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I made it all the way out to the parking lot before I realized I was being a fucking dumbass. Actually, I’d known from the beginning about the dumbass-ness, but I was only now willing to begin addressing it.

I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing. I wasn’t actively trying to kill myself like my friends had accused me of, but I sure wasn’t doing my best to stay alive either.

I’d fucked up with Lauren so bad and had no idea what to do about it. Calling her wasn’t an option… What would I say?

You might have noticed that when you woke up in San Juan, I was gone. Funny story…my neuroses convinced me the best thing I could do was leave you alone. So, I did. How’s it been going the past two months while I’ve been on complete radio silence?

That would go over about as well as I would imagine—her hanging up before I got to the fourth word.

I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do about Lauren, but I had to do something. Eventually. Formulate some sort of plan to…do something. I didn’t know what.

But first, I needed to repair my career. Go back into our briefing, act like a fucking adult, and admit I needed downtime, or at least not spearheading the worst of the worst missions. I turned and headed back inside.

“I didn’t realize things were so…complicated when I talked to them,” Ethan was saying. “We’re overkill for a mugging follow-up.”

“Chicago’s got plenty of good firms for that kind of protection,” Ty said. “I know a couple right off the top of my head.”

I froze. Chicago ?

“I wouldn’t mind taking the case.” Jace’s voice was thoughtful. “Just for a couple weeks, help her get settled with someone permanent. I was impressed with what she accomplished in Corazón. Seems wrong to just pass her off to strangers after what she went through.”

I dropped my bag in the hall and walked back through the conference room door. All eyes flew to me.

“Lauren?” I asked. “What happened?”

“She was mugged yesterday. Parking garage at the hospital where she works.” Ethan spoke slowly, like I was some sort of cornered animal. Probably apt. “Two men, grabbed her bag, knocked her down when she fought back.”

My vision tunneled. Blood roared in my ears, drowning out everything. Lauren. Hurt. Two men attacking her in a parking garage while I’d been playing soldier on the other side of the world.

“—not injured,” Jace was saying when my hearing cleared. “But her parents are worried. They want to hire security.”

“I’ll do it.” The words erupted before I could stop them. Moreover, I didn’t want to stop them. “I’ll take the job.”

Dead quiet.

Fuck. Ethan had told me I was grounded for two weeks. That was unacceptable. If Lauren needed protection, I was fucking going. I just hoped it wasn’t about to cost me my career and all my friends.

But if it did, so be it. I was not leaving Lauren if she needed me. Not fucking again.

I met Ethan’s gaze straight on. “I need to do this. You want me to take a break from international ops? Fine. But I need to do this.”

More quiet. Ben shifted, murmuring something to Jolly that made the dog’s tail twitch once.

“Well.” Ty grinned. “This should be interesting.”

“The Valentinos expect someone tomorrow,” Ethan said, watching me carefully. “You prepared for that?”

Tomorrow. Less than twenty-four hours to figure out how to face the woman I’d abandoned. The woman whose trust I’d shattered. The woman who’d been attacked while I was halfway around the world pretending she didn’t exist.

“I’ll be ready.”

Ethan nodded slowly. “Jace, send Logan the file. Ty, you’re backup if needed. Ben?—”

“Jolly and I are heading back to Montana tomorrow,” Ben said. “But if you need K-9 support, we can delay.”

“Shouldn’t be necessary. This is straight protection detail.” Ethan gathered his papers. “But need to talk to you about an upcoming mission to Kenya. Let’s head to my office.”

He left without waiting for confirmation. Ben followed, giving me a quiet “good luck” nod as Jolly padded at his side.

Ty followed them as they left, clapping me on the shoulder as he passed. “Try not to fuck this up worse than you already have.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

Jace lingered, fingers already flying across his laptop keyboard. “File’s in your inbox. Everything we have on the mugging, her current routine, parents’ concerns.” He glanced up. “You sure about this?”

“No.”

“But you’re doing it anyway.”

“Yeah.”

He nodded, closing the laptop. “Good luck. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

I did too.

Alone in the conference room, I sank into a chair and rubbed my face. My hands came away gritty with dried sweat and dirt I’d missed in my rushed shower. I was sure I looked like something that had crawled out of a cave.

Because that’s what I’d been doing. Hiding in whatever dark corner of the world would have me, pretending that if I never stopped moving, I’d never have to think about what I’d left behind.

But Lauren had been hurt. Someone had put hands on her, scared her, and I’d been several thousand miles away playing hero for strangers, while the one person who actually mattered?—

I cut off that thought, but it was too late. The dam had cracked. Eight weeks of carefully not thinking about her came flooding back.

The way she’d felt beneath me in that hotel bed. The trust in her eyes when she’d kissed my demons quiet. How I’d watched her sleep, then left before she woke.

Tomorrow, I’d see her again. Tomorrow, I’d have to face what I’d done, what I’d walked away from.

My reflection in the conference room window looked like a stranger. But underneath the mess, something had shifted. For the first time since leaving Puerto Rico, I wasn’t planning my next escape.

Lauren was in danger. Real or perceived, it didn’t matter. She needed protection.

And I’d be damned if anyone else was going to provide it.