Page 28 of Complicated Past

“I have access to equipment that can tell us what type of vehicle may be housed and to determine how many people are on the premises. Where they’re located inside. Sending me in covertly has a better chance of success than sending a uniformed officer to the door or rolling up with a SWAT team.”

“I can’t have you going vigilante and breaching some residence. I’m trying to keep you from being arrested, which won’t do your sister or her grandmother any good.”

“I’m not going vigilante. I want him taken into custody because he’s our best—and maybe only—shot at finding Bri.” Not that he’d get to participate in the interrogation.

“We want him alive,butrecovering Mrs. Feldman is our priority. I’ll give you an update once I know more.” Clara ended the call.

“Dammit. They’re making a mistake.” A huge one. He breathed out, trying to keep from smashing something of Dev’s.

Kendra hung back near the kitchen counter.

“I guess you heard that.”

“Kind of hard not to. I know it’s frustrating, but you need to trust that the police know what they’re doing.”

He shook his head. Frustrating didn’t even begin to describe being shut out when they finally might be learning something. Hell yes, it was personal, but it meant he would do it the right way to bringing this guy in alive.

“Are we going out searching for the van?”

He took a moment to think. Clara mentioned a residence. They might stumble across the action if he and Kendra continued their search. Then what? If he had a pair of thermal imaging goggles, he could call Clara and offer them up so SWAT would know what they were looking at before going in. “I need to go over to post and get some things.” He grabbed the car keys.

“Okay.” Kendra picked up her purse.

“That part of post is restricted. You’ll have to stay here.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him.

“I’m serious. I would need to get authorization. By the time we do all that, I can get there and be back. You don’t want to be around me right now, and I can’t just sit here.”

“I get that.” She sighed. “Promise me you won’t do anything illegal or stupid.”

Hopefully, that was her way of saying she cared. “I promise.” He closed the distance between them.

Resting a hand on Kendra’s hip, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I said I’d take you to dinner. I keep my promises.”Which is why he had to save Bri. He promised he wouldn’t let anything happen to her again.

After goingby post and getting thermal imaging goggles as well as surveillance cameras that could snake under a door, Linc called Clara. It went straight to voicemail. Was she on another call or had she blocked him?

He gave her a few minutes to text him back before he called again. This time, when it rolled to voicemail, he left a message. He left post and headed back to Dev’s. He’d just hit the garage door button when Clara called him back.

“We got the warrant. It was the right house.”

Yes!

“Mrs. Feldman is shaken up and a bit disoriented, but physically not harmed. They’re taking her to Med to be checked out.”

“And the guy who took her?”

“He was there. He’s on his way to Med with a GSW to the chest.”

Fuck!He pounded his head against the headrest. “How bad?”

“It doesn’t look good. He fired on one of our officers. They didn’t have a choice.”

Yes, they did. A shot through his gun hand or hit him in the knee. If they had lethimgo in, that’s what he would have done. He kept his mouth shut since he already had a strike or two against him with Kendra’s family because he served in the Army, and he didn’t want to piss off a potential ally in Clara. However, if it came down to saving Bri or pleasing Kendra and her family, he’d have to do the best things for Bri and Jalen. Kendra would understand. He’d never make her alienate her family for him.

“We’ve got a team combing the house for information on Tawnya’s and Bri’s whereabouts,” Clara continued.

“Was Tawnya living there?”

---