Rising Hope by Edie James

39

Enzo followedthe pretty officer down the hallway. Much as the woman tried to maintain a professional demeanor, he could literally feel the curious glances she sent his way when she thought he wasn’t looking.

Good.

He wanted word to get out about the mysterious guy who claimed to know about a multi-million-dollar stash of illegal drugs, and a federal agent’s shooting. If Sarah was right about Panetta, and whoever he likely worked for, they’d be combing every law enforcement database in the country.

That’s why he made sure the officer who booked him took his fingerprints. That alone should light up the bad guys’ screens.

The woman’s leather gun belt creaked as she led him to the same meeting room where Chief Frazer questioned him a couple hours ago. Maybe the chief had followed up on the leads Enzo gave him. His pulse raced. That could be good…or bad, depending on how fast his pursuers could make it to Hope Landing.

Ideally, he wanted Sarah and Knight Tactical to have their ducks in a row before the bad guys showed up to grab him.

Ideally.

He winced. Maybe he should have run this idea by the team. No. None of them would have agreed to it. Especially not Sarah. She had a plan of her own. He’d felt it. He had to make a move before she did. Besides, the longer they flailed around in the dark, the more time the forces against them had to act.

Rule number one for any successful rescue: get on scene fast. The more minutes that ticked away, the worse the chances of locating victims, or reviving them.

Or in this case, drawing evil out into the light. His neck muscles seized up. He hoped his commander wasn’t involved. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe evil didn’t exist, but he didn’t want to think it lived in people he cared about. Admired.

But he also knew enough to realize humans were complicated, fallible creatures. Him included. He wanted to pretend his crazy scheme was the result of sheer bravery, but in reality, it was quite the opposite. Standing by while Jack’s team tried to devise a plan for him and Sarah was killing him. After being relegated to sidekick since the moment he’d been recruited for the strange mission, he ached to make a difference.

And to protect Sarah. And, yeah, impress her. He had to be truthful with himself.

His motives weren’t entirely pure.

Of course, this could fail spectacularly. His motives wouldn’t matter then.

The deputy unlocked the door to the familiar room and stepped aside to let him pass. “Hang tight. You’ve got visitors,” she announced, and left him, locking the steel door behind her.

Enzo took a seat facing the door. He had a sense that whoever came in would play a huge part in how this ended.

The deputy’s stony face appeared in the narrow wire-reinforced window, then a key turned in the lock. And in walked Emmie, fury evident in her taut movements. Expression grim, Rollo followed.

She pressed her hands into the scarred tabletop and stared him down. “What were you thinking?”

Rollo’s eyes bugged out. “Whoa, counselor, let’s dial this down a notch.”

The look she gave their big bro made it very clear she didn’t appreciate his interference.

Ignoring Rollo, Emmie crossed her arms over her chest and stared Enzo down like a gunfighter. “I’d expect this of Dante, or Daniel. Maybe even Teo, on his worst day. But not you.”

“I have a plan,” he insisted.

“A stupid one.”

“You don’t even know what it is.”

She eyed the bare room, her opinion more than clear. “Don’t need to. If your plan doesn’t work, you could be charged as an accomplice to the murder of a federal agent. I don’t have to tell you how that’ll play out.”

“It won’t come to that.”

“And you know that how?”

“I can’t tell you yet.”

Rollo gestured impatiently. “The Knight Tactical folks vouch for Chief Frazer. He assured us there are no listening devices in here. You’re free to talk.”

Rollo had a point. Enzo knew the team thought highly of the chief, that’s exactly why he took this leap of faith. He couldn’t allow himself to become so paranoid he didn’t trust his helpers. “Fair enough,” he agreed, but he still took care to lower his voice. “Sarah told you about the jewels, right?”

When they both nodded, he continued. “That’s my ace in the hole. The bait I’m using to draw out whoever’s working with Panetta.”

“What if this was all Panetta and Munson?” Emmie was quick to point out the one flaw in his plan.

“Then Panetta will either come for me himself, or he’ll send someone. Either way, we draw out whoever’s behind this. Or at least the person at the next level up.”

Rollo looked impressed. “That’s not a bad plan.”

