Page 50 of Edge of Danger

“Why didn’t you alert us to that before now? This could’ve been prevented,” the second officer said.

Weston spoke before Brax could, and that was for the best. “We’ve worked most of the past thirty-six hours straight trying to figure out how to protect my brother without making the situation worse for him or the people close to him.”

When he looked at Tessa and Walker, the officer softened. But not by much. “All the more reason to bring us in on this.”

“The shopkeeper who was set to testify went to you—” Brax cut himself off when Weston shot him a look.

No. He wasn’t helping things by mouthing off.

Though he believed he had a strong point.

“We’ll pick up Riviera now that we have a statement based on the encounter you had with him,” the second officer stated. “We can offer protection.”

“I’ve already arranged for a safe house,” Weston assured them. “That’s the first step. You take care of Riviera and his men. We’ll take care of our own.”

Chance wrapped Tessa and Walker with a blanket he’d brought from his car.

Luke looked grim when he approached Brax. “It could’ve been much worse.”

“I know.”

“It’s going to take some work to restore the living room. You did well putting out what you could before getting out.”

“I couldn’t let the place burn down with Tessa and Walker in it.” Just the thought made Brax’s stomach twist.

Luke clapped a hand over Brax’s uninjured shoulder. “I know what you’re going through, brother. I know how it is to feel like there’s somebody whose safety is more important than your own. Not that it helps you any, but... I understand.”

It didn’t help. Not in any concrete way. But it did ease Brax’s mind a little. He wasn’t completely out of his head for wanting to kill everybody involved in what had happened tonight. Not for his own sake. Not even for the sake of his home, which he’d always been proud of and thought of as a sanctuary.

But for them. For Tessa and Walker.

First and foremost, he had to get them to safety. Then he’d make it his mission in life to make sure something like this never happened again.

Chapter Nineteen

A police radio squawked. Tessa jumped at the sound. Her heart lodged in her throat. Her arms shook so hard she was afraid she might drop the baby.

She would break into a million pieces soon. All it would take would be one more thing. One more menacing face in the dark. One more emergency. One more panicked run at nighttime. It would destroy her.

Then there were the questions. The what-ifs. When she wasn’t jumping at the slightest sound, she asked herself what could have happened.

If they hadn’t been downstairs when the bomb had come through the window. If it had shattered on impact with the floor. If they’d gone out the wrong door and one of those men had cut them off. If Walker had cried out while they were hiding in the trees.

If, if, if.An endless string of them, stretching into infinity.

She’d lose her mind if this didn’t stop. There was another what-if. What if this never stopped and she ended up losing what was left of her sanity?

No.

Some people had the luxury of falling apart when life threw them curveballs. Some people didn’t have a baby depending on them.

She nuzzled Walker’s head, tucking it protectively under her chin, and marveled at his ability to sleep through so many things. A blessing, considering he’d fallen asleep while they’d been hiding. “Thank you, sweetheart,” she whispered before kissing him.

Who had tried to kill them? Robert’s enemies or Brax’s? More than likely something so vicious would have come from the cartel, but there was no way to tell.

Did it matter? If they’d died, would it have mattered who had killed them? The result would’ve been the same.

A slight touch on her shoulder made her jump again.

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