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“I just want to talk,” I said, trying to keep my tone even. “To understand your demands so we can all walk out of this and no one gets hurt.”

A pause. A too-long fucking pause that had my heart jumping into my throat.

“Only you,” he yelled.

My shoulders dropped several inches. The tightness in my muscles had my still-healing bullet wound throbbing, but I pushed the discomfort to the back of my mind.

Cold from the steel door soaked into my sweaty palm as I sealed it to the metal and pushed it open just enough for me to wedge through but keep the horde of officers behind me out of view. The last thing we needed him to know was he wasn’t getting out of here without handcuffs.

Unless it was in a body bag. But I really didn’t want it to come to that. Every life I took in the line of duty added another dark mark on my soul.

The stench of body odor and alcohol smacked me in the face the second my foot crossed the threshold. Breathing through my mouth, I kept my gaze locked on Rain’s ex and the gun he had trained on her.

It took every ounce of effort to not rush him and slam the bastard to the floor.

Not yet.

Hands in the air, I forced myself to not look at Rain. “I’m only here to talk. What is it you want, Josh?”

The man looked nothing like the picture I had of him. This man in front of me had nothing left to lose, and that was clear by his current irrational approach to turn his life around. Holding the ME at gunpoint in the morgue only a few yards from hundreds of armed officers proved he was past the point of thinking clearly or negotiating.

I had to hope Rain knew that, too, and had a distraction that would help me get a shot in before he killed us both. Because there was only so long we could keep him from recognizing the inevitable—that he’d backed himself into a corner.

“You,” he hissed, eyes narrowed on me. And just like I knew he would when he recognized me as one of the men in Rain’s life, the gun’s barrel swung my way. Despite the fact that a gun was pointed at my chest, relief soothed some of my nerves since it wasn’t aimed at Rain anymore. “You’re why she left me.”

He had no idea how true that statement was.

“Tell me what you want, Josh,” I said calmly.

“I want my wife back!” he yelled, voice shaking with the rage running through him.

“Wife or life?” I stated slowly.

“Fucking both. She doesn’t deserve to leave me, take everything I worked for away.” I nodded along without rolling my eyes, which I considered a major win for the day. “I made her. I supported her, and then she turned around and became a whore, just like her mother.”

I forced my face into a blank mask. Showing any kind of reaction to his lies could get Rain and me both killed.

“And she—” He swung the gun back to Rain, who squeaked.Ah, fuck.“She”—the gun shook in his hand—“ruined everything.”

“I understand,” I placated. “What do you want her to understand, Josh?”

Damn, I needed that gun pointed back at me. I had a vest on. Rain was vulnerable to any shot.

“That she can’t leave me. No one leaves me. I deserve better than—”

“Oh my,” Rain exclaimed, cutting him off with her shocked tone and snagging his confused attention. “Is that an Australian jumping spider?” she shrieked, pointing just over Josh’s shoulder.

With a high-pitched squeal, Josh whirled around, searching the walls and floor for the made-up spider.

If I had the time, I would have high-fived Rain for giving me the distraction I needed. But I had to act fast before Josh realized there was, in fact, no spider.

Withdrawing the gun from the back of the sweats, I aimed it at his chest just as Josh whirled back around, face red and nostrils flaring. Guess he figured it out faster than I’d expected. His wild eyes focused on the stun gun in my hand, he jerked his very real gun in my direction. Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger, sending the leads and lines straight for his chest.

Unfortunately, at exactly the same time, he pulled the trigger too.

31

SLADE

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