The Intelligence Unit Series

"Something's wrong."

Amour stopped, mid-pace, on her nine thousandth loop across the floor. She was wearing a nice navy blue dress with a cream-colored sweater over it, but the look on her face canceled out all of the carefully chosen clothing and practiced calm. Xander forced his composure into submission. "It's only eight twenty," he said, looking at Garza for a reassuring nod before adding on, "she still has ten minutes, and there's plenty of time before the trial starts." "No, something's wrong," Amour insisted. "Tara promised she'd be here. She's always early. It's, like, her thing."

Xander opened his mouth to protest...but couldn't. Damn it, she was right. Tara's version of on time was always fifteen minutes early. Which meant, right now, she was five minutes late. And she was never late.

Flipping his cell phone into his palm, he forced his fingers not to shake as he found Tara's number and hit send.

"Hi, you've reached the voicemail of Tara Kingston, assistant district attorney. I'm not available to take your call right now, but..."

Something was wrong.

"It went right to voicemail," Xander said, his pulse starting to yammer at him in earnest now. "Capelli, can you ping her?"

"Sure thing," came Capelli's voice through the wireless coms he'd given to both Xander and Garza an hour ago. "Wait, this is weird. Tara's cell is still in your apartment."

"But that's impossible," Garza said, shaking his head. "She's supposed to be here in less than ten minutes, and she'd never forget..."

All at once, the truth hit Xander with breath-stealing clarity. The look Sansone had given Tara outside the judge's chambers a few weeks ago. The fact that she was just as integral to the trial as Amour.

The way he'd left her, alone and completely vulnerable in his apartment this morning, and oh, God.

"Where's Sansone? Right now, where is he?" Xander demanded.

Capelli, who was set up in a state-of-the-art mobile surveillance unit around the corner, didn't waste any time answering. "Looks like he's in a hired car, headed for the courthouse. ETA ten minutes. You don't think he="

"I do," Xander said. How could he have been so f*****g stupid? He lasered a stare at Garza. "I don't know how or where, but we need to find her. Right goddamn now."

"Oh, my God, this is totally my fault." Amour's eye filled with tears. Her hand flew up to fiddle with her necklace, and wait...wait!

"The tracker!" Xander bit out. "She was wearing it this morning when I left. Where is it now?"

"Oh, holy shit. It's in North Point," Capelli breathed.

Xander swung toward the door, his feet already in motion, but Garza beat him to it.

"You're going to need backup, my man, not to mention a ride. Now, let's get Amour safe with Maxwell and Hale, and go see about catching a bad guy, huh?" Xander nodded. Now all he had to do was pray he wasn't too late.

***

Xander would give Garza this-theguy drove like a fearless motherfucker. Not that he'd been happy about being relegated to the passenger seat, or that he'd kept quiet about his displeasure. But the ride, as swift as it'd been, had given Xander a full opportunity to cement both his wits and his will.

He was going in there for Tara, no matter what.

And no matter what, she was coming out alive.

"This is it," Xander said, spotting the unmarked car where Sinclair and Hollister had just rolled up in. The four men got out, each one undergoing a weapons check that was probably as instinctive as breathing.

"Okay, what've we got?" Sinclair asked, and damn, Hollister hadn't wasted a single drop of time.

He gestured to the thermal imaging camera he was sweeping over the warehouse, which looked abandoned, at least from the outside. "Looks like two people on the ground floor, Bravo side. One considerably larger than the other. Second person appears to be on the ground, possibly bound. Not moving."

Xander took a step toward the house, his heart fully engaged with his windpipe.

"Easy, Matthews. She's got a heat signature, which means she's okay for now," Sinclair said. "That could change on a dime if we f**k this up, so let's just take a second and think this through."

Xander wanted to scream. He wanted to get directly in Sinclair's face and tell him to get the f**k out of his path or get knocked over.

But he couldn't, because God damn it, the guy was right.

