“Uh-huh,” I agreed. “And what did you do right there?”
“He was in line with the other kids, Miro,” he defended himself. “You know what would have happened. He would have grabbed the kid in front of him, and then we would have had a hostage situation or worse. What if he put a gun to one kid’s head and then got on the bus with the others?” His voice started rising the more agitated he got. “Then what?”
“Then what? I dunno. You’re the psychic,” I volleyed.
“Why’re you being stupid?”
“So now I’m stupid, but you’re the one who didn’t follow protocol.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, I’m serious. What’s wrong with you?” I insisted, feeling my face get hot. “All he had to do was look up and see you running, and he could’ve shot you in the head.”
“I have my vest on.”
“Which does nothing for your head, you stupid prick!” I roared, banging my fist down hard on the roof. “What’d you say before we even went into the stupid building—”
“Listen—”
“No! Fuck you! What’d you say?”
“I said ‘don’t get shot in the head,’” he answered woodenly.
“That’s right! Don’t get shot in the head! And then what do you do? Huh? You fuckin’ almost let it happen to you!”
My heart was pounding, I was shaking, and my whole body was freezing even as my face was on fire. I couldn’t stop imagining the guy turning and firing and Ian going down. It was on a continuous loop in my brain.
“Miro.”
I needed distance, and now. I spun around, charged over to the side of the building, and bent over, hands on my knees, trying to breathe, to not hyperventilate.
He was there in seconds, hand on the back of my neck, squeezing gently. “Sorry. I’m really sorry. Forgive me, I didn’t even think.”
I had to concentrate on getting the air in and out of my lungs.
His fingers slid up my nape into my hair, and the slow stroking calmed me as he bent over beside me. “Next time we’ll both run, and I’ll have you close enough to cover me. ’Cause I don’t want some perp to grab anybody, but the tackle would have been all right if you were close enough to shoot him if he drew on me.”
I nodded.
“So, yeah, that was bad, and if you could leave that out of your report so Kage doesn’t chew my ass off, that’d be good.”
I lifted slowly, finally finding the silver lining in my day.
“Aww, come on,” he pleaded as I grinned at him before heading back to the car. “You really gonna do me like that?”
I was silent as I got in the car, although, no, I would never hang my partner out to dry. But there was a difference between the truth and what I would let him think I would do.
When he joined me, sliding into the driver’s seat, he leaned his forehead on the steering wheel and groaned.
“Can we please leave now, Marshal Doyle?” I asked.
“I said I was sorry.”
“Yes. Yes, you did.”
He started the car; I leaned back and got comfortable, putting on my seatbelt and closing my eyes.
“I’ll buy you breakfast.”
“Not hungry,” I sighed deeply.
“I’m hungry,” Lucy said from the backseat.
“I can eat,” Javier seconded.
“Fuck,” Ian said miserably.
Served him right. “I hate to be scared,” I muttered.
“Yeah, I know that, don’t I.”
Yes, he did.
“Are we gonna eat?” Lucy continued.
“Are you guys buying?” Javier wanted to know.
“He is,” I said, offering Ian and his wallet up on a silver platter.
I OFTEN thought that the reason some members of law enforcement went rogue was because of the enormous amount of paperwork they had to do, to be legit. It was exhausting. But even though it was more work, I typed up a full report on what Ian did in the moments after we secured our witnesses, saved it, sent it to him—and then redid it before I submitted it to Kage. It was fun to watch Ian go pale as he read through it.
“Oh fuck me,” he whined.
What was even more perfect was when, moments later, Kage threw his door open and he called Ian and me in to give us the news about what the dispensation was on our two runaways. Ian slunk in behind me, stood in front of our boss’s desk with me, and listened as he explained that Lucy and Javier would be transferred to Oregon since Chicago was no longer safe for them. Marshals from the Portland field office would be there by the end of the day to take the two into custody.
When he was done and excused us, Ian stayed where he was.
“Something else?” he asked Ian sharply.
I covered for him. “We just wanted to make sure that the two of them are going in together. We wanted to let Lucy and Javier know for certain.”