Page 109

Nash

Today

"Find another way,"I say through gritted teeth to Drake and the two men on the phone. Laughter from the kitchen grabs my attention, and a happy, content smile pulls at my lips as I watch Fate, Liza, Mya and Raider bicker about someone cheating in a card game they started. "She's not going out there alone."

"Snowflake, think with your damn head. This guy knows where we are. He's probably tracking every movement in and out of here with satellite images." My eyes flick to Mya and Liza. "We head out the second the visual is confirmed. What I'm getting at is he needs to see her leave—sneak out, really—or he won't believe she's going in alone. We have to make this believable to keep him thinking he's running the show. That's when he’ll make a mistake. I don't like it either, but there’s no other option with the time frame we’re working in. Hell, she barely has enough time to get to DC and get this plan set up, much less come up with another one. We will get this guy, but we risk that chance by not sending her alone."

My eyes are glued to the pink-haired beauty who's not only stolen my heart but the very essence of my soul. Just the thought of her being scared, in danger, steals the breath from my lungs. I'm a fighter, always have been, and I'll fight for her with everything I have to make sure she gets out of this unscathed.

"It's a solid plan," that dipshit boss of hers agrees in the conference call. "We’ll be close and ready to act at the final destination this prick has in mind. We’ll put a tracker in her pocket or on her cell. That way, no matter where she ends up, we can be in close proximity."

This is a shit show with Pops’s life caught in the middle. The only thing we can all agree on is this douchebag has no plans of actually meeting her where he suggested. No, that's just a ruse to get her out of the house, away from us.

"What if he brings a gun, takes her out right away?"

Drake’s lips purse into a thin white line. "There’s that option, but you know as well as I do that this guy wants to gloat about getting her, will want answers on how she found him. He won’t take her out without getting information first."

He's right. Damn it. He's always right.

"Once she has a visual—" Drake takes a long sip of his coffee. "—the FBI boys will make the official arrest and we're done."

"Arrest." I hold back my laugh and cross my arms over my chest. "This ends tonight."

"I agree." Hmm, maybe this Matt guy isn't so bad after all.

"We can't just kill him, Snowflake. When did you become all bloodthirsty?" Drake doesn’t attempt to stop his knowing smile.

"This ends tonight." Falling into a chair, I interlace my fingers behind my head and stare at the floor. “There has to be another way.”

"There isn't another way."

"Nash." Mac’s voice sounds conflicted. "I know you don't want her to go, but with the time frame, it's our only choice. Matt and I will keep her safe, and we'll get this guy so your family and Fate are safe going forward."

"I want more."

Neither Drake nor the other two respond.

"I want more FBI guys in on this if I'm gonna be stuck back here sitting on my ass while my girl walks into this shit alone. I want agents covering every road. Hell, call up a sniper while you're at it. Nothing happens to her."

"Listen, I get it. You don't want your girl in the crosshairs, but guess what, Snowflake? She's already there. And if you want a chance to save her now, to keep her from looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life—hell, Mya too—then we do it my way. She leaves now. Alone."

Drake turns and walks down the hall toward the downstairs bedrooms. End of discussion. The two on the phone have the same idea, signing off quick.

I'm still staring at the floor, processing everything that's happened since she popped up two days ago, when a pair of sparkling Converses pauses in my line of sight.

"I'm okay with it," she says above me.

I don't look up. "Of course you are. You almost impaled yourself on some shrubbery earlier trying to do this exact plan on your own. Don't you get it, Fate? I won't be there. How...? What if...?"

She drops to her knees, putting us at eye level. "I know you don't like it, but from what I heard, it's our only option, and I won’t risk your family just because you want to be there too. Mac and Matt will take care of me. It’ll be fine."

Ah hell, doesn't she know every time someone's said that before a mission, it turns out the exact opposite?