The Complete Retrieval Duet

by Martinez, Aly

  No, the way Heath’s warmth wrapped around me sent a shiver down my spine at the same time it drained the fear from my tense body.

  “Walt…he always told me the cops would arrest me if they knew what I’d done for him. And I told you everything.”

  “No one is here to arrest you. Especially not me. We all know you’re an innocent in Noir’s bullshit.”

  I could do nothing but stare. Had I woken up in an alternate dimension where criminals were issued sentries for protection rather than orange jumpsuits and public defenders?

  “Do you believe that?” I asked. Initially, I hadn’t understood why it mattered to me what Heath believed. But it did. So much. I wasn’t a criminal, and I needed him to know that.

  He replied immediately. “Probably more than you do right now.”

  “Are you sure?” I squeaked.

  He grinned again. “I was sure of that within the first week of getting to know you.”

  I tried to laugh, but it came out as a cry. “Does your boss know you’re making these promises?”

  “He will. We’re taking Walter down. And guess what? You’re going to help us.”

  My eyes flashed wide as bile rolled in my stomach. “I…I—” I stammered.

  “And I’m going to be there to help you. The whole way. Every step. Every day. Whatever you need. I’m there.”

  My heart soared as his blanket of warmth wrapped around me even tighter.

  I still wasn’t positive I could completely trust him, but I knew with my whole heart I was going to try.

  “Yeah?” he prompted, his blue eyes holding me captive.

  “Yeah,” I agreed breathily.

  He smiled. “Okay. Now. What do you need right now?”

  A new life where you walked into my diner before Walt.

  “Can I have a hug?” I asked, using my shoulder to wipe my tears away.

  “You can have whatever you want from me, Clare. But you’re gonna have to come take it.” He bent at the waist, over the bed, offering me his upper body without really offering me a hug.

  But it was more than anyone had given me in as long as I could remember, so without hesitation, I took it.

  Rising to my knees, with Tessa held to my chest, I hooked an arm around his neck and shoved my face against his throat. His arms instantly folded around us both as he squeezed me, Tessa tucked between us.

  “I’m scared,” I whispered, not sure what else to say.

  “I’ve got you.” He nuzzled his jaw against the side of my face. “I swear on my life I’ve got you.”

  After I insisted she try to get some rest, Clare insisted I move my chair next to her bed. I didn’t argue. Sleep wasn’t going to find me that night, but having them within my arms’ reach would do wonders for my ability to relax.

  It was well past three when her breathing finally evened out while she clung to my forearm.

  I’d blown off nearly a dozen calls and texts—and even more than that if I included those from Roman. As much as it killed me to leave her alone for even a few minutes, I needed to get caught up on what the hell was going on with Walter as well as figure out what the hell was going to happen when Clare and Tessa were released. They needed to be taken into protective custody, and I needed to make it clear that I was going with them.

  She stirred only the slightest bit when I inched my arm out from under her hand. Very quietly, I snuck out of the room, my phone already poised at my ear. It was rendered useless when I found eight men waiting in the hall, all of them coming alert with the click of the door.

  “Light,” my lieutenant, Mark Tomlinson, called, stepping toward me.

  My fellow agent and close friend, Shane McIntyre, was right behind him.

  “Heath,” Roman said, scrambling up from the tile floor next to the door. A huge guy with dark hair I’d never seen before loomed beside him.

  “Agent Light,” Rorke called, two of his uniformed henchmen closing in from the right.

  “You.” I pointed my finger at Rorke. “Get the fuck out of here.”

  “Light,” Tomlinson warned. “They’re local.”

  I kept my gaze glued on the overweight detective as I shot back at my boss, “They sure as hell are. They’re also the reason Atwood is in the ground. I don’t want them anywhere near her.”

  “We had nothing to do with one of your boys getting dead,” a uniform started. “Maybe you—”

  He was quickly—and wisely—silenced by Rorke.

  “Marco, enough!” Rorke jacked his pants up and straightened his tie. “We were just hoping to question Clare and offer whatever protection we could until Noir is taken into custody.”

  I must have missed the memo that Hell had frozen over.

  “Unless you’ve showed up here today with irrefutable proof that your mole is in custody, you can fuck off.”

  Tomlinson started cussing under his breath. But I had nothing to gain by being respectful to Rorke or any of the APD. Yet, with Clare and Tessa on the other side of the door, I had everything to lose.

  I stood my ground, my body swelling as I swung my gaze through the men surrounding me. “No one gets near her without my permission,” I declared. “And, in case I haven’t been clear enough, Rorke, your boys will never get that. I highly suggest you find the fucking door and utilize it. We’ve got it from here.” I turned my attention back to Tomlinson.

  He was young for his position in the Administration, but he’d more than earned every single one of his promotions. The man was well respected—especially by me. And, as far as I knew, the feeling was mutual.

  “You gonna back me up here?” I asked him.

