There’s no debate in my tone but even had I not said it, Malik would have insisted she come back to Jameson.
Malik nods once.“We’ll handle it.”
Across the yard, Tessa’s eyes meet mine.The fear remains but there’s more.
Clear as day.
Understanding.
“Give me a second,” I tell Frost, who tucks his phone away.
I cross the yard to Tessa, who looks up at me expectantly.“You’re going with him?”she asks.
“Just to make it official.”
Her hand slides into mine, tight.
“I’ll be back,” I tell her quietly.“But Malik is going to take you to Jameson and you’ll have to stay there until this is done.”
She nods, no argument whatsoever in her expression.“Okay.”Her eyes cut to the house, which is now a crime scene.“I think that’s a good idea.”
I’m glad she’s finally starting to understand how dangerous her job can be.There’s something about her tone… so utterly vulnerable that I react without thinking.I pull Tessa into my arms and she responds by wrapping her arms around me tightly, the blanket on her shoulders falling off.She presses her cheek to my chest, and I kiss the top of her head.
“Thank you,” she whispers.“For saving my life tonight.”
“Just doing my job, Tess.”One more kiss to the top of her head before I pull away.“Try to get some sleep.I’ll meet you back at Jameson.”
Tessa crosses her arms over her stomach, looking small and fragile.I hate leaving her, but it can’t be avoided.As I walk toward the unmarked detective sedan, the weight of what just happened settles in fully.
Two men are dead.
DelRey just lost assets.
And SAPG now knows that Tessa isn’t a soft target.
CHAPTER 14
Tessa
TheinterstatesouthofSeattle opens up past the industrial corridor, cranes and container yards give way to stretches of Douglas fir.Cole drives the way he does everything—contained, deliberate, but only one hand perched casually on the wheel.
We have Marissa Hale’s address pulled up on the navigation and Cole isn’t happy with me that we’re taking this trip.
We’ve been on the freeway for twenty minutes and the silence between us speaks volumes.He’d made his position clear before we left the building.
Arms crossed over his chest in his apartment this morning, working very hard to keep his voice level, he told me in no uncertain terms that driving to Tacoma only two days after a four-man breach team came through my living room window was not an idea he was willing to entertain.
I told him I was going with or without him and I thought his head might explode.He’d stared at me for a long moment, jaw tight, war raging in his eyes.I stared him down and then he grabbed his keys.
So here we are.
“She may not even open the door,” he says finally, eyes on the road.
“She’ll open it,” I say.
“You don’t know that.”
“No,” I allow.“But she will.”
