It was official; he was a sucker.

  “All right. Hang tight.”

  Through the earpiece, Zy heard Trees clacking on the keys of his own computer. The screen of Tessa’s laptop flashed as he started a scan, minimized it, then flipped from one program to the next. Finally, he pulled up the prompt for Gmail. Trees typed in the log-in name they’d captured earlier from their deep dive into the server and his device grabbed the password from cache.

  Instantly, the screen filled with a neat row of emails.

  The Gmail account was Tessa’s.

  Fuck.

  Betrayal flashed through him. His blood froze. His heart stuttered and stopped.

  Zy didn’t think then, just reacted, slamming the lid shut and yanking the USB drive from the slot.

  “The display went dead. What the hell happened?” Trees barked in his ear.

  “I severed the fucking connection. I need a minute.”

  “To process the fact she’s guilty?”

  Yeah. And that she’d been lying to and deceiving every single one of them, especially the chump who had given her his heart and wanted to put a fucking ring on her finger. And now he had to face what he’d been avoiding earlier.

  What if she’d had something to do with Kimber’s kidnapping?

  Until now, Zy had never known he could both love and hate someone so much at once.

  Trees sighed. “It’s okay, buddy. I didn’t get to see all her emails, but I saw enough to know I’m going to need more than a five-minute dive into them. Bring the laptop here.”

  Zy closed his eyes. He didn’t fucking want to, but what he wanted meant nothing now. “Yeah.”

  And the woman, too. He’d drag her along. It was definitely time to make her answer a slew of questions. And he wasn’t letting her go until she finally gave him the fucking truth.

  Once Zy had Tessa’s computer shoved into a pocket on the door of the driver’s side in her sedan, he opened the garage, pulled his bike into the tight space beside her vehicle, grabbed a little something Trees had shoved in his hands before he’d taken off—just in case—and stealthed his way back into the house.

  He was almost done with prep for Tessa’s transport, but now he had to think of Hallie. He didn’t want to risk waking the baby in the middle of the night, and an interrogation was no place for a little girl. He couldn’t leave her here alone, but they had no way to care for her out at Trees’s place. No diapers, no playpen, no baby food… And he didn’t have time to pack half the fucking house. If Tessa knew anything about Kimber’s disappearance, he needed to pry it out of her ASAP.

  “I need help,” he murmured into his microphone as he stood in the middle of the kitchen.

  “Anything.”

  “Call Madison for me?”

  “Right now? Look, I know you’re pissed at Tessa, but this isn’t the time for a revenge fuck. And it’s disrespectful to think you can use Madison—”

  “I need a babysitter,” he growled as quietly as possible.

  Zy intended to wake Tessa up, but in his time. In his way. Once he was sure she had absolutely no means of escape.

  “Oh. Good call. Laila could watch her, but the fewer distractions the better.”

  He didn’t know how ugly this would get. “Agreed.”

  “Gimme two.”

  Zy agreed, then looked around to see if he needed to bring along anything else of Tessa’s in case it took him a while to break her. He had no idea what she wore under Hallie’s blanket and he didn’t really care. He’d already seen it all.

  Yeah, but how good are you at resisting it?

  Trees popped back on, thankfully killing Zy’s mental train of thought. “She’s on her way. She only lives about half a mile from Tessa, so expect a knock at the door shortly.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. Text me when you’re on your way here. I’ll be ready.”

  “Prep a place to put her just in case she gets any notions about being a runner.”

  Trees scoffed. “In the middle of the night? In the middle of nowhere? In January? Then again, if she’s as guilty as we think…”

  “Yep. See you shortly.”

  They disconnected the call. Zy turned on Tessa’s front porch light, then slipped out to wait for Madison. Not three minutes later, she drove up, parked at the curb, then hopped out, wearing a pair of tight yoga pants, a happy pink sweatshirt, and her long hair in some knot on her head that made her neck look long and graceful.

