Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
She clings to me for a long moment and then nods once.
I crush her to me, breathing her in before I reluctantly release her and jerk my chin at Luke, letting him know they're good to go. He climbs into the driver's side and slams his door closed.
"Protect her, Luke."
"With my life," he promises me.
Faith starts crying again as I buckle her in, but she doesn't fight me. She just presses her face to my chest and whispers something I can't understand. It sounds like a prayer.
"I promise I'm coming back to you, little bunny," I vow once more and then close her door.
Luke rolls out of the parking lot with two LAPD units following behind him. They'll help him and Knox protect her, Mila, and Lola until this shit is over with. Every cop in this city will help protect them if that's what it takes to keep Faith safe. She's mine. And now everyone knows it.
Watching Luke drive away with her twists the knife in my stomach a little deeper.
"Te amo, mi conejita," I whisper, wishing like hell I'd said it to her before she left. Saying in while covered in the blood of the man who tormented her for five years didn't feel right. But I should have said it before I let her drive away.
Fuck. As soon as I finish this, I'm telling her how I feel about her.
Letting her leave my sight when she isn't safe is fucking killing me, but I watch until the SUV is out of sight and then I shove everything down into a little box and turn to deal with the scene. It's the only way I'm going to make it through this shit without cracking. And the sooner I'm done here, the sooner I can concentrate on hunting down Tarasova and Milonov.
Roman and Finn are off to the side, talking to my captain and Major Jessup as the crime scene guys process the scene and detectives question the remaining witnesses. The bodies of Sedov and the other two we killed have already been removed. All that's left is the blood, broken glass, and bullet casings littering the parking lot from one end to the other.
"Octavio," Roman says when I step up beside him.
Major and Captain both eye me. Major is tight-lipped, his gray hair sticking out all over the place. He looks pissed, but whether that's at me or the situation in general, I don't know. Brass tends to get pissy when there are bodies involved. At the moment, I don't really care how he feels though.
Captain Franklin's expression is grim. He can't hide the worry glinting in his brown eyes. I think he knows I'm not going to let this ride. He's stayed out of it until now, letting me work it out myself. But he might not have that option any longer.
"I was filling them in on what you found today," Roman explains. "Finn is about to head out to the hospital where she was born to try to get his hands on her medical records. We've already sent two of your guys over there. If Jackson is her father, we'll know it as soon as they find her records."
"We need to go see Kincaid," I say, looking at Roman. I don't tell him why, but I don't have to do so. He knows as well as I do that if anyone can convince Tarasova to see me, Kincaid can. If he'll help me. Fuck, after everything he's been through because of me, I wouldn't blame him if he slammed the door in my face. But he won't. I'm not going to let him.
"We need your badge and your gun, Hernandez," Major Jessup says, making Franklin scowl.
I pull my badge out and hand it over without hesitation. It's not like I didn't know it was coming. It's standard protocol when an officer is involved in a shooting. The shooting was justified, but I don't really care if they give my badge back to me when their investigation is over or not. At the moment, I've got more important things to deal with.
"Your gun?"
"I've already relinquished my service weapon. Coulter has it," I tell him.
He jerks his chin in a nod and then looks at Roman. "I'm going to need yours too."
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Roman says, crossing his massive arms over his chest. His brows draw down, his scowl making it clear he's not handing over a damn thing.
"You just killed a man, Agent Gregory."
"And if my boss wants to suspend me pending a formal investigation, he's welcome to do it," Roman snaps right back at him, not backing down. "You don't have that authority, Jessup."
Jessup glances at Finn like he's looking for backup.
"I'm not his boss anymore," Finn mutters, backing Roman without hesitation. "You want him suspended, wake up the SAC and ask him to do it. Until then, we've got shit to do. In case you forgot, at least two suspects managed to escape. I'd like to get on with finding them before they come back for Ms. Donovan a second time."