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Jordan snorted. How could she sleep when she’d been given an ultimatum? Turn in her SWAT brothers and leave the love of her life in order to return to the crazed maniac of an ex-boyfriend. Even if she could separate herself from Rhys, there was no way she would be able to turn Mac and the guys over to Bravon. She would rather die than do that.
Did she trust that she would be safe with Bravon?
Hell no. She’d had only had a small taste of what she now knew what he was capable of. He was just as much of a monster as his uncle was. Victor Huff was a sadist lunatic, and Bravon wasn’t far away from that.
There was only one future for Jordan with Bravon, and she was sure it had something to do with daisies.
Sweat beaded on her forehead. What the fuck was she to do? She was probably wrong for altering the story of what had happened in the park. It was best she had. If she hadn’t and Rhys knew that Bravon had threatened him and Nova, Rhys would go ballistic. Jordan had never seen Rhys lose his shit before. She had been in shock at her place when he’d been yelling at her. Rhys was not a man who raised his voice. He was normally cool, calm, and collected. Even when chasing down a perp, the man was always in control.
Something had snapped inside Rhys.
She couldn’t even be mad at him. If the shoe was on the other foot, she would have already been scouring the streets looking for the woman trying to take Rhys away from her.
The passion in his eyes for her was evident.
The blatant message in his voice—don’t fuck with me right now—had her going to pack her bags.
But seriously, how could she protect Rhys from Bravon? Protect the guys? She was going to have to give herself over to Bravon then think of a way to keep him from going after her brothers in blue.
Well, you could let Mac and the fellas know what’s going on,a voice whispered.
Jordan grimaced. She could and then she would have to update them on everything. From what had happened in Atlanta to what was transpiring now. Would they believe her? Or would they think she was a snitch as her last precinct had? She had thought she was good with everyone at her last job, but they had turned on her as fast she could blink.
Jordan swallowed hard.
She had proved she was loyal to SWAT. She’d been there when the shit had hit the fan with their enemies. For Brodie when Ronnie had got kidnapped, Iker when Jessica had been in that hostage situation and hospital attack, to Zain with her sister. She may not have been a member as long as the others, but she jumped in boots first without a second thought. She would do anything for them.
But was that enough?
Pain sliced across her chest. She sat up and inhaled sharply, trying to suck in air. She glanced around the darkened bedroom and felt as if the walls were constricting. She slid out of the bed as silently as she could and rushed toward the bathroom, snagging one of her bags along the way. She quietly shut thedoor and walked over to the sink. She set her bag on the counter and rested her hands on it while she fought to breathe.
A night-light illuminated the room. She didn’t dare turn on anything else. She was sure it would wake Rhys. She stared at her reflection while she worked on dragging air into her lungs.
Inhale.
Exhale.
You’ve been breathing your whole life, girl. Get it together.
A few moments later, she was able to get her breathing under control and her heart rate down to a reasonable pulse. She unzipped her bag and took out a few items.
It was the middle of the night, and since she couldn’t sleep, she’d go for a run. She quickly dressed in running shorts and a tank top. She reached in her bag and found her small holster and her .22 caliber pistol. She also had a little flashlight she wore for when she ran at night. She didn’t want to be out on these country roads where no one would be able to see her.
If she was going to run in the dark, she was not going unarmed. She pulled her shoes out of her bag and quietly carried the items, leaving her bag in the bathroom. She tiptoed through the bedroom, her gaze lingering on Rhys’s still form. Another snore cut through the air.
Good. He needed the sleep. She padded to the door and slipped out of the room. She made her way to the top of the stairs before she was stopped by a low whine. She peeked over her shoulder and found Honor resting on the floor outside Nova’s room. The dog’s ears were raised before she angled her head to the side.
Jordan chuckled, reading her K9 friend’s question loud and clear.
“If you are quiet, you can go for a run with me,” Jordan whispered.
Honor silently stood and rushed over to Jordan. They took the stairs without a sound. Honor obviously understood that Jordan wanted to leave without waking the house. They went into the kitchen where Jordan donned her shoes and her hip holster that would allow her to carry her pistol. She adjusted her tank top where it hid the gun.
Honor sat at Jordan’s side while waiting for her to be ready. Jordan scratched the dog on top of her head between her ears.
“Good girl,” Jordan murmured.
She let them out of the house through the patio door. Jordan took a few minutes to stretch. She wasn’t as young as she used to be and didn’t want to catch a cramp midway through her run. Honor waited patiently by the stairs while watching Jordan go through her standard pre-run routine.
