“Always did think you were an asshole,” she choked out.

  Suddenly, Johnson grabbed Zy’s ankle mid-stride and held him back. Blood dripped from his mouth. Hate poured from his eyes.

  Zy nearly stumbled as he tried to pull free from the other man’s grip. Hector refused to let go.

  Aspen stood, trembling. Her gun wavered erratically. “Stop. Or I’ll kill all of you.”

  “No, you won’t.” Trees sounded annoyed.

  “Before I kill you, I’ll shoot your balls off for shooting my husband.”

  “Your husband is a rapist,” Trees growled. “Let go, Johnson.”

  He didn’t.

  “Fuck you,” the dying man growled.

  “No. Fuck you.” Trees took aim. “This is for Laila.”

  Then he fired again, straight into the back of Johnson’s head. The hand around Zy’s ankle went limp.

  Aspen cried out, launching herself straight for Trees, hobbling and bleeding all over the rug, as she aimed in his direction.

  “Final warning!” Zy stepped into her path, weapon pointed.

  With a snarl, she came at him and pulled her trigger without even blinking. The shot sounded deafening in the small room. Zy jerked.

  Tessa watched in horror as he hissed and gripped his arm. Blood seeped between his fingers as he raised his gun again and fired at Aspen.

  He missed.

  She laughed. Tessa’s heart thudded and chugged as the other woman scowled in concentration and fired again. Zy feinted, making the shot go wide, but he stumbled, tripping over Johnson’s body.

  His temple struck the coffee table with a sickening thud.

  He stopped moving.

  “Zy!” Tessa panicked. She couldn’t hurdle the sofa and get his gun to shoot Aspen while protecting Hallie. But she didn’t dare wait to see what Trees would do. She had to do something besides standing here and watching him die. Even if he didn’t choose a life with her, she wanted him to live and be happy.

  “Now I’ve got you,” the woman cackled at his prone form. “You pricks took from me. I’ll take from you. An eye for an eye.”

  No. Not now. Not like this. Not with so much vengeance and hate.

  Tessa grabbed the first thing she could use as a weapon—a big candle in a heavy glass jar—and threw it with all her might at Aspen’s head.

  The woman didn’t see it coming until it was too late. It struck her in the cheek. She grunted in pain and swore before glaring daggers her way. “You should not have done that. I’m going to kill you and your brat. And I’m going to enjoy it.”

  “Because it’s easy, and you can feel like you did something big and bad?” Trees mocked, aiming at her head. “You’ll have to kill me first.”

  “Oh, you’re getting yours. After this bitch.” Aspen wrapped her finger around the trigger again, her face alive with evil glee.

  Before she could fire, Zy, despite being bleary-eyed and shaky, managed to raise his head and pull the trigger.

  This time, he didn’t miss.

  Aspen stumbled back and blinked down at him in shock. “Damn it…”

  Then she crumpled to the ground face-first, a gushing hole at her back.

  Dead.

  Zy fell limply to the carpet again, gun falling from his lax hand.

  Had he saved her with his final breath? No, that couldn’t be it. She had to help him.

  Tessa’s calm broke. She trembled uncontrollably as she hugged Hallie, pressing grateful kisses to her head, even as she ran to Zy, tears falling. Please be okay. Please be okay.

  She dropped to her knees in front of him and applied pressure to the wound in his arm. It looked like a flesh wound. It shouldn’t be fatal, so why wasn’t he moving? “Zy?”

  Nothing.

  Vaguely, she was aware of Trees barking into the phone for an ambulance.

  She pressed around his neck to feel for a pulse. It seemed fast and faint. He was bleeding—a lot. He wasn’t conscious.

  Oh, god… Had he saved her and Hallie’s lives at the cost of his own?

  Hours later, evening shadows began to slant through her windows as Tessa sat in her recliner, cradling her sleeping daughter. Hallie was now clean, well fed, and had been thoroughly checked out by the pediatrician on call in the emergency room. She was fine. She was safe. And Tessa was profoundly grateful.

  But she hadn’t had much word about Zy since they’d taken him away, and it was killing her.

