Page 167 of Bossy Hero

Alan sounds perturbed when he grits out, “You copy, Lionheart?”

“Roger, Boss. I don’t fucking like it, though.”

“You don’t have to like it to do it. Bug out,” Alan orders.

Two seconds later, Mia groans. “Boss just disabled his comms.”

Tomer shakes his head despondently. “Fuck Murphy and his shitty law.Of course, Boss and Leo go out to confront the chief about Patterson at the same time as Yuri’s housefinallyclears out. Why wouldn’t these tasks happen separately?”

“We got this, buddy,” Mia reassures him. “Boss has met with the chief dozens of times without us watching. It’s all good. You’ll see.”

I wish I shared her optimism.

“Shep, come take a look at this,” Sawyer says, only briefly diverting my focus away from Mia’s side of the console.

“Does Alan have a body cam?” I ask, clinging to the last rung on my hope ladder.

“Nope.” Mia points at the monitor displaying the feed from the cameras attached to his vehicle. “This is all we have on him right now. Plus, the GPS tracker on his watch, the car, and his phone. But remember, Chief Bigsby isnota hostile. He’s on our side.”

“Probably,” Tomer adds.

Normally, I adore that boy. But I’m one more negative comment away from taking off my shoe and flinging it at him.

The camera footage on the front of Alan’s vehicle shows the two men walking toward the chief’s SUV. With each step he takes, my body gradually ices over. The blood in my veins congeals into a frosty gel, just shy of being frozen solid. One by one, I lose sensation in my fingertips, and I’m unsure whether it’s from the temperature in the lair or because I’m falling into an abyss of worry.

Unlike Alan, I don’t have a trustworthy gut. Only paranoia and plenty of past experiences where I put my faith in the wrong person.

However, Alandoeshave his intuition. And he wouldn’t intentionally put himself in harm’s way without proper backup and a plan.

I force that sentiment to replay in my mind, hoping it calms me. Along with a series of deep breaths, it seems to help. Warmth steadily returns to my fingertips, and my pulse slows.

Sawyer’s unusually tense voice breaks through my carefully crafted Zen garden. “Uh, HQ. Are you seeing this?”

In a low rumble, Tomer utters, “What the actual fuck? Get it closer to your cam for me. I need a better visual.”

Once more, I whip my neck to face Tomer’s console. Sawyer and Shep are in Yuri’s home office. Sawyer’s body camera is zooming in on a framed picture—a family portrait, perhaps.

As it comes into better focus, I detect two men, two women, and two very small children in the photo. They’re standing outdoors, huddled together to smile for the camera under a large oak tree. If they aren’t family, they certainly appear to be quite close with each other, judging by the friendly body language.

I don’t recognize any of them, but based on the women’s hairstyles and clothing, it’s an older photo. Twenty to thirty years ago. Maybe more.

Mia sighs aggressively, barely concealing a groan. “Lionheart, you’re far enough away. Hold, but turn around in case I need to send you back in.”

My son calls back, his tone reserved. “Wilco. Update on Big Al’s status?”

After peeking over her shoulder at me, Mia returns her focus to her computer. “The chief divested him of his sidearm before they got into his SUV.”

What? Oh no, no, no.I must have missed that when I was staring at the framed photo on the other monitor.

“If anyone’s curious, we’re doingsensationallyat Yuri’s place too,” Tomer mumbles sarcastically while flying through various screens full of photos.

“Annndthey’re driving away now,” Mia tacks on.

Wordlessly, we watch the shrinking taillights on the SUV as it carries Alan and the chief away.

The hits just keep on coming. No weapons. No cameras. No audio. And they’re out in the middle of nowhere.

Mia lets her hands go limp, flopping them onto the armrests. “I’ve officially lost visual on Big Al.”

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