Page 105 of Say it Ain’t So

“What?” My hand shot to my mouth, and I glanced at Rylan, hoping my loud voice didn’t wake him up. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure how, but he found you. They think he followed you to the police station this morning. He must not have realized you were driving Rylan’s truck, because he came after your car. He was trying to kill you.”

“Oh, God. What am I going to do?”

“Nothing,” Van said, his voice harsh. “They got him, Joss. He’s not escaping jail this time.”

“That’s what we thought last time!”

The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Daddy can’t save him now. The Chicago PD isn’t in his old man’s pocket like the cops back home. And it’s not just attempted murder this time. He had three illegal firearms and he admitted he was going to use them to shoot you. He also killed a woman. Five people other than Rylan were sent to the hospital, and one of the pedestrians he hit died at the scene. There’s another in critical condition, and they don’t think he’ll pull through.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, then tightened my grip on Van’s hand. “They really got him?”

“With all the destruction he caused? They’re going to lock him up and throw away the key. Lee thinks you should testify against him. Show a history of abuse and what he did to you and your friends when you tried to leave him years ago.”

“What about Cheyenne and Dakota?”

“Oh, absolutely. Their testimony would help, too.”

“No, I mean…” I swept my hair off my neck. “They’ve been hiding, too. That’s why I barely speak to Cheyenne anymore. We’ve tried so hard to stay safe and not draw attention to ourselves, but if Peter’s really going away⁠—”

“Then they’ll be safe too.”

Tears leaked from my eyes, and I didn’t object when Van pulled me into a hug.

“Everything will be okay,” he promised. “Once Rylan’s out of here, you can call Cheyenne and let her know. We’ll make sure these charges stick.”

I was sure they would. Lee was tenacious. He helped find a missing teen that no one cared to look for. He took down the remnants of a sex ring and what could have been the worst financial scheme in the history of our country. He kept on Donald Baker until they found proof that he wasn’t who he said he was. And he found Kelly. He saved her time and time again.

“Thank you,” I whispered, wiping my eyes when he pulled away. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’d probably be bored out of your mind.”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t keep a smile from curling my lips. “You and Rylan sure know how to keep a girl on her toes.”

“Damn right!” Van said before his head whipped toward Rylan. Because the exact same words had come out of his mouth too.

“Hey!” Van jumped from his chair and rounded the foot of the bed, smiling as he approached Rylan. “Man, you scared the shit out of us.”

“That’s my job, isn’t it?” Even though his voice was weak, his grin was wide.

A deep voice interrupted from near the door. “Thought your job was to protect people.”

“Lee.” Rylan gave a crooked smile as our boss came into the room, edging Van out of the way. “Feels like we’ve been here before.”

“Same thing, different city. Just checking in on my injured employee.”

Rylan could barely raise his hand to shake Lee’s. “How’s Kelly?”

Lee’s face pinched and my throat grew tight. “Good. She’s good.” He shook his head. “Fuckin’ hell, Dennis. You never fail to surprise me.”

“What?” he croaked.

“Came here for you because you fuckin’ stopped breathing today and the first thing you do is ask about my girl?”

“Your girl.” Rylan grinned. “Sounds good when you put it that way.”

Lee raised a brow and turned to look at me.