Still, Xander wasn't about to take any of this lightly. "Fine. But whatever we're going to do, let's figure it out right now, because I love that woman, and every second she's in danger is one second closer to me doing whatever it takes to get her out of there no matter what I have to risk."

"Well then," Garza said, the edge of his mouth hooking up into a smile. "Guess we'd better let the rookie kick in some doors in the name of romance. Here's what I'm thinking."

***

Tara knewher time was up. Blaze had dragged a table to the center of the room and proceeded to pull out a padded canvas roll like chefs used to carry their knives. Only, the tools in this case looked a crap-load more sinister, with blades and hooks and-Tara bit back a whimper-two circular saws, along with a full set of scrubs and elbow-length rubber gloves.

The only thought that soothed her in the slightest was that maybe, just maybe, she'd see Lucas soon.

But, oh, God, she was so frightened.

She started to tremble so hard that her teeth chattered. She had to keep it together, she had to think. Desperate, she reached into her memory, letting Xander's soothing voice wash over her.

On the route, the ship accidentally lost a shipping crate, like, smack in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I bet you can't guess what was in it...

"Time's up." It was the first thing Blaze had said to her, and the finality of it sent panic into Tara's throat.

Twenty-eight thousand rubber ducks.

She managed to breathe. "Please," she whispered, partly to buy time and partly because she had no problem begging for her life. "Please don't do this."

"They all say that, you know. But that's fine." He walked over to her, lifting her up by one bound arm like she was nothing more than a rag doll. "You'll bleed more if you struggle." "Freeze! Remington PD! Show me your hands!"

Xander's voice rang through Tara like a spoon against cut crystal, clear and true.

Blaze, however? Was very unimpressed. Wheeling Tara around, he pressed the blade of the knife he'd been holding against her slamming pulse. "She'll be dead before you can pull the trigger."

He'd angled Tara in front of him, using her as a shield. But that didn't stop Xander from training his gun on Blaze and saying, "And you'll be dead before you hit the floor. Your choice."

"No choice." Blaze laughed against her ear. "You won't risk it. I can smell it on you. How scared you are for her life."

He drew the blade over Tara's neck, enough pain searing through her to make her cry out.

"Stop!" Xander yelled, frustration crossing his always-calm features. "Okay, okay. What do you want?"

"Jesus, you weak f**k. You're making this too easy." Blaze shook his head. Confusion flickered through Tara's brain-why would Xander have barged in just to give up so easily? "Put your gun down and kick it over to the corner. There you go, you p***y," he sneered as Xander did what he'd asked. "Now get over here so I can tie you up before I give you the privilege of watching her die."

Tara's mouth dropped open. But then, Blaze loosened his grip on her, lowering the knife just enough as Xander took a step forward, and Xander looked at her, his face perfectly calm as he said, "I will do anything to keep you safe, Tara. Anything."

What happened next was all slow motion. Xander's gaze flickered over Blaze's shoulder, his chin lifting in the barest nod. Bunching all of her muscles as tight as they'd go, Tara snapped her chin forward, using her momentum to smash the back of her head directly into the spot where she hoped and prayed Blaze's nose was.

Xander lunged for her at the same moment Garza burst from the shadows and smashed his pistol into the back of Blaze's head.

"Remington PD! Stand down!" Garza barked. But the words were sadly unnecessary, since Blaze had gone down like a bag of bricks. And Tara was in Xander's arms. Safe. She was safe.

They were all safe.

"Shit, babe. You're bleeding," he said, reaching for the scratch on her neck that-okay, ow-might be a little more than a scratch.

"I don't care," she said. Dimly, she registered voices, a bunch of shouting and movement she couldn't focus on.

She was too busy realizing she was alive. "You really meant it, when you said you'd do anything to keep me safe."

"Yep. I was a total decoy. But I needed to be sure you were okay before Garza could do his thing."

"Oh," Tara breathed, leaning into Xander's embrace. "Well, yes. I'm very, very okay."

