“Thanks. She’s been sick almost around the clock.”
I supposed that in the next few years, more and more of the men and women I worked with would be starting families. However, that likelihood didn’t make me feel any better about the state of this op.
25
Rebel
I tried to pay attention to what this guy—Kick—was saying, but as I watched the minutes on the clock tick by, I knew that, at any moment, Edge would
tell me it was time for him to leave.
If only I could rewind the clock and take the night off when my mom overdosed. She and I would’ve been out for dinner or watching a movie or any other seemingly mundane thing, and Possum wouldn’t have been able to get to her. She’d still be alive, I wouldn’t be out on bail after being charged with murder, and Edge wouldn’t be about to risk his life for me. In fact, he’d probably still be unaware of my existence.
I hadn’t been able to sleep last night, knowing the danger he was putting himself in because of me. I even considered telling him I didn’t care who murdered Possum. I’d wanted to, wasn’t that enough? What if I told him I’d rather spend my life in jail than have anything happen to him?
I knew the answer. Nothing I said would change what Edge was about to do. He’d still do everything in his power, not only to exonerate me, but to save me from a life spent looking over my shoulder, knowing that, one day, whoever the Lynch guy was whose message was delivered by the ranch hand, would kill me.
When the office door opened and my eyes met his, I knew it was time.
“Would you excuse us?” he said to Kick, who immediately left us alone.
“I don’t want you to do this,” I blurted before Edge could say another word.
He rested his forehead against mine. “We both know I have to.”
“I could…”
He shook his head without me finishing my sentence. “This is what we do, Rebel. We go in, and we get the bad guys.”
“Please be careful.”
“Always.”
He kissed me—long and hard and deep. I wished we had more time, but even if we did, it would never be enough.
He cupped my cheek and looked into my eyes. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I watched him walk out the door, praying he would be.
26
Edge
“Ready?” I asked Casper, who was standing by the window in Grinder’s house. Her demeanor was as I expected it to be. She was calm and focused—ready to step into her role.
We had one more meeting with the team, and then we’d head out.
“Ready?” Grinder asked me like I’d just asked Casper.
I nodded, also like she had.
“How’s the hand?”
I hated that he asked, but he was the only one from whom I’d accept the question. “Strong.”
While Rile didn’t ask about the strength of my hand, he grasped it in a firm handshake.
“Let’s get on with it,” I said to him, anxious to get through the briefing so we could be on our way.