Tomorrow. Less than twenty-four hours to figure out how to face the woman I’d abandoned. The woman whose trust I’d shattered. The woman who’d been attacked while I was halfway around the world pretending she didn’t exist.
“I’ll be ready.”
Ethan nodded slowly. “Jace, send Logan the file. Ty, you’re backup if needed. Ben?—”
“Jolly and I are heading back to Montana tomorrow,” Ben said. “But if you need K-9 support, we can delay.”
“Shouldn’t be necessary. This is straight protection detail.” Ethan gathered his papers. “But need to talk to you about an upcoming mission to Kenya. Let’s head to my office.”
He left without waiting for confirmation. Ben followed, giving me a quiet “good luck” nod as Jolly padded at his side.
Ty followed them as they left, clapping me on the shoulder as he passed. “Try not to fuck this up worse than you already have.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Jace lingered, fingers already flying across his laptop keyboard. “File’s in your inbox. Everything we have on the mugging, her current routine, parents’ concerns.” He glanced up. “You sure about this?”
“No.”
“But you’re doing it anyway.”
“Yeah.”
He nodded, closing the laptop. “Good luck. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”
I did too.
Alone in the conference room, I sank into a chair and rubbed my face. My hands came away gritty with dried sweat and dirt I’d missed in my rushed shower. I was sure I looked like something that had crawled out of a cave.
Because that’s what I’d been doing. Hiding in whatever dark corner of the world would have me, pretending that if I never stopped moving, I’d never have to think about what I’d left behind.
But Lauren had been hurt. Someone had put hands on her, scared her, and I’d been several thousand miles away playing hero for strangers, while the one person who actually mattered?—
I cut off that thought, but it was too late. The dam had cracked. Eight weeks of carefully not thinking about her came flooding back.
The way she’d felt beneath me in that hotel bed. The trust in her eyes when she’d kissed my demons quiet. How I’d watched her sleep, then left before she woke.
Tomorrow, I’d see her again. Tomorrow, I’d have to face what I’d done, what I’d walked away from.
My reflection in the conference room window looked like a stranger. But underneath the mess, something had shifted. For the first time since leaving Puerto Rico, I wasn’t planning my next escape.
Lauren was in danger. Real or perceived, it didn’t matter. She needed protection.
And I’d be damned if anyone else was going to provide it.
Chapter 26
Logan
The glass towerpierced the gray October clouds, all sharp angles and reflected light that made my eyes water. I stood on the sidewalk while Chicago’s morning rush flowed around me like I was a rock in a river. My reflection in the lobby doors showed a stranger—clean-shaven, fresh haircut, clothes without bloodstains.
I looked like I belonged here. The lie of it sat heavy in my chest.
A businessman brushed past, coffee in one hand, phone pressed to his ear. The contact sent my hand twitching toward where my weapon should be before I caught myself. No holster. Not for this. Just me in civilian clothes, pretending I knew how to exist in a world of doormen and elevators instead of extraction points and hostile territory.
But none of that mattered. Lauren needed protection, and I’d crawl over broken glass to give it to her.
The doorman—pressed uniform, practiced smile—opened the door before I could reach for it. “Good morning, sir. How can I help you?”