  She approached him cautiously. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

  No, he was fucking falling apart, and he felt like shit for the way he’d treated Madison in the past when she’d been nothing but nice and welcoming. “Thanks for coming, especially in the middle of the night. I need to interrogate a baby’s mother.”

  “I’m confused. Trees asked me to watch Hallie. I thought maybe there was a medical emergency. But you’re going to interrogate Tessa?” She looked horrified—and worried for him. “You love her.”

  God, could everyone tell his heart was breaking?

  “The baby is asleep. Don’t expect her to wake for a few hours. Make yourself at home and wait to hear her. Call Trees if you need anything. Otherwise…we’ll stay in touch.”

  “Yeah, okay. I don’t have a problem with that, but maybe someone else should do this. You’re upset.”

  Fuck, why couldn’t he have fallen in love with Madison? She didn’t excite him…but she would never have betrayed him. Maybe the trade-off would have been worth it.

  Then again, he’d always been a rebel. It stood to reason that his heart—like the rest of him—would do exactly what it wanted. And it only wanted Tessa.

  “This is my job. I need to do it. Will you be okay here?”

  “Yeah. Of course. If anything happens, my dad is just down the road.” She reached out hesitantly, cupping his arm so gently he almost didn’t feel it. “And whatever happened in the past, I’m your friend, too. If you ever want to talk…”

  She meant well, but his insides curdled at her pity. “I appreciate that. It’s months too late, but I want you to know I’m sorry for the way I acted when we first met. I shouldn’t have used you.”

  “Zy, I knew how it would end before it even began. And I was okay with that because I knew you would make me feel good. The pleasure was worth the pain.”

  But she shouldn’t have to settle for that. She deserved someone who appreciated all of her, especially her heart. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

  “I will. Someday. And before you warn me, I know Trees won’t give me what I want, either. But he seems like someone who needs friendship and comfort. I just want to help.”

  Even at her own expense? Madison was more selfless than he’d ever been, and some lucky man smarter than him would scoop her up someday…

  He brushed a kiss across her cheek. “Find someone who treats you like a queen and knows you deserve the world.”

  She pulled away with a smile. “I’m looking for him all the time. He’s around…somewhere. In the meantime, do what you need to. I’ve got things here.”

  “Stay on the porch until I pull away with Tessa.” If she fought, Madison might not be prepared to see him forcibly drag the woman from her house. “Then head in, lock the door behind you, and holler if anything comes up.”

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks.”

  He slipped back into the house. Tessa still slept, unmoving, on the sofa. He debated how to proceed. Best-case scenario? She wouldn’t wake up until he had her all locked up and tied down at Trees’s place. There would be no escape then. Worst case, she would scream like a banshee the instant he reached for her.

  He’d do himself a favor and prepare for that.

  Zy plucked her car keys off the end table and pocketed them, swiped her phone from her purse, and opened every door between the living room and the passenger’s door of the sedan. Then, mood grim, he headed straight for Tessa.

  When he fitted his arms under her, she barely stirred. He scooped her up against his chest, and her breathing barely changed. Her head rolled to his shoulder and she settled against him with a sigh, as if, when she was most vulnerable, she trusted him.

  The thought skewered his heart.

  Finally, he settled her in the passenger’s seat, tucking the blanket securely around her before cuffing her wrist to the door and gently shutting it. Still, she didn’t flinch, blink, or wake.

  Zy scowled. It was unlike her to sleep like the dead, but he couldn’t afford the time or mental energy to care why except that the extraction had gone off without a hitch…

  Finally, he nudged the door between the kitchen and the garage shut, then hopped into the car. Tessa didn’t stir at the beeping of the open door, nor when he started the car. She really must be exhausted…

  He backed out of the driveway, shutting the garage door with the remote, then waved at Madison as he took off down the street. He craned his head until he watched her walk inside Tessa’s duplex. Hallie would be fine now. She’d be in good hands.

  But that left him alone with Tessa.

  He hooked his phone back up to his earbuds and dialed Trees, who picked up on the first ring. “You out?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And you got her, no problem?”