  He rested a hand on his hip and used his thumb to wipe the corner of his mouth. “It’s politics, Light. We can’t just—”

  “You have got to be shitting me.” I swept a finger in Rorke’s direction. “Not even a month ago, someone in his department hung Atwood out to dry. He was days away from being inducted into Noir’s army, and within hours of his identity being released to the Atlanta Police Department, he was found with a bullet in the back of his brain. Politics have no place in this anymore.”

  His gaze turned hard as he took an authoritative step toward me and lowered his voice. “I don’t know what the hell is going on with you and that woman, but you are not thinking straight. Do not make more enemies for us. Jesus Christ, it’s gonna take me a fucking year to bury the surveillance footage of you storming Noir’s gate.”

  I shrugged arrogantly. “Not my problem. I warned you to turn it off. Besides, I showed up there, witnessed that asshole putting his hands on her. If that’s not probable cause to enter his residence, I don’t know what is.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “Don’t bullshit me. You should have waited for backup.”

  I laughed humorlessly. “Wait? You wanted me to fucking standby while he killed the key witness in our investigation?” The woman who has worked her way so fucking deep under my skin that I can’t even remember what it felt like not to have her there anymore. I kept that to myself.

  A symphony of questions fired from multiple directions, all of which were along the lines of, “She’s going to testify against him?”

  I angled forward and arrogantly whispered, “She is now.”

  Tomlinson’s eyes nearly bulged from his head, and his whole body stiffened.

  I tilted my head toward Rorke in a silent demand.

  His eyes stayed glued to mine as he announced, “Rorke, you and your men are officially released from this investigation. The DEA appreciates your support in the matter, but we will be handling the Noir case from here on out.”

  “You cannot be serious,” Rorke groaned.

  Tomlinson finished with, “Please turn over any and all case files by end of day tomorrow.”

  “This is ludicrous. You don’t have the resources to handle this kind of operation without the aid of the APD,” Rorke continued to protest, but McIntyre began herding him and his men toward the elevator.

  Once the doors
had slid closed behind them, Tomlinson’s body sagged and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “He’s right, I absolutely do not have the resources to handle this, Light. So I’m gonna need you to get in there and find out exactly what she’s got on Noir that I can use as leverage to get additional manpower and funding.”

  “I can do that,” I replied. “But, first, I want your word that we’re taking her and the girl into protective custody. And, in doing that, you’re also going to assign me as her number one.”

  He scoffed and shook his head. “No. No fucking way. After your bullshit today, it’s obvious you are way too attached to this one.”

  If he thought scaling the fortress wall was bad, he didn’t even know the half of it. If he had any idea how I really felt about her, I’d be not only off the case, but also out of a job before I could even explain—assuming I could think of an explanation.

  My only saving grace was that no one, not even Clare, knew how I felt about her. And it was one secret I’d take to my grave.

  “Too involved?” I asked incredulously. “You sent me in to gain her trust and get her talking. I did both—and took it two steps further by bringing her in and convincing her to testify. You think a shattered woman like that is gonna be real keen to put her life on the line after you take away the only badge she’s ever trusted?” Not even to mention the hell I was going to cause if they tried to take her away from me.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t approve it,” he stated matter-of-factly.

  “I’m not thinking you have a choice.”

  “Well, I’m thinking, if she wants protective custody for her and her daughter, she’s gonna find a way to get on without you.”

  My blood began to boil at a nearly explosive temperature, but before I had the chance to utter a word, Roman joined the conversation.

  “Come again?” he said, closing in on Tomlinson. “You’re going to deny her protection if she insists on staying with Heath?”

  “I didn’t—” Tomlinson started.

  Roman boomed, “That woman has been through hell without you manipulating her in exchange for her safety!”

  “Stay out of this, Leblanc,” Tomlinson ordered. “You have no idea—”

  “Fuck you. I know enough. You’re asking her to risk her life to make your case and you’re planning to use her life as leverage to convince her.” He paused and barked a loud humorless laugh. “You and the rest of the DEA can suck my cock. She’s coming home with me.”

  I whipped my head in his direction, my hackles instantly raised. “Excuse me?”

  He met my gaze. “I’ve got the space. The security—Leo’s sending in more men tomorrow. And we both know what those DNA results on Tessa are going to read when I have them ordered tomorrow. Elisabeth isn’t real excited about taking the little girl from Clare, so yeah, you heard me. They’re both coming home with me.” He turned his attention back to Tomlinson, but his words were aimed at me. “And, the way I see it, she needs all the people she can get at her back, so you are more than welcome to come with her, Heath.”

  While I would have felt miles better with the DEA watching her ass rather than whoever Leo James had sent Roman, options were never a bad thing to have.

  I smirked at Tomlinson. “Sounds like she won’t be talking after all.”

  “Light,” he warned. “You try to pull this shit on me and you might as well turn in your badge now.”

  Digging in my back pocket, I retrieved my badge and then offered it his way. “Not a problem if this is the kind of man you are, using an innocent woman and kid to get a conviction.”

  My woman. My kid.

  Jesus fuck.

  I needed my head examined.

  He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered, making it known he wasn’t accepting my half-assed resignation.

