Page 32 of Fierce Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #3)

Deke rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen the knot of tension that had taken up residence between his shoulder blades since Jade’s confession.

The Knight Tactical conference room hummed with activity.

Kenji and Zara hunched over laptops while Jade worked quietly in the corner catching up on her actual work.

Through the floor, he heard the muffled sounds of weights dropping and Axel’s distinctive laugh from the gym downstairs.

He slipped his phone into his pocket, recalling the text DJ had sent him earlier—complaints about Deke missing some school event.

The guilt gnawed at him, and the fresh swirl of concerns about Jade's past only added to the mental clutter.

Even from a distance, he could sense the subtle tightness in her posture.

She wouldn't look at him for more than a moment or two.

He understood why. Last night's conversation, that raw confession over pizza, had changed everything.

It wasn't that he blamed her—how could he?

She'd been a child manipulated by her father, forced into a life she hadn't chosen.

But as a father himself, the revelation had struck at his core responsibilities.

DJ was fifteen, impressionable and already testing boundaries.

The teen's recent brushes with trouble at school—skipping class, hanging with kids Deke didn't trust—had him on high alert about influences in his son's life.

Deke had worked so hard to create stability after losing DJ's mother, to build a home centered on faith and integrity.

What would it mean to bring someone into their lives who'd once participated in defrauding innocent people?

Even if Jade had turned her life around—and clearly she had—what if her past came to light in their church community?

What example would that set for DJ? The questions had circled in his mind all night as he'd lain awake on Jade's couch, his protective instincts as a father warring with the undeniable feelings he had for her.

He believed in redemption with his whole heart—it was central to his faith—but believing it abstractly and navigating it in real life, with his son involved, were entirely different matters.

“Got something,” Kenji announced, drawing Deke’s focus back to the matter at hand. Kenji peered at his screen, pushing a lock of dark hair off his forehead. “Thurston’s credit card records for the past six months.”

Deke stepped behind him, taking the chance to banish his personal turmoil. Work was straightforward. “Anything interesting?”

Kenji scrolled. “Not really. Guy’s a home improvement junkie. Has lots of charges at a hardware store, some groceries, nothing that looks like hush money or payments to a thug.” He tapped a few keys. “No suspicious cash withdrawals, either.”

Zara approached with her tablet under one arm. “Yeah. We’ve got nothing to tie him to Delgado. And I don’t see a motive.”

Deke crossed his arms, trying to ignore the tension coiling in his neck again. At least Thurston looked to be in the clear—one less suspect. But that meant they were still short on leads. “If it’s not Thurston,” he said slowly, “who’s next on the list?”

He let his gaze flick briefly to Jade. She’d closed her laptop, half-listening.

Her hair fell across her cheek, and for a moment he remembered how she’d looked last night—head bowed, voice shaking as she revealed that info about her childhood.

A pang of protectiveness mingled with the echo of heartbreak.

She must have felt his stare because she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced up, meeting his eyes with a guarded expression. Then she lowered her gaze.

“Anyway,” Zara continued, oblivious to the silent exchange, “I’ve been digging deeper into Kent Wycoff since Thurston’s a dead end.”

“Anything?” Deke asked, forcing his attention back to the investigation.

Zara grimaced. “He’s mostly squeaky-clean on paper: successful attorney, active in local business circles, shows up in church donation records. But I did find something else.” She flipped to a different screen. “He’s been on and off the church board for about eight years. Then?—”

“Wait,” Kenji cut in, his keyboard clicking fast. “I just pulled up digital sign-in logs for that storage facility Jade flagged. After-hours access requires a passcode.” He tapped the display, and a name blinked up. “Look who accessed the unit two weeks ago—Kent Wycoff.”

“Are you serious?” Deke shot Jade another quick glance. “So he does know about the storage unit.”

“And lied in the board meeting, apparently,” Zara muttered.

A hush settled over them. From the gym beneath their feet came the rhythmic thud of dropped barbells, followed by muffled laughter—life going on as normal, while they uncovered more evidence of Wycoff’s involvement in something bigger.

“Options?” Deke asked, stepping forward.