  “Yeah.” Zy looked over at Tessa, still peacefully sleeping. “You’ll see when I get there.”

  “Sounds good. Laila finally gave out and fell asleep a half hour ago, when I left to prep the bunker.”

  “She needs it.” And wasn’t it horrible that the poor woman felt safer alone than anywhere near a man?

  “She does, and I don’t want to risk waking her. Bring Tessa straight back.”

  “Yep. Just be waiting in case I need help.”

  “Sure.” Trees hesitated. “You okay, man?”

  “Enough to do what I have to. The rest…I can’t talk about it now.” He’d have to unpack that later.

  “All right. How much time before you have to report to the bosses?”

  “Ninety minutes.”

  “We’ll need to work fast, then. You brought the computer, right?”

  “Yep. Phone, too. Just in case.”

  “Good thinking. I’ll disable the security so you can drive through.”

  Then they disconnected the call. Zy sat in the silence, casting an occasional glance at Tessa, who still slept as he drove through the inky night.

  Along the way, he encountered more cars than when he’d headed into town, but civilization soon gave way to the occasional house or farm. Paved roads turned to dirt. People disappeared. It gave him time to think.

  Would this be one of the last times they’d ever be alone together? That he would ever see her? She was getting fired, no question. Nothing he said or did could stop that. But if she’d had anything to do with Kimber’s abduction, she might be going to prison, too. He hated to think of what would become of Hallie. And why the fuck would she have betrayed everyone who cared about her? Was she really that hard-up for an almighty dollar? Had he ever meant anything to her? Or had he merely been a part of her smokescreen? Had she pretended feelings for him, even let him into her bed, to keep suspicion from casting its long shadow over her?

  Zy hated to think she was that premeditated…but the evidence looked damning. She’d gotten away with her scheme for so long because he’d refused to believe she could be guilty. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again. As far as he was concerned, no matter how much he wished or wanted otherwise, she was guilty as fuck unless she could prove him wrong.

  When he made the sharp turn onto Trees’s bumpy drive, the cuff around Tessa’s wrist attached to the hard plastic of her door handle jangled and rattled. Between that and the hard bouncing of the car, she began to stir.

  “Wha…?” Her lashes fluttered open and she peered out at the blackness through the windshield, then whipped her gaze to him. “Zy? What’s going on?”

  He said nothing.

  “Where are we?”

  “Somewhere I can make sure you answer questions.”

  “About what? I don’t understand.” She jerked her arm toward him—only to be stopped by the metal cuff. “What the hell?”

  He turned and pinned her with a glare full of the twisting, wretched fury boiling his blood. “I’m asking the questions tonight, baby.”

  At his sneer, she flinched. “I can explain.”

  A de facto admission of guilt. He should have expected it, even applauded the fact they were making progress. Right now, he was too fucking full of rage to be happy about anything.

  “Oh, you’re going to. And I’d better not get anything but the goddamn truth this time or so help me—” He broke off before he did something stupid, like warn her. If he needed to do more than threaten, he wasn’t going to waste words. He was just going to start applying pressure. Fuck the gloves; they were coming off.

  “Zy…” Her voice trembled, and he turned to see tears filling her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. “I never wanted to hurt anyone—”

  “But you did.” He slammed on the brakes suddenly at the end of Trees’s driveway, sending her lurching forward in her seat. Then he shoved the gear shift in park, threw off his seat belt, and turned to glare at her. “Not another fucking word until I say so. You’ve played me for the last time, so save your quivering lips and pretty tears. They won’t work on me anymore.”

  Trees emerged then and eased the passenger door open. He unlocked Tessa’s wrist with his cuff key, pocketed his gear, then tugged her out of the car. “Let’s go.”

  She clutched the blanket against her, trying frantically to wrap it around herself with her free hand as she sent his buddy imploring eyes. “Trees… Talk to him. Please. It’s not what you think—”

  “Shut up.” It fucking infuriated him that she tried to use his best friend’s sympathies against him. “God, how fucking low are you willing to stoop? It’s done. You’re caught. We’re over.”

