“You couldn’t just stay out of it.” David took a few steps into her office. “I put you on the task force to give you advancement. To give you opportunity.”
“And I appreciate it.”
“I had some selfish reasons for it, too. Namely to get you out of my hair. You’ve always been way too attentive, working long hours to make sure you’re number one.”
Before she even had time to be insulted, he had a gun out of his pocket, directed at her. It was an odd-looking piece, like something a person could assemble on their own.
And not for one minute did she believe it any less deadly.
“How’d you get a gun inside the building?”
“You’d be amazed what you can get in and out of here. Especially when you’re the most favored man of the people.”
And as he cocked the trigger, gesturing her up and out of her seat, Sera gave one last glance to her phone and prayed Gavin would get here soon. Because the man she’d respected—the one all of Brooklyn had voted to represent them—had betrayed them all.
Everything in him was cold.
Not like huddling in a jacket on a winter’s day or trying to find warmth on a January dive, but bone-deep cold.
Soul-deep cold, actually.
It was all Gavin could think as he briefed Arlo, Wyatt and Kerrigan before Wyatt rushed out to call Captain Reed.
All he could feel as they strapped on Kevlar and collected their weapons to head to the DA’s office.
All he knew as they drove the nearly deserted streets at 4:00 a.m.
David Esposito had proven he would kill for no more reason than to instill fear. With all her knowledge, did Sera have any hope of surviving his wrath?
Gavin willed those thoughts away, even as he went through each required step. He called in backup for a probable hostage situation while Kerrigan called in the orders to get SWAT in place.
Each step felt like a century, but they had everyone mobilized and heading toward the building that housed the DA in under five minutes. Along the way, they briefed the security team in the DA’s office.
That team was instructed to quietly assess what they could and they quickly affirmed that all office cameras were off on the DA’s floor. Add to that the tinted exterior windows, and they were effectively blind to the situation.
All they had to go on was the intel Sera had gleaned by keeping him on her phone line and the understanding of what risks David posed to his own discovery. Intel that had vanished when the DA had ordered Sera out of her office.
That was the lone thought that kept Gavin going as they raced through the night. If David hurt Sera in the building, he had no hope of ever covering up his crimes. The man still didn’t know she’d had him on speaker, which meant he might still be under the illusion he could get away with it.
And if he thought that, he’d have to get Sera outside the building.
“We’re going to get her, Gav.” Arlo had said the same thing over and over as they navigated the neighborhood.
“He’s a good guy, Arlo. Sera has talked several times about his leadership and how much she liked working for him.”
Gavin tried to map that description—one from someone he respected—with the realities of what they were racing toward. “And now he’s a messed-up human being in over his head. Which makes him dangerous and unpredictable.”
The worst combination they faced as cops.
And as they got out of the car a block away from the DA’s office, Gavin realized he felt dangerous and unpredictable, too. He had to get a handle on it. Had to push it away and remain focused only on getting Sera safely out of the clutches of a madman.
It was the only way to save her and the baby.
The baby.
Sera couldn’t stop thinking about the life growing inside of her. Couldn’t stop thinking about the ultrasound photos nestled in the treasure box on her coffee table and the excitement she and Gavin both carried about the new images they’d get at her upcoming appointment.
They might even find out the baby’s gender.
They’d talked of both wanting to know, excitement humming between them as they talked about names.
The baby was their future. One they were building a foundation for now.
And if all she knew of her boss was true, all of that was now at risk.
David hadn’t tied her up, but he kept the gun trained on her, forcing her to stay seated in one of his plush office chairs while he sat in the one beside her.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Why?” He looked up from where he flipped through something on his phone. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Actually, it’s not.”
“Money, Sera. Please don’t tell me you’re also a naive workaholic who doesn’t actually understand it makes the world go round.”
Once again, she opted to ignore the insult. Was she really going to get upset over the opinion of someone who was so broken? So utterly, absolutely bereft of a soul?
With that firmly in her mind, she peppered him with questions instead.