  “I think that takes care of everything, Ms. Lawrence,” Matt said, screwdriver in one hand as he settled his signature cowboy hat back on his head with the other.

  “Tessa,” she corrected automatically. “And thank you. You didn’t have to install a new security system for me.”

  In fact, she really had no idea why he had. He’d asked her out yesterday—it seemed like weeks ago—and she had turned him down. Nicely, but…it had still been a refusal. Now he was helping her?

  “Yes, ma’am, I did. Walker told me what happened to your daughter. We can’t have that again.”

  “How much do I owe you?” Tessa didn’t have the money for this indulgence, but she needed it for her peace of mind. Too bad her rent was almost due and she was about a hundred bucks short, but she’d figure it out later. Maybe one of the bosses would cut her a final check when they fired her. Then she’d have to start looking for another job immediately, maybe two. And she’d have to find less expensive daycare…somewhere.

  But none of those problems were more important than Zy.

  “Nothing,” he assured. “It’s all been taken care of.”

  Why? And by whom? “I don’t understand.”

  He just smiled. “I see you’re cuddling with your little one. I’m glad she’s okay. Mind if I help myself to some water?”

  “Of course not. I would get it for you, but…” She glanced down at Hallie. She slept like a child who hadn’t rested well in days. Probably because she hadn’t.

  Minutes after the last shot had been fired at the mobile home they’d infiltrated, the police and ambulances had come. The coroner, too. The next while had been a blur—a ride in an ambulance, questions from doctors, questions from the police, the long wait through Hallie’s thorough exam before she’d finally received the assurances she’d been holding her breath for. All amazing news that had brought her to tears.

  But when she’d asked the hospital staff for word about Zy’s condition, they had refused to tell her anything. She understood privacy, but she loved this man. Trees, whom he’d apparently designated as an authorized contact on his medical forms, had come around to say that they were still running tests, but he didn’t know much about Zy’s condition. That had been six hours ago.

  What was going on? Zy was going to make it, right?

  “It’s no problem. Can I get you anything while I’m up?”

  “I’m fine, thanks.” Honestly, she didn’t feel like eating or drinking right now. Her stomach was in knots. “And thanks for bringing my car back to me.”

  Moments later, Matt meandered into her living room again and sat in the opposite chair, watching her snuggle her daughter. “My pleasure. I heard you were strong this morning.”

  Not strong enough since Zy was still lying in a hospital. Why wasn’t anyone telling her anything? “If you’re all done, you don’t have to stay.”

  “Actually, ma’am, I do. I need to show you how to use the security system before I go.”

  “Oh, right.” With a nod, she clasped Hallie tighter and stood, lifting her daughter against her chest. “I’ll set her in her crib.”

  It made Tessa nervous to take her eyes off her baby, and it would probably be a long while before she’d feel comfortable letting Hallie sleep alone all night in her room, but for a few minutes and with the new alarm system in place, it would be okay. Logically, she knew that.

  As soon as she set Hallie down, the baby sprawled out and relaxed into the mattress, her breathing deep and even. With a smile Tessa drew a blanket over her, gave her an affectionate rub, then turned to Matt, who watched from the hall.

  She followed him to the new alarm panel near the front door. Her landlord might be mad that she’d cosmetically altered the look of the unit without his permission, but he could kiss her ass.

  Within minutes, Matt had shown her how to arm and disarm the system, how to bypass zones, how to enable and disable the motion detectors, and even how to change the time on the pad.

  “It looks amazing. I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “You don’t have to. I can install these in my sleep. This is one of the best,” he assured her. “It’s sensitive, hard to tamper with, and I’ve put extra precautions around your daughter’s windows. No one is getting in there again.”

  That helped set Tessa at ease.

  She wandered back to the living room, puzzled when Matt followed. “Well, since that’s done, I’ll be okay alone now.”

  Because she’d really love a good shower. And a good cry. She’d tried earlier to nap with Hallie, but every time she closed her eyes, she heard gunshots, saw Zy fall, felt his blood on her fingers…

  Matt smiled. “And I’d love to show you that I can take a hint and get out of your hair, but Logan called me earlier. I’m not supposed to leave until someone else who can watch over you shows up to spell me.”

