Page 55 of Edge of Danger

“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re stretched thin, is all.” Luke offered a slow nod. “I know what you’re feeling. You can only think as far ahead as the solution for the most pressing problem you’re facing at this moment.”

“Think too far into the future and you’re liable to think yourself into inertia—or madness,” Weston added with a grim expression.

Unable to sit still, Brax jumped to his feet and paced the length of the room. “If I’m not safe after my testimony, that means Tessa and Walker won’t be safe either. Not if they’re anywhere near me.”

It tore him up inside just thinking about them being in greater danger. Especially when he realized he was the reason for that danger. There was one thing he’d learned in the past twelve hours or so: Tessa and Walker were his world, and he couldn’t live without them.

“I think it’s time we get the police department on this for real.”

Brax turned toward Weston at his suggestion. “Meaning what?”

“Meaning we have them watch you. And Riviera. We’ll know every move he makes, and we’ll have eyes on you at all times to make sure you’re okay. I think that’s our best bet at the moment.”

“You’re probably right about that,” Brax agreed. “I know I’d feel better if we had eyes on him and his associates.” He rolled his eyes at that.Associates.Like the cartel was some sort of legitimate business.

“That doesn’t change what might happen after you testify,” Luke pointed out. “We need to think long-term.”

“All right. Let’s think long-term.” Chance, always the strategist. He would be the one to jump on the idea of putting a plan together. “We can keep you hidden for a few years, if that’s what it comes to. We have the resources. You could virtually vanish.”

“Riviera’s got connections, but there’s no way he’d have enough to look for you all over the country,” Luke mused. “It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. He’d have to give up after a while, especially if the cartel implodes without him.”

“Which is exactly what the DA is hoping will happen,” Brax agreed. “His resources will only take him so far once he’s inside, and the jackals will eat each other in his absence.”

“But—”

They went silent. Weston drew a deep breath before continuing. “You’d have to go it alone. By yourself.”

The implication hung heavy over their heads. No Tessa. No Walker.

On the one hand, he knew that was for the best. Riviera’s thugs could still find him.

On the other hand, there was no other hand. He loathed the idea of being away from Tessa and Walker. What was the use of finding what he never knew he’d been waiting for if he ended up losing it so quickly?

“I don’t know. This is a lot to process at once.” He kept pacing like it would do any good, like it would help him make sense of the thoughts crashing into each other in his mind.

Saying goodbye to them or sticking around and exposing them to greater danger. They might not be so lucky next time, and he knew it.

He looked around the conference room. This was his business. These were his brothers. He was proud of what they’d built, just like they were. He didn’t want to give up the results of their hard work. He couldn’t abandon his brothers either. They were a team.

Not to mention the thought of losing Tessa and Walker completely gutted him.

“It’s funny.” He spoke more to himself than to any of them, looking at his feet as he walked the room. “For a minute there, I almost tricked myself into believing I had a normal life. Like this little game of house I’ve been playing with Tessa wasn’t a game. It was comfortable. I felt normal.”

“You are normal.”

He chuckled at Weston without looking at him and replied, “Come on. You know what I mean.”

“This won’t be forever. You can have your normal life back once this blows over.”

“I don’t want to wait for it to blow over. I don’t want to have to hide.”

Luke snorted. Brax’s head snapped around. “Is that funny?”

“Whoa, whoa.” Luke held up his hands. “Don’t shoot. I was reading a text from Claire. She’s checking in from the apartment.”

Brax scrubbed his hands over his face. “Sorry. I didn’t—”

“It’s okay.”

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