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Jane tried to smile back, but her nerves were too taut. They didn’t know Pete. He’d give up his own mother to save himself. But he’d never offer anything without getting more in return.
“We have a clear confession on tape,” Kate announced. “As soon as we show this to the FBI, Jane’ll be in the clear.”
“He’s agreed to tell us where Kellen is, too.” Fenn added.
Jane blinked hard. This was all too good to believe. She wanted to, so very badly, but things never went well with Pete involved.Another shoe would drop.
Tai set the deep blue helicopter down in a cloud of dust at the edge of the team’s new property east of town. The blades whirred down as he and Bridger went through the shutdown procedures. A stew of conflicting feelings warred in her stomach. Anger, and a heaping dose of disgust, at the idea of seeing her ex. But the biggest ingredient was fear for Kellen.
Tai jumped out first. Bridger pulled off his headset and held up a finger. “Hang on,” he told her, and joined her on the bench seat behind the cockpit. “We’re the professionals,” he said. “Let us finish this, okay?”
“But Kellen––”
He held up a hand. “I know. He’s our top priority. Let us do our jobs.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. Of course. They’d already managed to get Pete to confess. They’d get Kellen’s location out of him. She had every faith in them.
But she didn’t trust Pete to keep his word. Not for one second.
She cringed inwardly as Bridger helped her exit the aircraft. Dust filled her lungs. She wiped it out of her eyes. Her lying ex had never kept his word before. All she could do was rely on her Savior to set things right. She was alone on a tightrope. Her only weapon prayer.
“Perp’s in there.” Tai pointed at the beat-up barn at the back of the property and stalked toward it.
Bridger gripped her hand tight. “You don’t have to deal with him. Mason and Fenn and Kate already worked their magic. We’ve got most of what we need already. I’ll handle the cleanup.”
Tempting as Bridger’s offer was, she did need to deal with Pete. If only for her own self-esteem.
Hands shaking now, she sucked in a deep breath and followed the two men to the barn. She needed every bit of her faith to squelch the wave of nausea that bubbled up in her throat when she caught a glance of her ex’s dark head. His long-ish hair hung lank against his skull. The space smelled of dust and hay and a rank combination of flop sweat and the tang of Pete’s signature cologne.
Hands secured behind his back, he was seated in a straight-backed chair, his white button-down shirt no longer crisp. Faces immobile, Mason, Kate, and Fenn surrounded him, arms folded across their chests.Compared to the strong, vital souls surrounding him, Pete looked every bit the loser he was.
How had she ever thought him attractive?
Paige was bent over her keyboard. She brightened when they stepped inside. “We got it! A full confession. Turns out, he and his FBI handlers have been bad, bad boys. Then Mr. Brilliant here decided to cut his friends out of the deal.”
Jane’s knees buckled, but she stayed on her feet, digging her nails into her palms. No way she’d show weakness in front of that monster.
But Pete knew her all too well.
He craned his neck to look over his shoulder, meeting her gaze. His dark eyes danced, and his lips curled into his trademark smirk. “You missed all the fun,” he said. “Not that you were ever into that kind of thing.”
Fun? The man was sicker than she’d imagined. And she imagined a lot.
Bridger moved to slip between the two of them, but for once, she was faster.
The next thing she knew she was flying at her ex, fists raised. Voices called out, but her ears rang so hard she couldn’t distinguish actual words. Her fist connected with Pete’s patrician nose. That wiped the smirk off his too-pretty face.
“Where is he?” she shouted. “Where’s Kellen?”
Blood poured from Pete’s nose. He reared back, eyes wide with astonishment.
“Tell me!” she ordered.
Before she could take another swing, Bridger grabbed her around the waist, swinging her around in an arc before setting her back on her feet. “Ho there!”
Arms pinning her hands to her sides, he carted her outside before setting her gently on the ground. He stepped away, careful to stay between her and the door, and massaged his hurt arm. “I thought you were going to let us handle this?”
Heart pounding in her throat, she dropped her gaze. “I thought I was, too.”
