“I’ll go. You stay up here with her,” Durango says.
They all leave, and Hunter takes my hand in his. “Seriously, are you okay?”
I nod. “What time is it?”
He turns a clock around that’s sitting on the nightstand. “About four in the morning. You should try to go back to sleep.”
“Okay, will you go downstairs and figure out what’s going on?”
“Of course. I’ll be back.” He squeezes my hand and then leaves, closing the door behind him.
Back to sleep? I don’t think so. My heart is racing, and so is my mind. Did Myers put me in danger? But why?
I have too many questions. After getting dressed, I slowly descend the stairs, listening to the conversation.
“We got him!” Myers says. “He broke in and had intent to hurt or kill her. He was armed!”
“Do you really think this will hold up in court?” Durango asks.
“It will if you let it!” Myers yells.
“You kept this from the Bureau?” Stevens asks. Her cheeks are flushed, and her fists are clenched.
Good, she’s as angry as the rest of us.
Myers doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have to.
“Why the hell did you do this? You ruined everything!” Hunter yells.
I go down a few more stairs.
“We needed to get Bennett off the street before he hurt that girl,” Myers says.
“He almost killed her!” Hunter yells.
“Relax. She was never going to get hurt. I was right there,” Myers says.
The sound of cracking and then a thud echoes up the stairs.
“Dammit! That hurt!” Myers yells.
I race down the rest of the stairs. Myers is on the floor, rubbing his cheek. Hunter stands above him with a crazed look. Durango grabs Hunter’s arm and pulls him back.
“You weren’t right there. The only reason he didn’t get to her is because I stopped him,” Hunter says. “And for what? He’s going to be released within a day.”
Myers remains on the floor, but he sits up and grins. “That works, too.”
“You better explain,” Stevens says. “Explain why I shouldn’t report you.”
Myers stands up but keeps his distance from Hunter. “Because his arrest will get back to his boss.” He glances at Bennett, who is tied to a chair. “What will your boss do when he finds out how messy you’ve been?”
Bennett is pale, his lips trembling as his eyes dart toevery exit in the room. “No, you can’t let Marco find me. If you let me go, I’ll leave the country and never come back. I promise. I don’t care about her.” He nods at me.
This is when they all realize I’m down here with them. My heart is pounding so hard as I stare at the blood coming from Myers’s nose and Bennett’s panicked expression.
Hunter steps over to me. “How long have you been down here?”
I take a calming breath. I don’t want that asshole Myers to think he got to me. “Long enough to know you should have punched him harder.”
