Page 26 of Merciless Protector

I held up the collar. “I don’t think you want a souvenir,” I said with levity.

She shook her head. “Thank you,” she whispered.

I nodded and turned away. The pull between us was too compelling to ignore, but I had to. I turned and took a few steps to the counter and put the collar there. Ruin was more than a bastard. The metal disks that held the thing together were strung like pretty jewelry but were deadly.

Tayla stepped beside me. She smelled like wild berries, making my mouth water.

“Do you think there’s a tracking device in there?” she asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“I wouldn’t doubt he’d do something like that.” I didn’t add that I’d been a fool not to consider that. It was too late now.

“There might even be a silent alarm that lets him know I’ve taken it off,” she suggested.

“Maybe. We have to consider everything.”

Griff and Kelsey walked in with Griff on the phone. Kelsey headed in our direction and Griff stayed near the door.

“Any problems?” Kelsey asked.

Tayla’s lips curled in a small smile when Kelsey reached us. “No,” Tayla answered.

“Why don’t I take this? I’ll check it for trackers and get an idea of what it could do,” Kelsey said and picked it up, examining it.

“Just what we were thinking. Tayla also thought we should check for any fail-safe alarms that might have alerted Ruin it’d been removed.”

Kelsey nodded as Griff ended his call. “Everything is in place. We’re going to get this fucker tonight,” Griff announced.

“Yeah,” I said and glanced at Tayla.

Her eyes narrowed and she circled back to the conversation we hadn’t finished earlier. “Don’t even think about leaving me here,” Tayla said.

That had been exactly what I’d been about to suggest.

16

TAYLA

Everyone stared as if I had pulled a pin on a grenade, so I let the elephant out of the bag. “I know what you all are thinking. That this man has caught me twice. And that’s true. The first time, I was reckless and too emotional. I wager that you all would have acted as irrationally as I did if you had a little sister being preyed upon.”

This was important for them to understand. I took a breath when no one jumped in. I had to convince them to take me. My nightmares wouldn’t end unless I saw with my own eyes that Ruin was either in custody or dead. I didn’t have a preference.

I continued. “However, the second time wasn’t my plan. I warned my boss, the team, and my colleagues about how cunning Ruin is. They didn’t listen. Treated me like a clueless junior agent. My only mistake was I didn’t fight hard enough on my position, even though I had. In the end, I was right and got caught again. But make no mistake, whether or not you trust me, I’ve been trained for jobs like this, and when this is all over, I plan to go back to this job.”

It was Shawn who spoke first. “Which is the only reason I hesitate. I spent three months in jail after trying to save your life. This op isn’t exactly legal. Do you want to end up in jail because you aren’t following their rules?”

I’d wondered where he’d been, and just like that, I felt guilty. But now wasn’t the time to apologize for his detainment on my behalf. That would come after Ruin was in jail. “I want my life back. And as long as he walks free, I’m not free.” All the therapy in the world wouldn’t help me if I couldn’t see this through to the end.

Shawn seemed to get it without me explaining and nodded. “Then let’s go over the plan.”

I hadn’t thought it would be that easy to win them over, but I was grateful he didn’t make me feel less or as if I was a liability.

My training kicked in as we huddled in the living room. Any personal issues of mine were thrust into the background. Mental toughness was emphasized as the key to surviving any situation. That part of me took over as Kelsey opened up a computer and Griff laid out the plan.

It was around two in the morning when we left for a mix of industrial and residential areas south of town. This time had been chosen with the hope most people would be asleep since it wasn’t a Friday or Saturday night. There was also the downfall that since there would be so little activity, anyone awake would spot us. It was a risk we decided was worth it. It had been nice to have an equal say in the plan. They hadn’t shrugged off my thoughts or ideas. One of which was to not drive by but to park a block away and go on foot with surveillance.

Kelsey was staying in one of the vans we brought. She and Griffin approached from the east, and Shawn and I approached from the west. But Kelsey would send her super silent high-tech drone before we did anything.

“All clear,” came Kelsey from the comms Griffin fitted us out with. He had more gear than the FBI did on a normal raid. They had outfitted me with a Sig P365, which was similar to the famous Glock most people saw or heard about in movies. Griff had an arsenal from Smith and Wesson to a Ruger. I’d chosen the Sig because it had been like the one my stepfather had taught me to shoot with.

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