  Our gazes were fused in a stare-down. He was my boss, but I didn’t back down. Not even an inch. Not when it came to Clare and Tessa.

  Never when it came to them.

  “Either take my badge or give me your word,” I demanded, breaking the silence.

  His gaze flashed to my outstretched hand then back again. “Fuck, Light. What are you doing? This isn’t like you.”

  He definitely wasn’t wrong about that. I was known to be steady and emotionally detached. I thrived on well-thought-out strategies. But, then again, I’d never met Clare.

  “I will ask you one more time,” I replied evenly. “And only because I respect the hell out of you and I know you’re working on a snap judgment of what you saw on that video from Noir’s place. You have a man she trusts, Lieutenant. Use me. I won’t cross any lines. I’m not sleeping with her. It’s not like that.” And, as much as it burned on my tongue, I had to remind myself that it never would be. I cleared my throat and forged ahead. “I’ve spent the last three months getting to know her. We have the same goal here—her survival. There’s nothing, and I mean nothing, I won’t do to ensure that. You could put a dozen different agents with her and none of them would keep her safe like I will.” I held his gaze but shoved my badge back in my pocket. “Put me with her and let me do my job.”

  He closed his eyes and grumbled.

  Hope swirled in my veins.

  “Shit.” He groaned. “You better get me something good here, Light. I’m putting my ass on the line.”

  A victorious smile split my face. “She hates him. I won’t have to get you anything. She’ll gladly give it all.”

  “You know he was gone when our boys got there,” he informed me.

  I’d figured as much. We had surveillance on the Noir house, but it wasn’t like the old-school movies where we had guys around the corner in an unmarked van.

  “Yet another reason we need to be vigilant here,” I retorted.

  He nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll send a team out to Leblanc’s as soon as she’s released.” He turned his attention to Roman. “You working with Leo James?”

  Roman nodded curtly, the big guy behind him relaxing a fraction.

  “I can’t imagine where you got his name,” he said sarcastically. “I’m sure you had nothing to do with that, Light.”

  I grinned. “Nope. Pure luck.”

  “Right. Well, Leo was my team leader before he left the Administration. You’re in good hands. I’ll give him a call and get things set up. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I got a shitstorm of phone calls to return.” He turned on a toe and walked away, leaving me smiling like a maniac in the middle of the hospital hallway.

  Roman waited for Tomlinson to round the corner before asking, “She asleep?”

  “They both are.”

  “Good. They need it.” He tipped his chin to where Tomlinson had disappeared. “He gonna send someone to guard the door?”

  “If I had to guess, there’s a sea of men downstairs, but yeah. I’ll shoot him a text about getting someone up here,” I muttered and offered him a hand.

  He clasped his with mine but didn’t immediately let go. When I looked up, his eyes filled with a determination that matched my own.

  “We’re gonna do right by them,” he vowed.

  “Fuck yeah,” I agreed.

  “No. Heath. We are gonna do right by them. No matter the cost. No matter the sacrifice. Priority number one and two are behind that door. The way we rank those priorities might be a little different, but that does not mean we aren’t in this together. You got me?”

  I nodded and gripped his hand even tighter. “They’re both my priority number one, Roman. But yeah, I got you.”

  “Good. Devon and I will be out here all night. You go ahead and get back in there before she wakes up.”

  Good fucking plan. It was a sad day when I was already jonesing after having been away from her for ten minutes.

  Christ, I was fucked.

  “Where are we going?” I nervously asked as Heath made another trip around the 285 loop.

  He kept his eyes on the road as he replied, “We’re just taking the scenic route to make sure no one
is tailing us.”

  I turned and looked out the back window to see traffic as usual, no sign of Walt or any of his guys—as far as I could tell, anyway.

  “Turn around and relax,” he ordered.

  “Sure thing,” I smarted, righting myself in my seat and once again adjusting the oversized scrubs the hospital had given me to wear.

  Relaxing was easier said than done. I didn’t get to experience it often, and after my briefing this morning from a salt-and-peppered Richard Gere–lookalike named Mark Tomlinson, it wasn’t something I figured I’d be experiencing much of any time soon.

  No one had seen or heard from Walt since Heath had left him unconscious on our driveway. But I knew Walt; he was off somewhere, licking his wounds. I could only pray that we were safe at the Leblancs’ house, under the watchful eye of the DEA and Roman’s private security team, by the time he decided to make his move.

  “Hey,” Heath called to catch my attention. “We’re good, ya know? We’ve got a car in front of us leading the way and a car behind us watching for anything suspicious. I’m just waiting for the all clear before making our way to Roman’s place.”

  “Oh,” I said softly. Something akin to relief but much less relaxing washed over me. At least, if what he’d said was true, we probably wouldn’t be gunned down in the middle of the highway.

  “Luke!” Tessa yelled.

  I nearly jumped out of my skin as I attempted to scramble over the center console to get to her before Heath’s arm went up between the two seats and blocked me in the front.

  “You all right back there, Tessi?” he asked the rearview mirror. Cool, calm, and collected. Everything I was not.