Kenji shrugged. “Maybe it’s personal stash space. He might not want the church to know he’s been using or paying for it. Possibly he’s storing something he can’t keep at home. Plus, his wife looks way more culpable. There’s solid evidence showing she paid Chad to harass Jade.”

“Not that either of them have a clear motive,” Jade added.

Deke lifted a hand, half in thought. “Or, for the sake of argument, it’s legitimate church business that not everyone is aware of. But the only real way to confirm is to check it in person—once we have probable cause.” He paused, letting out a slow breath. “Jade?”

“Yes?” She sounded steadier than she had last night, but he could see the caution in her eyes.

“You’re the financial administrator. If this truly is a church-related lease, you might recognize something once we see what’s inside. Documents, items, equipment—anything that might not show in your official ledgers.”

She nodded, a flicker of unease crossing her face. “Right. That makes sense.”

Deke eyed her carefully. She’d insisted she was fine this morning—after they’d both woken up in her condo, exchanging stiff good mornings.

He knew her mind was probably spinning. She’d told him so many vulnerable truths.

Meanwhile, he was trying to reconcile the woman he admired with the baggage she carried.

The father who’d used her as an accomplice, the guilt she still bore.

He clenched his jaw, forcing the swirl of personal feelings aside.

“So tomorrow morning, we head over there. Kenji,” he said, “I want you running digital surveillance from here. Zara, you’re backup on site.

Axel and Ronan can coordinate with local PD, just in case. ”

Kenji nodded and cast Jade an encouraging grin, though Jade only gave a wan half-smile. Before Deke could continue, Kenji opened another window on his screen, lines of financial data scrolling by. “We can also keep digging for suspicious transactions from Wycoff. Maybe something will jump out.”

At that, the team dispersed to their tasks, leaving the conference room less crowded. Jade remained in the corner, shutting down her laptop. Deke hesitated, torn between the urge to give her space and the concern that they still hadn’t fully acknowledged last night’s conversation.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice low. He moved closer, noticing how she stiffened slightly at his approach.

“Just stressed about tax season on top of ... everything.” She said it calmly, but her phrasing told him she meant more than a busy workload.

He nodded, keeping his tone gentle. “If you need time to breathe—” He caught himself, remembering she hated pity. “Or if you want me to give you space, let me know.”

She pressed her lips together. “I’m fine. Really. Work helps me stay grounded.” Then, as if sensing his skepticism, she lowered her eyes. “It’s better than dwelling on things I can’t fix.”

Deke swallowed. The “things she can’t fix” likely meant her guilt and the fragile new reality between them.

“Understood,” he managed. He wanted to say more, to reassure her somehow, but the lines were blurred—much as he wanted to be a friend—and more—in reality, he was her bodyguard, and she’d confided in him about a life of cons she left behind.

A life that could have repercussions for his son.

It was all too raw. Too complicated.

A moment later, Jade’s phone rang. She checked the caller ID with a slight frown. He recognized her habitual wariness—maybe fear of who might be on the other end.

After everything with Chad Delgado and the ongoing threat, Deke was on alert. “Put it on speaker,” he suggested automatically, stepping closer.

She hesitated, then did so. “Hello?”

A tense, slightly breathless woman’s voice came through: “Ms. Villanueva? This is Gillian Wycoff.”

Deke shot Jade a quick look, and she responded with a slight nod, signal enough for him to beckon Kenji over to trace the call. Zara sidled up, notebook at the ready.

“Mrs. Wycoff,” Jade said, voice admirably calm. “I didn’t expect to hear from you.”

Gillian let out a brittle laugh. “I didn’t expect to be calling. Trust me, my lawyer would kill me if she knew. But you need to know the truth—about Kent.”

Deke’s stomach knotted. What was the woman up to?

“What truth?” Jade pressed, her expression watchful but no longer overshadowed by her own personal shame. She was in professional mode now.

“Not over the phone,” Gillian insisted. “He’s not who everyone thinks he is. People see me as the crazy wife who hired a stalker, but there’s more to it. Meet me tomorrow at the Starlight Diner in Reno, nine a.m. It’s far enough that no one from church should see us together.”

