I don’t see Blade or Colton. They’re in the middle of the fray. Plus, the SUV was Blade’s. I cringe when it occurs to me that Blade wouldn’t have been here at the station at all if it hadn’t been for Simone’s attacker.
I can’t think like that. Blade would never blame us. Shit, it’s possible someone has been tailing him for a while, waiting for an opportunity to take him out. Could be a disgruntled client from a past job.
The female officer who’d been talking to June when we first arrived suddenly bursts from the building, looking around. When she spots us, she visibly relaxes and hurries closer.
“What’s wrong?”
“He got away.”
“What?” My voice rises.
Simone grabs my arm tightly.
The officer’s nostrils flare as she growls. “Three masked men came in through a side door. They were heavily armed. We were in the middle of moving the perp from the lineup room. It wasn’t hard for them to take him and escape. Damn near every officer is out here.”
I look back at the commotion. Obviously, this was no coincidence. The car bomb was planted as a distraction so those men could break their friend out of jail. But what the hell kind of calamity is this? How the fuck could this happen?
June and Simone are too stunned for words. Neither has spoken. I suspect they were already in shock and now can hardly process this new information.
Blade marches toward us with purpose. He looks fit to kill, and he’s on the phone. His shoulders lower marginally when he spots us. When he gets close enough, I catch his side of the conversation. “Yes… If you and Cannon could both come. Two cars. I want protection on these women at all times… Thanks. See you in a few.”
When he ends the call, he looks toward me. “Mace and Cannon are coming. Mace will take all of you back to your place and comb the house to make sure it’s safe. Cannon will stay here with me. We’ll catch up with you once we sort this out. I can’t leave since that’s my fucking SUV.”
“You think it’s related?”
“Sure of it,” he says through gritted teeth. “And those fuckers will not get away with this.”
I glance around. “Looks like about a hundred officers are already on it.”
Blade smirks. “They aren’t as efficient as my men.”
“What…men?” June asks. “What do you do?”
Blade softens marginally and gently strokes the top of her head. “I own a protection agency. Black Blade Protection. You’ll be safe with my people, I promise.”
“But…” She looks terrified. Her eyes are wide, and her lips are trembling.
Blade steps closer. “But what, June?” He appears entirely calm even though I’m certain inside he is anything but. He’s doing this for June.
“I don’t know any of you. I can’t ask you to?—”
Blade cuts her off with a finger to her lips. “You didn’t ask. We offered.”
“You know me,” I interject. “It’s been a few years, but I’m still the professor you knew at the university. My home is safe. I promise you can trust Blade and every person who works for him.”
“But I’m intruding. I have friends I can call. Someone can come get me.”
Blade narrows his gaze. His next words are spoken softly enough to take the sting off their meaning. “I don’t mean to point out the obvious, but where were these friends last night and this morning, June?”
She lowers her head.
Blade lifts her chin with a finger. “I didn’t mean that to sound accusatory, honey. Can you just let us help you? I really need to go bark orders at people. It’s going to take me a while. I’ll worry less about you if you go home with Camden and Simone. I suspect whoever blew up my SUV is not pleased that you two ID’d your attacker. That doesn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy about your safety, and I’m the best man in the Seattle area to keep you out of harm and safe. Trust me?”
June nods. “Okay.”
“Thank you. I’ll catch up with you later.” He turns and jogs away.
Mace shows up within minutes. It probably took him a good while to work his way through the throng of people to get to us. He smirks as he faces me. “Hey, Camden. Are you responsible for all this?”
