Page 69 of Her Protector Daddies

“Fuck that,” Tyler sniffled. “He’s going to get fucking five-star treatment while Selena is… is—.” He couldn’t finish, and that last thread of control I had slipped away.

“Yeah,” I bit out. “Fuck that.”

Slowly, I stalked toward the car, shrugging off Jay’s warning touch and ignoring Tyler’s weak plea for me to stop. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the Captain pausing her report and fixing me with a deadly, warning glare.

I ignored it all and stepped around the SWAT man standing by the rear door. Slowly, I opened the door and lowered down until I was at eye level with Andrés, who sat in the back, cradling his injured arm to his chest and the most smug look on his face that I’d ever seen.

“You know the woman you shot? She was my girlfriend, and I don’t think you understand just how badly you fucked up. “

“I didn’t shoot anyone,” Andrés scoffed, lazily dragging his gaze over me. “But the dead whore of a cop? Well, that’s good news any day.”

“You better hope she doesn’t die,” I spat, scarcely able to contain my rage. The only reason I did was because Selena was still alive, barely, and I couldn’t help her from the inside of a prison cell.

“The second she does, no cop in this city will stop me from ripping your fucking spine out.”

26

TYLER

The next two days swept past in a blur.

Selena was placed into an induced coma after countless hours of surgery, leaving her life hanging by a thread, and the uncertainty was killing me. Would she make it? Would I get to see those gorgeous eyes and that bright smile ever again?

I should have been faster.

That thought plagued me constantly, and nothing anyone said eased that guilt because I knew we all felt the same. Bailey had entered a state of seething anger that didn’t fade, while Jay went overtime on spoiling Dae. It was a distraction he needed, but when the days ended and the world got a little quieter, we were all silently trapped in a cage of grief.

We were denied access to Andrés for understandable reasons, but that in itself was infuriating. The smug bastard refused to talk, and I heard through the grapevine that he was actually quite relaxed in his cell, especially when his fancy, hot-shot lawyer turned up. I couldn’t even face him, unable to fathom how someone could, in good conscience, defend a man like that.

The paycheck must have been worth it.

I trudged toward Captain Watt’s office with heavy steps and knocked twice before entering. Sleep had escaped me since Selena was shot, and that same exhaustion was visible on Bailey and Jay’s faces when I entered the office.

Heads nodded in greeting, and the Captain offered me a slight smile.

“Tyler. Glad you could make it.”

“Aye.” I dropped into the nearest chair and rubbed quickly at my eyes. “What’s this about?”

“Given the recent developments with Andrés, your undercover assignment is at an end,” Aubrey said. “But I’d like the both of you back out on the street helping to mop up the rest of Andrés’ men. The last thing we need is those fuckers attempting a breakout.” She glanced between Bailey and me, then her eyes snapped to Jay.

“You’re welcome to help too, if you want but make sure you have someone with you who can vouch for you. We don’t need any of these assholes crying about mistreatment but I don’t care what you arrest them for. Getting them off the streets, even for twenty-four hours, is more than enough.”

I glanced at Bailey, expecting him to have some sort of remark about this but he was silent, one hand resting over his mouth and his gaze locked onto the opposite wall. He was here, but his mind was clearly elsewhere.

“Alright,” I replied for the both of us. “We’ll squad up and hit the streets. Jay can ride with us.”

The Captain winced slightly. “Given the three of you and your connection to Selena, it might be best for Jay to pair up with someone else. Outside eyes to vouch for your actions will speak volumes.”

“You really think we’ll fuck with these guys as revenge?” Jay scoffed sharply. “Trust me, it’s not the dog soldiers I want to get my hands on.”

“I know that,” Aubrey said sharply. “But given your history with Andrés and his people, there’s a large window of opportunity for any one of them to claim mistreatment and the three of you backing each other up when you all share the same vendetta won’t stand up in court.”

“Because I lost my partner, and now I might lose—.” Jay cut himself off and cleared his throat. “I’m capable of arresting within the law.”

“I know that,” Aubrey said, her tone softer this time. “I’m asking these for your own safety. I’m not the hindrance here.”

I fought to roll my eyes. It was difficult to pair her logic with the anger we were all feeling. It was like dancing on a knife’s edge, and one wrong move would result in either Selena dying or our own actions compromising the case and letting Andrés walk.

---