  Who would that be? Trees had presumably returned home to guard Laila. One-Mile had followed Matt to her place on a motorcycle and left it parked at her curb before hopping into a little car with his fiancée and driving off. Kane was still protecting Valeria. Zy was still in the hospital. And the bosses were certainly still devoting all their attention to recovering Kimber.

  “Oh, my gosh… In all the chaos these last few days, I haven’t had a chance to ask. Do you have any update on Kimber? Any progress finding her?”

  Matt turned somber. “Not enough.”

  Tessa hated to hear that. Deke must be going out of his mind. Their children must be missing their mother, and they had a baby even younger than Hallie… It broke Tessa’s heart to think of them, not to mention what Kimber herself must be enduring. “I’m praying something breaks in the case soon.”

  “You and me both, ma’am.”

  The silence that fell was awkward. Sure, he’d more or less propositioned her—politely—but she didn’t feel uncomfortable around him. In fact, she got the feeling he was full of something she wished she could soothe. Sadness? Loneliness? She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

  “So…you’re from Wyoming?”

  A little smile pulled at his lips. “Yes, but you don’t have to be polite and pretend you care after the day you’ve had.”

  “I do care.” He seemed genuinely nice. “I know you said no yesterday, but I really do know this amazing girl…”

  He tried to hide his grimace. “Maybe another time.”

  That was his pride talking, and she wished it wouldn’t. He really was a hunk, and Madison would be incredibly good to him if he was even half as good to her as she suspected he could be. “If you change your mind…”

  Thankfully, they were both spared continuing the conversation by a knock on the door.

  Tessa leapt up from her seat. “I’ll get it.”

  Matt stood, too, and pulled out his keys. “And I’ll be going. I left my cell number near the primary keypad, in case you have any questions. You ladies have a good evening.”

  He pulled open the door before she could and blocked whoever stood on the other side of the portal. An instinctively protective gesture, she supposed.

  Then Matt relaxed, tipped his hat to her, and walked out. “Evening.”

  “Bye.”

  She saw the colonel filling her doorway now. He looked haggard, like he hadn’t shaved or combed his hair in days. His clothes looked limp. He was at the end of his rope.

  Tessa’s heart went out to him, and she rushed over, wrapping her arms around him. “Oh, my goodness. I’m so sorry for everything you’re going through. I wish I could do something helpful. But I’d be happy to get you some food or coffee or…”

  He hugged her tightly, and she could tell this strong man, this pillar of his family, needed to draw strength from her.

  “No, but thank you,” he said, his voice tight and gruff.

  “Come in.” Honestly, she didn’t know why he’d stopped by, but if he needed to talk or needed an ear, she would always be here.

  “I just came by to check on you, maybe sit with you a spell. That okay?” He tried to give her a smile, but she could tell the effort was costing him. “The fact you got Hallie back today gives me hope. I need that.”

  Of course he did. Her heart broke for him. “Don’t lose faith. I’d half given up ever getting my daughter back, but I’m glad I kept trying.”

  But in the back of her head, Tessa knew that if the people who held Kimber were as horrible as the ones who had taken Hallie, her friend’s safety was in serious jeopardy. She didn’t want to say that out loud, though. Especially now. But the colonel had been around the block more than a few times. He knew.

  “How is your daughter?”

  “Sleeping.” She led the older man back to Hallie’s bedroom, as much because she needed to set eyes on her daughter and reassure herself that her baby was okay as she did to give the colonel a sliver of hope.

  “She looks good.”

  “After a checkup, a good bath, and a couple of meals, she seems almost like her old self.” The baby had been a little cranky and anxious at first, but she was young. She would have no memory of this incident, thank goodness.

  Her former boss nodded. “I’m glad to hear it.”

  Together, they backed out of Hallie’s room and returned to the sofa. “Are you okay, sir?”

