Don’t you dare insult me.This was my idea, remember?I’m telling you, the police will pick her up before we get the chance.
Not good enough.Besides, she’s not the only threat.The guy with her also needs to die.
Nobody will believe him either.
You don’t know that.It’s too bad we lost them outside the police station.It’s driving me crazy that we have no idea where they are now.
Hearing the snippet of conversation for the second time sent a chill down Bryn’s spine.This nightmare could have ended much differently.
“Which voices belong to which suspects?”the officer asked.
“Nate, who is Gwen’s husband, and Phillip Justin,” Micah confirmed.“Those are the two men we bound with drywall tape.”
The cop sighed, then nodded.“Fine.I’ll need your phone as evidence, along with all the guns here.”The cop scowled at the cache of weapons surrounding them.He shook his head in amazement.“I gotta say, it’s pretty impressive that you took out four bad guys without any backup.”
Micah shrugged.“We had the element of surprise.”
The officer nodded slowly, clearly assessing Micah for the soldier he was.“Okay, I’ll still need your formal statements, but for now, I better get this scene preserved until the evidence techs can get here and these knuckleheads processed through the system.”The cop glanced at her.“I’m sorry to hear you’ve had to go through this.”
“Thank you.”Tears of relief and gratitude pricked her eyes.
“We’ll meet you at the station shortly,” Micah added, reaching for her hand.“Come on, Bryn.Let’s get you warmed up.”
She nodded and walked with him to the location where they’d hidden their SUV.She wondered if Damien and Gwen had even noticed it as they’d passed by, but then she decided it didn’t matter.Even if they had, Micah had managed to take them down.
She shivered as she slid into the passenger seat, waiting for the heat to kick in.
“Are you okay?”Micah asked.“That was a rough half hour.”
Half hour?She glanced at her watch.“It seems like we were there forever.”
“I know.”He reached over to take her hand again.“I wish I could have spared you that, but it’s over now.”
“Thanks to you, Micah.”She knew she wouldn’t be alive if not for him.“I just want to go home.”
The words had no sooner left her mouth than she realized she didn’t have a home.The house she owned was nothing but a pile of charred wood.
She bent her head to hide the fresh tears.Ridiculous to be upset again over something she couldn’t change.
She was alive and, more importantly, so was Micah.God had kept them both safe in His care.
That was all that mattered.
Micah casta worried glance toward Bryn.Her name would soon be cleared, along with any arrest warrants, but the reality of rebuilding her former life had struck deep.
There was no going back to what was left of her house or her job.Bryn would need to rebuild from the ground up.
And he wanted to be there for her every step of the way.
“Bryn, would you consider coming to Chicago with me?”He drove slowly away from the site of the data center project because he was in no hurry to reach the police station.He knew they’d be stuck there for hours.“I have a two-bedroom apartment, so there’s plenty of room for you to rest and relax.”He wanted to encourage her to look for jobs in the Chicago area but decided to take things one step at a time.“No pressure.”
He was surprised and grateful when she nodded.“Thanks, Micah.I would like that.It’s a little overwhelming to think about my next steps.Contacting my insurance company, notifying the bank, and that doesn’t even include buying replacement items like clothes, shoes...”Her voice trailed off.
“I want to help you through that.”He gently squeezed her hand.“There’s no reason to be overwhelmed.We’ll take it one step at a time.”
“Yeah.”She sighed and rubbed her temple.He hoped she didn’t have nightmares after the way Nate had nearly killed her.“It’s just starting to hit me how much of my previous life is gone to the point I’ll never get it back.”
“I know, that won’t be easy.”He glanced at her, then pulled over to the side of the road.He released her hand long enough to put the car in park, then turned in his seat to face her.“Bryn, I can help you through this, personally and financially.”
