Zeke leaned closer, studying the vehicle.“Can you get a clear shot of the driver?”
Blaze clicked through several frames, enhancing the image.The driver wore sunglasses and a ball cap, but something about the angle of his jaw, the set of his shoulders, triggered recognition in Zeke’s memory.
“That’s Jimmy Miller,” Zeke said.“Low-level Vaqueros associate.Does their grunt work—surveillance, intimidation, cleanup.”
“Cleanup?”Blaze’s eyes narrowed.
“Yeah.”Zeke straightened, his gut churning.“The kind of cleanup you do after you’ve eliminated a problem.”
They looked at each other, the unspoken fear hanging between them.If the Vaqueros had sent their cleanup crew to watch Mia’s shop, it meant they’d already dealt with Tina.It meant she was gone, and they were just waiting for the right moment to retrieve what she’d stolen.
“We need more men,” Blaze said.“If they’re planning to move on her?—”
“They won’t.”Zeke’s voice was flat, certain.“Not while I’m there.And I’m not leaving her side until this is over.”
“And when she asks why?When she demands to know what’s really going on?”
Zeke moved to the window, looking out over downtown Laurel Valley.Somewhere out there, Mia was finishing up at her shop, probably exhausted from another long day of rebuilding what the Vaqueros had destroyed.Soon she’d close up, lock the doors, and head home.
Home.When had her small apartment become home?
“I’ll figure it out,” he said finally.“One crisis at a time.”
But even as he said it, he knew time was running out.The Vaqueros were circling.Tina was missing.And Mia was right in the middle of it all, trusting him to keep her safe while he kept her in the dark.
The same pattern that had destroyed them before was happening again.Only this time, the stakes were higher.This time, it wasn’t just their relationship on the line.
This time, it was her life.
“I’m heading back to her place,” Zeke said, grabbing his jacket.“Keep me posted on any movement from that sedan.And Blaze?If anything happens—anything—you call me immediately.”
“Will do.”Blaze walked him to the door.“For what it’s worth?She’s tough.Tougher than you’re giving her credit for.Maybe it’s time to trust her with the truth.”
Zeke didn’t answer.He couldn’t.Because the truth was, he was terrified.Not of the Vaqueros, not of the violence they were capable of, but of seeing that look in Mia’s eyes again.The one that said she was done.That he’d chosen the job over her one too many times and she wasn’t going to wait around for him to finally figure out what mattered.
He’d made her promises this time.Promised he was done with undercover work.Promised he’d take the police chief job in Riverton and give her a normal life.Promised he’d put her first.
And here he was, keeping secrets again.For good reasons, sure.To protect her.To keep her safe.But weren’t those the same justifications he’d used three years ago?
The sun had fully set by the time he pulled into the parking lot behind Mia’s apartment.Her lights were on, a warm glow in the gathering darkness.He sat in the truck for a moment, watching that light, feeling the weight of everything he couldn’t say pressing down on him.
His phone buzzed.Unknown number.
“McBride,” he answered.
Static.Heavy breathing.Then a woman’s voice, barely above a whisper.
“Zeke?”
His heart stopped.“Tina?”
“I’m sorry.”Her voice broke.“I’m so sorry.They found me.They know?—”
The sound of a door slamming.Male voices in the background.A scream cut short.
Then nothing but dial tone.
Zeke was out of the truck and dialing Blaze before his brain fully processed what he’d heard.“Tina just called.She’s alive, but they have her.I need you to trace that call, now.”
