Page 109 of Unleashed

I sit down at my desk, smiling in spite of the discovery Ruth made. The discovery I hope Heidi has better luck with than she did the computer that was slipped into Maren’s bag. The thing hadn’t been wiped clean, but everything on it belonged to a horny, teenage boy with a love for ‘big, bouncy, anime titties’. At least that’s what his search history indicated.

That and all the saved images hidden in a file marked sports statistics.

“Hey.” Tucker raps his knuckles against my door as he leans against the frame. “What are you doing for lunch?”

“I promised Ruth I’d look through some of the documents they scanned in the cold case archives.” I look him over. “Why? Are you lost without her?”

“You know damn well I’m lost without her.” He gives me a grin. “You would be too.”

“Of course I would. That’s why I told her I’d do this while she’s gone.” I return Tucker’s smile. “I don’t want her to get any ideas it might be more fun to come work for you.”

“It absolutely would be.” Tucker shrugs. “But for some reason she likes your difficult ass.” He tips his head toward the hall. “Speaking of, get it out of that chair and go get something to eat with me.”

I am a little hungry. And without Ruth here, the only way I’m going to get lunch is if I find it myself. “I’m going to tell her you’re the reason I didn’t look at the documents like I promised.”

“That’s fine.” Tucker waggles his brows. “She can spank me later.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Gross.”

Tucker points at me. “You don’t have any fucking room to talk. She had to witness you balls deep in her friend.”

“Fair point.” I stand, grabbing my phone and my keys. “Let’s make it quick. I’ve got a ton of other shit to do too.” Including meeting the builder at my house in a few hours.

“You always have a ton of shit to do.” Tucker slaps me on the back. “But I like that you’re finding a little more balance in your life. It’s good to see you getting out of this place once in a while.”

“It’s actually not been the worst thing that’s ever happened.” Maybe it’s because I’ve streamlined all my processes over the years, but the company hasn’t crumbled because I’ve left at five o’clock a few days in a row.

And I’m glad, because I intend to do it a few more.

We walk through the lobby, checking in with security as we pass the front desk, before pushing our way into the vestibule.

That’s when I notice something is very, very wrong.

A handful of employees are scattered across the parking lot, running between cars as they search for safety.

“What the fuck?” Tucker shoves his way outside with me on his heels.

That’s when I hear the soft snap of silenced gunfire.

“Holy shit. Someone’s shooting out here.” I automatically get low, looking for anything to use as cover, but Tucker and I are basically sitting ducks. I grab his arm, dragging him toward one of the large ornamental rocks that are part of the landscaping.

Sliding through the gravel around it, we both hit the ground hard, grunting at the impact.

Tucker already has his phone out, calling security to make sure they’ve seen what’s going on and are on their way.

It’s great that’s his first thought, because it wasn’t mine. Mine is that Maren and the rest of the girls were just out here. I hope to God they left before this started.

Because if they didn’t…

“Fuck.” Tucker slaps my chest, pointing in the distance.

I don’t need to look to know what I’ll see.

Halfway across the lot, a familiar head of wavy hair is ducked behind Brooke’s SUV. I watch in horror as the bullets bounce off the reinforced body of the vehicle, getting closer and closer to hitting something I love.

Because I fucking love Maren.

Titus was right. I should’ve stopped being a coward. Should’ve told her. Said it as many times as it took for her to believe it’s true.