  “But it’s not—”

  “I don’t care! I don’t…” Zy fought to dam the hot lava of outrage as he grabbed her arm from Trees’s grip. After a glance back to see that his buddy had scooped up her laptop, phone, and keys, he dragged her straight for the bunker. When he reached the opening, he lifted the heavy metal lid and gave her a shove. “Get in.”

  She shook her head, panicked and digging in her heels. “What are you going to do to me? What’s—”

  “A lot less than you deserve.” He lifted her—blanket and all—ignoring her screeches, and hauled her against him, trying like fuck not to notice her curves, her warmth, her familiar scent. The quilt slipped to reveal her bare shoulder. He tried not to wonder what she wore as he stepped onto the metal ladder and headed down with his prize.

  “No! Don’t. Stop, Zy! Please…”

  At the bottom, he set her on her bare feet and nudged her toward an empty metal chair under a single light bulb. “Pleading won’t work with me anymore. I’m going to interrogate you, Tessa. I’m going to let you sit here alone for fifteen minutes. When I come back, I’m going to have a metric shit ton of questions for you about who you betrayed, when, and why. And I better get answers that jibe with the evidence we’ve got or I swear to god being in this hole will seem like paradise when you’re done dealing with me. The worst part? I convinced myself I was so fucking in love with you. And all you did was stab me in the back and rip my heart out through the hole you left. I won’t give you that chance again.”

  She gaped in incredulity—or was that horror?—before she curled up in the chair and gathered the blanket around her protectively. Zy steeled himself against the fear in her eyes and the tears falling down her face. He tried not to be moved by the fact she was crumbling before his eyes. He did his fucking best not to care that she curled her knees against her chest, lowered her face, and sobbed.

  It took everything inside him not to cross the handful of feet between them and wrap her in his arms. The fact he still wanted to, despite everything, told him he needed to get distance between them now. Or he would do something stupid, like believe her, again.

  With a curse, he forced himself to block out the sounds of her sobs and ascend the ladder, slam the lid on the bunker, and lock it.

  Then Zy closed his eyes, sucked in cleansing breaths, and told himself he’d done the right thing—the only thing—he could do. Fuck, he wanted to fall to his knees, and it was taking every ounce of his strength to stay upright. He couldn’t let her take him down.

  “She’s destroying you,” Trees said quietly.

  Zy tore his eyes open, shocked to find them wet with acid tears. “I don’t know how to fucking stop it.”

  His best friend through thick and thin stood beside him, hand on his shoulder. “If you were able to do the forensic dive on her computer, I would interrogate her for you…”

  But he couldn’t. Zy barely knew enough about Trees’s specialty to be dangerous. And the big guy didn’t have experience in forms of interrogation, especially the dirty ones. Zy had never had a problem finding his spine and doing what needed to be done…but he’d never fallen for the enemy, either.

  “I know.”

  “You’re not up for this.” Trees shook his head. “We need to call someone else.”

  “There is no one, man. The bosses are wrapped up in saving Kimber. Kane has Valeria. One-Mile…”

  “You going to let that crazy son of a bitch near her?”

  “Fuck no.” Even when he was furious with Tessa, even when he suspected her of the worst, here he was…still trying to protect her like a fidiot. “I have to report something to the bosses in an hour. And if she’s at all involved in Kimber’s kidnapping—”

  “They’re going to call the police.”

  Zy nodded grimly. He might be the one to help separate her from her daughter, put her in prison, and end her life as she knew it. No, he wasn’t taking the blame, goddamn it. She had done that. He had simply caught her. “I can’t stop it.”

  “You can’t.”

  In the back of his head, some voice not wrapped up in bubbling rage warned him against being rash. It begged him to at least listen to Tessa. But that had to be his shattering heart. What fucking reason could she have that would make it okay to sell everyone out to dangerous criminals?