Page 54 of Dark ’N’ Deadly

Three unmarked ATF sedans sped from the parking lot.

“You okay?” Dayne eyed him with concern, and Eric understood why.

Until today, he’d never lost his shit in front of his friend. Tess was the cause of it.

“Yeah,” he answered. Now, anyway. Now that she was driving safely away. At least her and Jesse’s part in all this was pretty much over. Good thing because he didn’t think he could take watching her in danger again.

Or seeing another man lay hands on her.

He cued up her number on his phone. They’d do a formal debriefing later. For now, he needed to check on her and hear her voice. Three rings later, she answered.

“Hello?” Her voice shook, which only exacerbated his guilt over putting her in the position in the first place. Didn’t matter that it was her idea.

“Are you all right?” he asked, not really seeing how she could be.

A pause, then, “Yes. I’m fine.”

The woman had guts. That was for sure.

“D-did you get all that?” Fear was evident in her tone.

Though she couldn’t see him, he shook his head. “The chopper was grounded, so we missed most of the transmission. We’ll review the full recording later.”

“Oh.” Another pause, then, “Eric, I need to tell you something. It’s important.”

“If you’re about to say you forgot to shut off the engine, I already know.” He’d realized that the moment she’d gotten out of the pickup. They hadn’t been able to hear a damn thing, but he didn’t blame her. She’d been nervous enough as it was. “We couldn’t hear much, and the recording will be just as bad. You’ll have to fill us in later on the conversation.”

“What?” She sounded shocked. “Do you mean there won’t be any sound on the video?”

“Nothing clear, anyway. The lab may be able to clean up the recording.” Now it was his turn to pause. It was clear she was more shaken by what had gone down than he’d first realized. “Tess, do you want to talk to someone about…” He could barely say the words, barely think them without seeing an angry red haze before his eyes. “About that man touching you? I can arrange for a female counselor if you need one.”

Her response came quickly. “No, don’t! I’m fine. I just need to see Jesse. I’m sorry about leaving the motor running.”

“Forget it. The main thing is the delivery was made and you’re safe.” That much was true. He couldn’t imagine what could have happened if she hadn’t gotten herself out of there. His guts twisted at the ugly images flitting before his eyes.

He uncurled his stiff fingers from around the wheel. “Dayne and I will be out for a while doing recon, so don’t wait up for me.”

“Okay. Bye.” She hung up.

Eric stared at the phone. She really would be waiting for him at home. The idea of her being there after he got off shift was… What? Nice didn’t begin to describe it.

He’d never had a woman waiting for him at his home before. The thought should have had him running for the hills, but it didn’t. It made him want the time before he walked in the door to fly by at light speed because he couldn’t wait to see her. To hold her in his arms and kiss away the ugly memory of what that a-hole had tried to do to her.

He turned to Dayne. “Up for a little sneak ’n’ peak?”

Dayne grinned. “Always.”

Minutes later, they were hoofing it down the side of the road, having left their vehicles in the school parking lot. The rain had all but ceased, and a strong wind had picked up, ridding the air of heat and humidity.

Tiger strained at the leash as they neared the driveway to the barn, an indication of ammonium nitrate vapors wafting in their direction. Dayne and Remy followed a few feet behind.

After verifying there were no oncoming vehicles, they turned down the driveway then took cover on the side of the barn facing away from the road.

“Zit,” Eric said then readjusted the heavy backpack slung over his shoulder.

Tiger sat, although his muscles quivered, a familiar sign that he wanted to charge right to the scent source.

Wind rustled trees, bringing with it droplets of water. For New Jersey, this was a fairly rural area, and the property was surrounded by trees on three sides, providing good cover. The only structure on the property was the barn. A mountain of rotten timbers stood where a house had once been.