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Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering sounds from behind him.

Alexander. He just broke through the balcony door.

I don’t know how I act as quickly as I do. Maybe it’s the fear of losing Charli that sharpens my mind. Whatever it is, the second the guy’s attention shifts to the action behind him, I shoot forward to grab his wrist and move the gun off-center. Then, with one swift move, I punch him in the face once, twice, until he stumbles back and I can rip the gun from his hands.

It vaguely registers that Alexander wraps up the guy from behind, and Nico grabs the woman’s arms to restrain her. I’m too focused on removing the magazine and racking the slide to eject the chambered round. It’s only once the gun isn’t a threat that I finally take a step back and let out a shuddering breath.

I turn to check on Charli and see her staring at the gun in my hand. “How did you⁠—?”

One glance at my brothers reassures me the situation is contained, and Charli is no longer in trouble. And even though my heart is still beating loud enough to shake my chest, I calm enough to ask Charli, “What? Did you think I was just some lawyer with soft hands?”

Her mouth snaps shut, her eyes lifting to mine. In them, I see a maelstrom of emotions. Relief. Affection. Lingering fear.

I want so badly to pull her to me and tell her I’m never going to let her go, but I’m very aware of the fact that we still need to deal with the situation at hand.

I can’t call the cops, because then Charli will get in trouble. So I need to figure out how to get these two to heel.

But before I can get them talking, the boyfriend starts to struggle in Alexander’s grip.

“I’ll call the cops!” he shrieks. “You broke into our apartment. Say goodbye to your jobs, you assholes.”

“And what exactly are you going to tell them?” Comes Charli’s cool voice from beside me. I turn toward her in surprise. “Because they’re going to ask whose apartment this is. And if you tell them it’s the VP’s, then the affair is going to come out. Which means you lose your leverage.”

Affair? Leverage?

Were they blackmailing the VP with an affair?

All of the puzzle pieces come together. Charli figured it out.

This beautiful, brilliant girl.

“In that case,” I say cheerfully, clapping my hands together, “here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to take this”—I hold the gun up before tucking it in the back of my waistband—“because I’m assuming it’s not registered. And after we tie you two up, the four of us are going to leave. We won’t call the cops because we don’t care to, and you won’t call the cops because you don’t want us to expose all your dirty secrets. So it’s going to be like we were never here. The only sign of it”—I lean closer to the guy—“is going to be me recommending that the seller cancel the sale. And you’ll just have to figure out a new solution to your money problems.”

The guy’s eyes widen as he starts to struggle again. “Wait, no, you can’t⁠—”

I punch him square in the chin, this time knocking him out cold. I’ve had enough of his demands.

“Can you tie her up?” I ask Alexander. When she starts crying, I wave her off. “Don’t be scared. We just can’t have you calling anyone before we’ve gotten out of here. Your boyfriend will untie you when he wakes up in a few minutes.”

There’s a flash of admiration in Alexander’s eyes before he grabs a nearby sweatshirt and starts to tie the girl’s hands behind her back. Then he ties her ankles and silences her with a shirt around her head.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he says when he’s finished.

I grab Charli’s hand. I don’t need to be told twice.

The four of us rush out of the apartment and down the stairs. It takes until we reach Alexander’s truck, Nico taking the passenger seat so I can lift Charli into the back, for the reality of what just happened to hit me.

“Holy fuck,” I gasp, pulling Charli into my arms. “You scared the shit out of me.”

Her arms wrap around my waist, her words muffled in my chest as she says, “I know, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. They weren’t supposed to come home.”

My arms tighten around her. “Why would you go in there? No case is ever important enough to endanger yourself like that.”

I think I hear a sniffle. It’s enough to break my heart. “I just wanted to make sure Randall made the right decision,” she says in a small voice.

Definitely enough to break my heart.

Shifting, I pull her more comfortably into my lap. She snuggles even closer.