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.
The one thing he’d sworn he didn’t have room for. The one vulnerability he’d avoided because loving someone meant risking everything if you lost them.
But it was too late. Tess had claimed his heart, whether he’d been ready to admit it or not.
His mind conjured up her face. The steady eyes that always seemed to see too much. The stubborn set of her mouth when she dug in. The way she’d looked at him like he was something solid when her world started to fracture.
He’d told himself it was temporary. Proximity. Stress. Adrenaline.
That lie was gone now.
Tess wasn’t a moment or a mistake. She was the woman he wanted a life with—one he was done pretending he hadn’t already chosen. And he’d be damned if he lost her tonight. If it came down to it, he’d take the bullet—because the alternative, a life without her, wasn’t one he was willing to face.
As he shifted the vehicle into Drive, Rafe ended his call and tossed his phone onto the console between them.
“SRT is on their way,” he said. “Eight guys. No lights, no sirens. Total radio silence.”
Brian glanced at him. “You cleared it with the AD?”
His partner nodded. “Johanssen signed off personally. Communication is through cell phones until we get to the scene, then low-range encrypted radios. It won’t go anywhere near dispatch.”
“Good.”
Brian pulled away from the curb, the tires biting hard as he accelerated. The engine climbed, and so did the stakes—Tess, Rafe, SRT, himself—every possible outcome colliding in his head. His mind went back to the shootout in the warehouse—the echo of gunfire, the smell of dust and gunpowder, and the split second when he thought death had looked him in the eye. And if that bullet had been an inch to the left, his life would’ve been snuffed out before he ever realized he’d found the woman he wanted to spend it with.
“They’ll meet us at a DOT lot about a mile from the target site,” Rafe continued, cutting off Brian’s rampant thoughts while plugging the address into the truck’s dashboard GPS.
Brian didn’t respond. His hands were tight on the wheel, grip locked, knuckles whitening as the speedometer climbed. The road ahead blurred into a narrow tunnel of asphalt and shadows as he followed the directions spat out in a far-too-cheerful female voice.
