Page 108 of Before and After

“We both know that’s not why you’re as tense as hell and ready to hit someone.”

Dammit. Allie would have spoken with Tessa, and Tessa with Ro.

“I did what I had to do.”

“Last night, you saved a young girl’s life. She still has her entire life ahead of her, thanks to you. Then, you found Ollie. Today, you should be comforting your woman, and instead you wrecked her.”

I thumped my fist on the table. “Ro, stay out of it.”

“No. You’re my friend. You’re a good man and you deserve her.Fightfor her.”

“I hurt her. I failed her. I’ll do it again.”

“You never failed anyone. You never give up, even in the toughest of circumstances. You didn’t fail Wells. When are you going to accept that there was nothing you could have done to a save him? You brought him home, Caden. Now, it’s time for you to come home.”

I sucked in a breath.

Then Ro focused on one of the monitors and frowned. “Caden…”

His tone made me stiffen. I shifted to see the screen. “What?”

“It’s Allie.”

My gaze found her straight away. She was in the great room.

Talking with Blake Moreland.

Dammit.

They were having some sort of confrontation. Then, the bastard took her hand and pulled her out of the room. And it looked like she was going willingly.

I watched her glance up at the camera for a long beat.

What the fuck? What was she up to?

I touched the keyboard and flicked the view to the lobby cameras. I followed them through the lobby, and right before they went outside, she stared at the camera again.

Like she was sending me a message.

“What the hell is she doing?” Ro bit out.

There was a knock on the door and Gunnar entered. “Everything okay?”

“Ro, this is Gunnar O’Neill.”

Ro held out a hand. “I hear you’re joining the Langston team. We might need your help before you’ve officially signed your contract.”

Gunnar arched a brow.

“Allie just left the hotel with Blake Moreland,” I said.

He frowned. “The asshole drug dealer who took her kid last night?”

I nodded. “She’s up to something.”

“And she wanted you to make sure you saw her,” Ro added.

“She wants me to follow.” I cursed. “She’s going with him to find the drugs. So we’ve got evidence to arrest him.” My heart started pounding. I spun to the locked cabinet in the corner and quickly dialed in the code. I opened it and pulled out a handgun. “Gunnar, you armed?”