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“I have strict instructions to keep this bullpen free of unauthorized personnel.”

“Who are you? Are you a rookie?”

He twitches, his eyes narrowing in warning. “I’m actually a SLED agent.” His tone is condescending, but I choose to ignore it and stop struggling.

“Thank God, is Bryant here?”

His eyes now grow wide in recognition. “Bryant Kelly? Agent Bryant Kelly?”

“Yes, surely you know him if you’re in the same agency.”

“Ma’am, I’m not sure how you know—” The condescension is back, which raises my hackles.

“Listen, you little punk, you obviously don’t know who I am, but I’ll stand here screaming until this building comes down. You find him and tell him Emerson Baker is here to see him.”

“No need to find anyone. I think the whole city block knows you’re here.” Captain Cornelius enters from the back with Oliver, Marcus, and a few other men.

The expression on Marcus’s face is like a shot to the heart. His features are hard, the blue of his eyes dull and lifeless. He keeps walking past the captain and the other men, coming straight to me.

My knees give out, and I start to crumble right as he catches me, forcing my head to his neck. “He’s alive,” he whispers so only I can hear, and I sink into him, clutching for support. He guides me past the SLED agent and the others to the conference room.

Once there, he lowers me gently and motions for Maren to sit beside me, moving behind our chairs and gripping our shoulders.

“I want to know everything you can tell me,” I insist, speaking to the Captain.

“Almost thirty-six hours ago, SLED and DEA intercepted a heavy shipment of drugs coming into our state. The raid was the largest bust this state has ever seen. We’re still combing through video evidence, but it looks like—”

“I know all this! I watch the damn news!” I pound my fists on the table as hard as I can. “I know there are casualties, I know there are heroes, blah blah… but what I don’t know is where is WALKER?!?” My voice cracks at his name, and Maren covers one of my fists with her hand as Marcus squeezes my shoulder.

The men I don’t know look at me with disgust at my lack of respect, but Oliver and the Captain’s faces fill with sympathy.

“Emi, he’s alive. The casualties were mostly on their side. Our guys kicked ass, taking out twenty men, injuring a dozen. From what we’ve seen so far, the drug smuggling ring had people stowed away on the boat the drugs were being transferred to. There are a lot of details I can’t share, but eight of our team were taken, and every one of them walked up the ramp into the back of one of the trucks originally carrying the drugs.”

“Oh, thank God.” I slump in my chair, the gusto from earlier disappearing.

“We’re keeping that piece of information from the news for now. There are agents swarming the state, hauling in anyone who has even a slight relation or affiliation with these guys. We’re going to get them back, but in order to do that, we’re keeping the hostage situation quiet for negotiation purposes. Everyone is looking for the truck used for transport.”

My nod turns into a full-on body quake and I feel what can only be described as terror and panic start to set in.

Hostage situation? Negotiations?

My chair is spun around, jerking me, and I find myself face to face with Marcus, who’s squatting at eye level. “We’re going to get him back. We’re going to get them all back.”

Then it slams into me. “Bryant is captured, too, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

I suck in a deep breath and clear my head, finally looking at the other men in the room. “I don’t know the other men with them, but Bryant is one of the coolest men I know, and Walker trusts him. And Walker is the BEST man I know, so I have faith they’re going to get out of this,” I tell them with confidence.

Oliver’s face is twisted in agony as he now avoids eye contact.

“Ollie? You still working on this?”

“Yeah, Ems.” He nods.

“And Collins and Ross?”

“Them too. They’re interrogating the injured for clues to where the truck could head. We’ve cut off their distribution channels, so they’re flying blind.”