Emmie’s mouth dropped open.

“It’s still stupidly dangerous,” Rollo rushed to add, “but I see where he’s going with it.”

Emmie slapped her hands on her thighs. “Well why don’t I just leave you two to handle this yourselves then?” She rose. Tears shone in her eyes. “Call me once you’re settled in prison.”

Her anguish cut Enzo to the core. He wanted to make this better, not hurt the people he loved. He reached for her. “Hey, Em…”

She paused halfway to the door and turned back. “Promise me you’re done with this lone wolf junk and I’ll stay.”

He drew an X over his heart. “Done. A hundred percent.”

He even meant it. He wasn’t by nature a lone wolf, but no way he would endanger anyone else’s life. Or freedom. And he needed his peeps for this next part of the plan to succeed.

“We’ve read your statement,” Emmie said, her voice softer now. “You did a nice job avoiding specifics.”

“Well thank you, counselor.”

“So far,” she emphasized. “So, what’s the rest of this amazing plan?”

He blew out a breath, trying to shed some of the pent-up stress. “I figured Rollo and the Knight Tactical crew could persuade the chief to imply that he’s holding me for questioning in Munson’s murder. I want our target to think that Sarah double-crossed me and I’m ready to rat her out and give up the location of the drugs, and the jewels.”

“But no warrants have been issued,” Rollo protested. “There’s no evidence that Munson’s death has even been officially reported.”

“That’s why I kickstarted things. Once you guys put out the word that I’m open to a plea deal, someone’s gonna come knocking.”

Emmie made a sound. “They’ll want to take you into custody so they can recover the jewels before you offer them up.”

“Exactly.”

Emmie stared at him for a long moment, her dark eyes intense. “You like her.”

“What?” Where had his twin gotten that idea? “Sure. I guess. She’s smart and gutsy. I respect her. A lot. It looks like she’s been set up from the beginning. She doesn’t deserve that. I want to make sure she gets out of this mess in one piece. But I don’t like her like her. Not how you mean it.”

Rollo laughed, quickly trying to stifle the sound with a hand. “I think he’s got it worse than we thought.”

Emmie eyed Enzo with renewed interest. “No kidding.”

He growled silently. Sometimes having a twin as sharp as his sister was not a good thing.

His feelings about Sarah were…complicated. And unrealistic. He shrugged lightly, hoping to deflect Emmie’s attention. “Whatever you say.”

Oh man. That knowing look again.

“Mmmm hmmmm,” she murmured. He could see the wheels turning as she formulated her next line of questioning.

Thankfully, Rollo stared him down. “You’re safe here, for now. Don’t make a move until we have a plan in place to rescue your six once this goes down. You feel me?”

Enzo saluted him. “Copy that, sir.”

“That means no talking to anyone,” Rollo said. “No phone calls. No video conferences. Nothing without running it by us first.”

He nodded his agreement.

The officer outside tapped lightly on the door. Rollo motioned Emmie toward it. “Time to make tracks.”

Emmie threw him a look from the doorway. “You’re a good guy, Enzomatic. I can’t wait to get to know Sarah better once this is over. She must be really special. Don’t get me wrong, this is still an epically stupid plan, but I know you mean well.”

She paused, her shoulders stiffening. She stepped through the doorway, but stopped and stuck her head back in the room. He didn’t need to see her expression to feel the waves of fear coming off her. “Don’t get dead,” she ordered. “Or I’ll kill you myself.”

Rollo peeked back in. “That goes for me, too, bro.” He pulled Emmie back out and the door clicked shut behind them.

If she weren’t so heart-breakingly serious, Enzo would have laughed. That phrase was becoming all too familiar.

He went to sit down, but he was too stressed. His body buzzed with anxiety. He paced the edges of the small space until the officer returned to guide him back to his cell.

He should be thinking through how he’d handle whoever showed up pretending to want to help him untangle this mess, but all he could think about was Sarah.

Emmie had it right. Sarah was special. And he was in love with her. He’d tried to argue himself out of it for days. They barely knew each other, and they had different priorities. Different goals.

None of that mattered.

He sank down in the chair, his legs suddenly rubbery. He was in love with Sarah Walker.

Oh. No.