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“No,” I sigh, taking a step closer until our toes almost touch and she’s forced to look up at me. “Seeing your mom, Little Bird. This is going to hurt you. And maybe it’ll bring you closure too. Maybe it’ll make everything worse. Or maybe you’ll feel nothing, which will also hurt you, since you’ll expect to feel something else.”
“So what you’re saying is that I’m gonna be a mess either way?” Her eyes glisten with sorrow that beats at the bottom of my stomach and leaves behind an ache I’m not sure will ever go away. “You’re saying today will suck no matter what? And that doesn’t even include the potential for getting shot.”
“I’m saying I’m here for you.” I have ten more seconds, at best, before I have to turn away and become her guard again. So I pinch her trembling jaw between my fingers and lean in to press a closed-mouth kiss to her plump lips. “I’m saying I’m gonna get you through this. Lean on me when you need me, and I swear to christ, I’ll catch you when you need that too.”
I don’t want to let go. And I sure as fuck don’t want to stop touching. But Malone is the one who’ll be watching us closest, so I release her chin and turn to face the doors with just a second to spare. “I’m saying this is gonna suck,” I confirm, meeting Archer’s eyes when the doors slide open and reveal not only him but four other men I wasn’t expecting to see today.
“We have the building secure,” he growls, reaching in past me and wrapping his hand around Rory’s arm to help her out. “You have twenty minutes with your mom.” He softens his voice, at least, but he’s not gentle with her the way she needs. He doesn’t carry her weight to take it off her bad leg the way he should.
Knowing her thigh aches, I start forward and knock his hand away to replace it with mine.
He watches me with narrowed eyes. His head tilted to one side. His curiosity piqued. But I move toformerSpecial Agent Kane Bishop first and look the tattooed thug up and down. “Bish. There a reason you’re inside this building today, or is it purely coincidence?”
“Detective Sluts-A-Lot.” He flashes a smug grin and knocks my shoulder with his fist. “Trust you to get yourself caught up in mobster shit.” He lifts his hand, a silent signal for his men, and turns with me so we start toward the massive fridges Doctor Mayet will have Rory’s mom stored inside. “We caught wind you needed a sharpshooter and some extra cover.”
“So you came?” I loop my arm around Rory’s and lead her while three other men—former Special Agent in Charge Eric DeWhit, and the equally as huge duo seven-foot tall monster muscles Spencer Serrano and Troy Rosa—follow up behind us. They’re Bishop’s soldiers. His protection. And for some reason today, he’s brought his guns across the country to escort a girl in to see her mother. “I fail to see the connect.”
“Malone knows people,” Kane rumbles, his shoulders brushing mine as we walk. “You know people. And Rory has a few friends back in town amongst the first responder ranks. So when Malone mentioned this to Ace, and Ace decided she wanted to get involved…”
“That’s why you’re here,” I acknowledge on a chuckle. “Where is Ace?”
He only shrugs. “Around.”
“And Jay?”
Kane flashes a broad smile and opens the frosted glass door that makes a sucking sound as the air pressure releases. “His eye is glued to a scope and his finger is on the trigger. He’s waiting for the go.”
“Oh god.” Rory audibly gulps as we step into the chilled room and are presented with the two doctors we’ve already met. Stark white coats with perfectly ironed creases, and solemn expressions, reminding me exactly why we’re here.
To visit a dead woman.
To give her daughter a moment to say goodbye.
To find closure.
“Hi, Rory.” Doctor Emeri, the one with pink streaks in her hair and sky-blue eyes, steps away from her boss and the long table already pulled from the wall of fridges. She wrings her hands together, and though she smiles, it’s soft and sweet.
Gentle. And nothing like Kane’s.
“We’ve got the entire floor to ourselves,” she murmurs kindly. “No one is allowed access until we open it up again.”
“I have twenty minutes?” Rory shudders under my touch, her legs growing weaker as Doctor Mayet slowly unzips the shiny black bag fifteen-feet from where we stand. “Twenty, and then it’s time to go?”
“You can have as long as you want,” Aubree responds, pacing closer. “Nothing is as important as a girl and her mom right now. Nothing takes precedence over what you need to do here. So whatever you need,” she comes to a stop right in front of us. “However long you need, we’ll make it happen.”
“Is she…” Rory’s voice breaks with uncertainty, her body leaning toward her mother’s, though her feet remain still. “Is she…”
“She looks like she’s sleeping,” Mayet answers from across the room. She removes her gloved hands from Eleanor’s bag and folds them in front of her stomach. Then she takes a step back, as though to invite Rory closer. “She looks peaceful. And beautiful.”
“Would you like to walk with me?” Aubree offers her arm.
But Rory’s hand only grows tighter around mine.
I accept my fate and incline my head. “I’ll stay with you.” Starting forward, I help her close the gap between where she stands, and where she’s too scared to go. “It’s okay to cry,” I whisper. “It’s okay to feel whatever you’re gonna feel. Even if what you feel is numb.”
“That’s right.” Listening in, Aubree moves with us and offers a small, gentle smile. “There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to the death of those we love. There’s just you and whatever you want the moment to be.”
“Some people cry,” Mayet inserts. “Others smile.”