"Nice head b**t, by the way," he said, holding her tight.

"Nice rescue," she murmured.

And then everything went dark.

***

Xander lookedat Tess Riley and frowned. "Are you absolutely sure she's okay?"

Dr. Riley gave up a laugh, which would've been a good sign if Tara hadn't nearly f*****g died at the hands of a madman mere hours ago. "I know what it's like to have someone you love endure a trauma, so I'll go through it one more time for you, Officer Matthews. Ms. Kingston sustained a blow to the back of the head, right here"-she indicated an X-ray on a large digital monitor in the exam room-"that resulted in a concussion. A subsequent MRI was clear. My very capable resident, Dr. Drake, repaired the laceration on her neck with five stitches. Dr. Drake, by the way, has excellent hands and is on his way to becoming an accomplished surgeon. Just don't tell him I said so. Other than a few mild contusions to her wrists and ankles, Ms. Kingston is just fine. I expect she'll make a full recovery in a few days. Provided she's well cared for, of course."

"I told you," Tara said, eyeing him from the gurney. "I'm fine."

"You're going to be fine," Dr. Riley corrected. "But apparently, you've caused quite a ruckus in my waiting room."

"I have?" Tara asked, and shit. Xander hadn't wanted to rile her up, but...

"Yeah. I guess Sansone resisted when the Intelligence Unit tried to take him into custody. They tried to bring him in without a fuss, but he went for one of the guards' guns, and..."

"Detective Hollister tasered him into next week," Dr. Riley said, not unhappily. "Don't worry. We'll get him nice and fixed up so he can stand trial. Between him and the huge dude recovering from a concussion just like yours, I'm sure you'll be busy when you feel up to working again."

"Oh, yeah, no," Tara said. "My boss is going to take this one. I'm officially done with Ricky Sansone and his partner."

"I don't blame you," Dr. Riley said. "Well, get some rest. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, but when you're ready to be released, just let me know. I assume Officer Matthews, here, will be your caretaker?"

"Yes," Xander said without hesitation. "I'll make sure she gets whatever she needs."

"Great. Take your time. Just ring the nurses' station if you need anything."

Xander thanked her quietly before turning to Tara. "You scared the ever-loving shit out of me today, you know."

"I didn't mean to," Tara said, her auburn brows furrowing. "Amour's okay, though, right?"

"She's perfect," he said, because he knew she wouldn't rest until she was absolutely certain Amour was just fine. "After Judge Waters suspended the trial, she went to the Thirty-Third with Isabella. Apparently, Amour is a whiz at picking out a baby registry." "Seriously?" Tara asked, and Xander raised one hand.

"Scout's honor."

"You're better than a Boy Scout, Xander," she said, her expression growing serious as she reached for his hand. "If you hadn't gotten there when you did-"

"Stop," he said, because seriously, he couldn't bear the thought of what if. "I did get there. And you created the perfect opening for me to get you out of there."

"You trusted the Intelligence Unit to have your back," she said, and here, he had to nod.

"You trusted me, and I trust them."

"So, I guess that makes you a good man after all."

"It makes me a man who's falling in love with you."

Xander's face flushed with heat, and okayyyy, guess he was going to say that out loud.

Still, it didn't feel wrong. In fact, the words felt perfect.

So he said them again. "I love you, Tara. I know it sounds a little impulsive and crazy, but I do. I've known it from the minute I saw you, marching toward me at that crime scene with your hands on your hips and all that fire in your eyes. You're smart and fierce and perfect. You stand up for what's right, and I always want to stand beside you. I love you."

"I love you, too," she said, and wait...

"You do?"

"Of course I love you," Tara said with a laugh. "Who else is going to keep me calm when murderous psychopaths try to kill me?"

"You have a point," Xander said. "Although, maybe we could skip the murderous psychopaths from now on, since we've had our fair share?"

"Okay," Tara agreed. "Just as long as there are rubber ducks, I think we'll be just fine."