Jade flicked her gaze to Deke, who gave an almost imperceptible nod. They had to hear Gillian out, especially with Kenji’s trace failing to lock onto anything concrete. “Alright,” Jade said. “Nine a.m.”

“Come alone,” Gillian added sharply. “Kent has friends everywhere.”

“I understand,” Jade replied. The call ended a second later, and the room exploded into quiet but intense activity.

“Starlight Diner off I-80,” Zara read off her screen. “Truck-stop vibe, easy highway access. Not really the scene for a woman who travels in country-club circles.”

Kenji shot Jade a worried look. “Could be a trap.”

Deke nodded. “Which is why we’ll be in place well before 0900.” He turned to Jade, lowering his voice. “Are you okay with this? Meeting a woman who’s been arrested for harassing you?”

She took a breath. “Yes.” The momentary tremor in her eyes reminded him how different everything felt after last night’s revelations. Still, she steadied herself. “If there’s even a chance she’s telling the truth about Kent, we need to know.”

“So we hit the storage place now, and meet with Kent’s wife in the am,” Deke said.

Kenji made a sound deep in his throat and looked up from his monitor. “Negative, big guy.” He jabbed a finger at the screen. “Lady Luck is not on our side right now. It turns out the storage place is in the middle of installing a new security system.”

Deke narrowed his eyes. “In the middle, how?”

“Like deeply in the middle.” Kenji blew out a breath. “They’ve got an outside security contractor on-site until late tonight finishing up installation. So you can plan on multiple technicians and probably the facility manager. System goes live at 0600 for testing.”

Deke frowned. "So we've got technicians crawling all over the place tonight, and an untested system tomorrow morning."

"Exactamundo. Not ideal.” Kenji nodded. "We'd be walking into unknown variables on both ends. Best window would be mid-day tomorrow after your meeting. The new system’ll be fully operational by then and we’ll know what we're dealing with.

I'll need a few hours to analyze the new security protocols anyway. "

“This changes our schedule,” Zara note. “The storage unit can wait.”

“Agreed,” Deke said. “We’ll deal with the diner meeting first, then handle the storage facility. We can’t do both in the morning without spreading ourselves too thin.”

The team nodded and broke away to plan the next day’s logistics, leaving Deke and Jade momentarily alone. He hovered near her, hands in his pockets, aware that they had to go back to her condo again tonight, where the conversation from last night still crackled like a live wire between them.

“I don’t like the idea of you face-to-face with Gillian,” he murmured, keeping his voice low. “Even if my team’s on-site, it’s risky.”

She offered a small, strained smile. “I’ll have the best security team in the state watching me, remember?” Then, more quietly, she added, “And … you’ll be there, right?”

It was a gentle reminder of the new distance that had formed. He nodded, mouth tight. “You’re not getting rid of me yet.”

Her eyes flickered, something like gratitude and regret mingling together. “Thank you.”

The hush that followed was almost painful. But the weight of DJ, of Jade’s father’s crimes, and the vow he’d made to keep professional boundaries left Deke mute.

He wanted to say he understood—that her past changed nothing about her worth in his eyes. Which it didn’t. Not for him. But he had DJ to think about.

Who could her past expose him to? These were the kinds of things a father had to consider.

Finally, Jade exhaled, putting on a brittle mask of composure. “We should finalize details for tomorrow.”

“Right,” he said. “If you change your mind about meeting Gillian, you tell me. We’ll call it off. Got it?”

“I got it.” She hesitated, as if she might confess another secret or perhaps ask him to talk more about last night. Then she shook her head. “But I won’t change my mind.”

He understood. Professional. Focused. And maybe a little heartbreak hidden under that polite calm. A heartbreak they both felt. “Let’s do it, then,” he said quietly, turning to gather his gear.

She returned to her laptop with a subdued nod, the tension in her shoulders never fully leaving.

Deke lingered a moment longer, then pivoted to join the others, burying his swirling emotions beneath operational details.

He would protect Jade with everything he had—despite, or maybe because of, the secrets she’d revealed.

He only prayed that the rest of the investigation wouldn’t bring them more surprises—especially ones that threatened the tenuous balance they were both struggling to maintain.