian twisted in his seat enough to face Andy directly, one arm braced on the console. His expression conveyed no softness. No room to negotiate. “We’ve been over this! You don’t get to rewrite this into some heroic bullshit where you tag along and get yourself killed.”
“I’m not a kid?—”
“You’re sixteen,” he snapped, the words coming out harder than he meant them to—but he didn’t take them back. “And unarmed. And untrained. You’ll only be a distraction and in the way. And if anything happens to you, I won’t be able to live with myself.” His voice cracked on those last few words, and he slammed his hand on the steering wheel, hard enough to hurt, but the pain didn’t register.
The raw words hung between them. Somewhere along the line, Andy had become more than Tess’s kidbrother. The thought of losing him hit Brian the same way it would have if they were blood-related.
Andy swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing as his jaw worked, like he was grinding down words he didn’t trust himself to say. The fight drained out of his posture a notch, his shoulders dropping just enough to give him away.
A bone-deep weight of responsibility settled into Brian’s chest. The kind Uncle Dan had carried when three teenage boys had needed him to be unbreakable, no matter the cost.
He forced his voice down, steady and calm. “That’s not happening. I promise, I’ll do everything I can to get Tess back safely. I don’t want to lose her anymore than you, got it?”
Silence filled the cab, thick and uncomfortable. The engine hummed softly. Outside the vehicle, everyone else’s lives moved on while theirs narrowed to this moment.
From the back seat, Andy muttered, “So I just sit here with my thumb up my ass while your uncle babysits me.”
“No. You work.”
The kid’s head snapped up. “What?”
“You’re our only connection to Diego,” Brian said. “When he texts, you answer. If he calls, you answer. You don’t provoke him. You don’t threaten him. And you don’t try to be clever.” He paused, making sure Andy was locked in. “You keep him talking. Tell himyou’re working on moving the crypto but hit a firewall or something—anything techie and boring enough that he believes it. If he understood how this shit worked, he wouldn’t need you.”
Andy frowned, thinking it through. “What if he doesn’t buy it?”
“Then you adjust. You don’t argue or over-explain. You give him just enough to keep him engaged.”
“And if he thinks something’s off?” Andy’s agitation rose a few notches again. But this time, it was more likely panic than annoyance. “What if he gets upset and threatens to hurt Tess?”
He held up a reassuring hand. “Then you slow him down. Ask a question. Buy time. Let him think he’s still in control. Okay? You got this?”
The teen took a deep breath and nodded, nervousness still evident in his eyes but now tempered by determination.
Brian held his gaze a moment longer. “I trust you, Andy. And you’ve got to trust me to do everything I can to bring Tess back. That includes leaving you here. It’s safe, and Dan knows how to help you if things start to spiral.”
As if on cue, the door leading into the stairwell opened. Dan stepped out onto the sidewalk, holding his cell phone and scanning the street, probably out of habit more than concern. He looked exactly like he always did—calm, steady, and fully present.
Andy looked from Dan to Brian, his chin quivering. “You swear you’ll bring her back unharmed.”
Brian got out of the truck and opened the rear door himself. The night air was heavy with humidity. He reached in and gripped Andy’s shoulder—firm, grounding, and unyielding.
“I don’t swear things I can’t deliver.” He wished his answer could have been different, but his many years in law enforcement had taught him not to make promises he couldn’t keep. He leaned closer, lowering his voice so only Andy could hear. “But I will find her, and if it comes down to one of us walking out alive, I’ll do everything in my power to make damn sure it’s her.”
Andy nodded once, then climbed out of the vehicle. The weight of what was happening was still heavy on his shoulders. “Okay.”
When the kid approached Dan, he pulled Andy toward the stairwell, already talking low, already anchoring him. The door shut behind them.
Brian stood there a beat longer than he should have, staring at the closed door, his jaw tight and his chest heavy. He sent up a quick, silent prayer that neither he nor Andy would lose another person they loved, then got back into the driver’s seat and slammed the door harder than necessary. The sound echoed in the cab, sharp and final, like a line being crossed.
His thoughts flicked back to his prayer, and he froze as one word rose above the rest. His breath caught.
Love.
Somewhere along the line, he’d fallen in love with Tess.
