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“Are you?” I ask, whipping my head toward him.

“You can’t treat everyone like they’re guilty.”

“The hell I can’t. It’s worked for me so far.”

“Yeah, because I’m here to even things out.”

I smile at him. “Exactly. That’s how we work.”

Pierce smiles too, then he winks, which is one of those things he does that softens my hardened shell just a little.

We stake out the place for a while. Trinity leaves about an hour after I went inside. Pierce and I consider splitting up, but stay put and call Captain instead to give him an update on where we’re at.

“Tell me you have good news,” he says.

“We found her,” Pierce says.

“Then why isn’t she in front of me?”

“Minor problem,” Pierce adds.

“There is no problem big enough to get in the way of this investigation.”

“Her heat has started and she’s checked into a clinic to get it taken care of.”

“Motherfucker,” he hisses.

Pierce frowns, and for the first time, I wonder if Pierce is on to something with our Captain. Why is he so stuck on getting this girl in front of him? Why isn’t he telling us to just go in and question her while she’s here? We could get a warrant for that and he knows it. The facility couldn’t fight us on it if we got one. They’d have no choice but to give us the information we need.

“I want you two to be there every goddamn minute until she leaves. And when she steps foot out of that building, you better throw her in your car and bring her to me.”

The call ends, and we share a look that says we’re both thinking the same thing.

What the hell is his problem?

I shrug it off. He’s probably just under stress. I wouldn’t want his job.

The next five days are hell. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to do a stake out, and I forget how much they fucking suck.

The car is uncomfortable, and I’m hungry twice as much as normal, purely out of boredom. And don’t get me started on that. There’s nothing to do. Books. Puzzles. My cell. All of it only keeps me so entertained. The only good things is that I’m with Pierce, who somehow makes things better. Even when they really sucks.

When we finally spot Raewyn leaving the clinic, we sit up, our gazes glued to her. My hand goes to the handle, preparing to open the door and approach her, like I would any other suspect. But something has me pausing. I never pause. Because when you hesitate, you miss things. Like right now.

A car pulls up, that damn Honda Accord, and Raewyn gets in with a big smile on her face. They drive off. I let go of the handle, grunting out an annoyed sound. Pierce starts the car, and we follow them. Neither of us mentions how we didn’t react the way Captain told us to.

“You have to let me take the lead on this,” Pierce says as he turn out of the parking lot, keeping enough distance so Trinity and Raewyn don’t notice us.

“Don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say.

“Well, I do, and we’re doing it.”

“Fine. You can hear Captain’s mouth when you tell him you let her get away.”

It’s bullshit, I know.

Because we both let her get away.

“Damn right I did. Because I’m being cautious. We don’t need her to run.”