  He let out a long sigh. “I won’t bullshit you. I don’t know. I’m trying to put on a brave face for my boys and my wife, for my son-in-law and my grandkids. But I’m losing hope of recovering Kimber. It’s wearing on me.”

  “What do they want?”

  “Valeria.”

  “And you can’t give her up.” If EM Security Management surrendered their client, it would ruin their reputation forever. They would have to shutter their business, give up their livelihoods, and find a whole new arena to thrive in.

  “No. Even if we did, we don’t negotiate with drug dealers and terrorists. They’re notorious for not keeping their end of a bargain.”

  She understood that now. After Aspen had made it clear she’d always intended to kill Hallie, no matter how cooperative Tessa had been, she realized she should have gone straight to people who could help her after her daughter’s abduction, not tried to handle everything on her own.

  “I know.”

  “But maybe we have a ray of hope on the horizon. Laila has agreed to act as bait to try to draw Kimber’s kidnappers out, so we’re working on that. Hopefully soon.”

  Tessa knew exactly how Trees would feel about that, and she felt sorry for the guy. He wasn’t going to be able to protect or keep her from this, no matter how hard he tried.

  “Yeah. By the way, I’m sorry for mixing you up with Aspen when I went on maternity leave.”

  He gave her a reassuring smile. “You didn’t know.”

  “But I knew Cash was a jerk. I should have at least considered the fact that any contact of his wasn’t a good idea.” And now they were both gone. The brief conversation she’d had with Craig had been heartbreaking. The man was not only crushed to lose his son but stunned to learn he’d helped drug dealers kidnap his own daughter and spied for Emilo Montilla before his demise—all for money. Despicable, but she was sorry for Craig that Cash’s greed had led to his death.

  “You always want to believe the best about people. Don’t lose that quality.”

  Tessa wanted to assure him she wouldn’t because it seemed important to him, but after the last week, she didn’t know if she’d ever look at the world the same again.

  Instead, she just patted his hand. “Have you received communications with pictures of Kimber or anything that gives you hope?”

  He nodded. “We’ve received some proof of life. I just don’t know how much longer they’ll have patience. We’re going on day six. I thought we’d be a lot further in tracking down these assholes. But so far? We don’t have a lot to go on. They’re good.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  He gave her a tight smile just as his phone buzzed. Then he stood. “That’s my cue. I need to get back to the safe house and sleep. It’s been over twenty-four hours.”

  That poor man… While the colonel was sharp, fit, and robust, he wasn’t young anymore. And he looked like his daughter’s absence was killing him.

  Tessa stood and dropped a hand on his forearm. “It was so kind of you to drop by to see me. I’m sorry for the way everything happened. I’m under no illusions that your family will consider me a friend after what’s happened, but if I can do anything—”

  A knock interrupted, and to her surprise, Hunter poked his head in the door. “We got this, Dad. Go on. Grab a hot meal and a bed.”

  The colonel patted her arm. “I’ll let you know. Take care of that baby.”

  Tears stung her eyes. It had been an emotional day—and it wasn’t getting any easier. Her heart ached for him. She knew what it was to worry about a daughter’s safety. And with every silent hour that passed, she wondered if the news about Zy from the hospital would be agonizing.

  “I will,” she assured. “Goodbye.”

  The older man nodded as he let himself out. Hunter filed in, followed by Logan and Joaquin. None of them looked as if they were faring any better than their father, but dread filled Tessa’s belly. If they were all here on a Sunday in the middle of their own personal crisis, they weren’t here for a glass of sweet tea.

  They were here to fire her.

  Tessa didn’t blame them. They’d trusted her, and she had betrayed them. With good reason…but that probably didn’t matter to them.

  “Come in.” She motioned them into the living room.

  “Sorry to barge in, but this can’t wait.”

  Tension gripped her, squeezing her chest. “Of course not. But before you say anything, let me first tell you I’m sorry. I feel horrible for what I’ve done. I-I didn’t expect to be the target of anything. I didn’t know what to do. And I didn’t handle it well. I understand that you have to do what you need to. I have no hard feelings, and I wish you all the absolute best.”