It makes me furious all over again.
The car, the clothing, the suitcase are only things, but I know she bought those with her own money, without someone compressing her under their thumb.
All she had was a shitty beater sedan and one suitcase. That was her entire life after running from Texas. And it’s gone.
I scrub a hand over my face and scan the room for anything else we need. When I spot my jacket folded over the desk chair, I remember the frog.
"Sweetheart." I pull the stuffed animal from my pocket. "I checked this for bugs when we arrived. It’s safe. I brought it in from the car when we got here."
The scrunch of her nose takes my breath. She’s fighting tears. There’s a red-hot knife in my throat as I drag her into my arms, telling myself to be easy when I want to crush her. To shield her.
"Thank you. It’s a stupid toy, but…" A sniffle follows, driving that knife deeper.
"You don’t have to explain. I’m just glad I grabbed it."
"Me too." She clutches it to her chest. Draws a big breath, and pulls away as she stands taller. "Okay. Let’s go."
God.This woman.
The Agile SUV is already idling in the drive, swept and clean. I buckle her in, scan the perimeter, and pull out fast, wanting as much distance between this house and Jade as possible.
After passing through the small, rural town, we hit empty roads. Dense Oregon timber presses in from both sides with the headlights cutting a narrow tunnel through the dawn light.
Wired, running on adrenaline, I check the mirrors every thirty seconds. Nothing behind us.
If the team wasn’t deploying, I’d have another car following, but we’re tight and waiting isn’t an option.
Jade holds the frog in her lap, working her fingers against the fuzzy material as she looks out the window. Too quiet.
"You processing?" I ask, knowing it can help to go over the details when you’ve been punched in the face with news like she just got.
"I am. You said you checked the car, but missed it. How did he hide the tracker?"
"My quick visual in the parking lot wasn’t enough. Took a full sweep with electronics. It wasn’t a sophisticated device, but it was in an unusual area. Still, I fucked up. Endangered you."
She turns toward me, that frog clenched tighter. "Ryker, you weren’t exactly working in ideal conditions. A lot was going on."
I slipped. Fucked up. Didn’t take the threat serious enough.
"Doesn’t matter, what matters is I failed."
"That you tried matters to me."
I don’t respond. Can’t accept my incompetence. A half-assed sweep with a live tracker inches from where I looked—that’s going to be a scar I carry for a long time.
With a dismissive sound, her hand slowly reaches over, takes up space on my thigh. Stays there, warm and gentle, a reminder that she’s vulnerable and I fucked up on keeping her safe.
"I need to know. All of it."
I glance at her. She’s looking straight ahead. Jaw set.
She’s right. She needs to understand what they’re dealing with.
"I know it’s bad," she prompts when I can’t unglue my tongue from the roof of my mouth. "I’ve known it was bad since I found those files. I just didn’t know the scope of it."
I adjust my grip on the wheel. Check the mirrors. Nothing behind us. Nothing ahead but pre-dawn light on the mountain road and miles of timber.
Don’t let your guard down.
