Risking it All (41 page)

of persistence? Or was she the patron

saint of arthritis?

Focus, Sera.

Since Troy had been the one at her

side during the mad rush to bring her

new plan to fruition this afternoon, the

one who would fix the problems her

silence had created, he would be the one

addressing Bowen and Connor. Right on

cue, the interrogation room door opened

and shut, Troy walking in and taking a

seat across from the two men. Bowen

didn’t make any move to acknowledge

him. Connor tipped his chin up once and

crossed his arms over his big chest, as if

to say
about time
.

Troy cleared his throat and flipped

open the file he’d been carrying.

“You’ve probably assumed by now that

we intercepted the stolen equipment,

along with several of your accomplices,

including Wayne Gibbs. Trevor Hogan

has already lawyered up. It shouldn’t

surprise you to know they’ve implicated

you both, in addition to themselves. So

much for taking one for the team, huh?”

Connor split a look between Troy and

Bowen. “Come on, man. You some kind

of masochist or something? Put the guy

out of his misery.”

Troy closed the file with a sigh.

“Bowen, you awake? I’m not going

through this twice.”

Bowen held up his middle finger.

“Great. Thanks for joining us.” Troy

nodded toward Connor. “We brought in

Mr. Bannon this afternoon and made him

an offer. I’ve been given permission by

the newly appointed commissioner to

make you the same one.”

Confusion flared in Bowen’s eyes.

“All this song and dance better have a

point.”

“Let me start from the beginning,”

Troy said. “Through the information

Sera collected in Hogan’s office, she

discovered that her brother had been

taking payouts from Hogan before his

death. Her uncle was aware of it and

covered it up. Hogan had a financial

paper trail to back that up.”

“
What?
” Bowen sat up straighter in

his chair as if he’d been reanimated.

Sera watched as the wheels started

turning in his head. “Are you telling me

he knew Sera was going to put herself in

danger? Hoping she’d find what he

needed?”

“Yes.” Troy shot to his feet at the

same time Bowen did, holding up a hand

to ward him off. “
We
weren’t told the

truth. Newsom had already destroyed the

ledger Sera retrieved by the time we

found out. Luckily, Sera had recovered a

hard drive off Hogan’s laptop and kept it

to herself, instead of turning it over. It

forced Newsom to make a full

confession and as of an hour ago, he has

been relieved of his position.” Troy

paused. “He had already confessed to

Sera last night. It’s why she wouldn’t go

with him. And rightly so since he was

willing to protect himself at all costs.”

“I…” Bowen’s jaw clenched. His

fists shook at his sides. Even without

those visible signs of rage, Sera could

tell how much effort it cost him to

remain in control. “I tied her up and left

her for you. For
him
. You’re telling me I

left her…unsafe?”

Troy hedged. “She was technically

never in danger. As soon as you left her

with Ruby, they called me and told me

everything. I contacted the deputy

commissioner

immediately.”

He

lowered himself back into his chair.

“We brought in Mr. Bannon and asked

him to cooperate. It’s a good thing we

did or we never would have known the

shipment date had been moved. Sera had

originally told us May ninth.”

Bowen flinched and Sera felt an

answering pang in her chest. He still

thought she’d set him up. She consoled

herself with the reminder he wouldn’t

think that for much longer.

“What does he mean by cooperated?”

Bowen asked Connor dully.

“They offered me a way out of this

place and I took it.” Connor looked

uncomfortable, the first time Sera had

ever seen him anything but confident,

apart from the night he’d been shot. “I’ve

got people to look after besides myself,

and the way things were headed, I

wouldn’t have been around much longer

to do it.”

“Way out?” Bowen asked.

Troy

nodded.

“It

took

some

convincing, but between Sera and me,

we managed to persuade the deputy

commissioner.” He flipped the file back

open. “I have a contact back in Chicago.

My old lieutenant. Derek Tyler. He’s a

captain now with the Chicago PD and he

needs men like you and Mr. Bannon. I’ve

spoken to him, informed him of your

backgrounds, and he thinks you’re

exactly what he’s looking for. He’s

rarely wrong about anything.”

Bowen raised a single eyebrow. “You

just arrested us for transporting stolen

goods, probably breaking at least twenty

different laws, and you’re deputizing us?

What am I missing?”

“Nothing. But I’d refrain from

repeating that little recap outside of this

room,” Troy said drily. “This is why you

two were a package deal. You’re all

heart, Bowen. Connor’s the thinker. If

you can work together, you’ll do well.”

Connor threw an arm over the back of

his chair. “They’re forming a new squad,

from what I understand. They need
us

because we think like criminals.” A

muscle jumped in his cheek, obviously

disliking that description of himself. “At

first, I said no deal. But they made me an

offer I couldn’t turn down. Guess I’m a

Cubs fan now.”

“Chicago,” Bowen mouthed. “What’s

my other option?”

“Prison time.”

“Go Cubs.”

A smile tilted one end of Troy’s

mouth. “Don’t act so grateful. I might

blush.”

Bowen sat back down, looking far

less satisfied than he should have been at

receiving his get out of jail free card.

“Thanks,

man,”

he

said

quietly.

“Although we both know if you put me in

prison, Ruby would have had your ass.”

“That played a part. It always does.

But it was mostly Sera. As of now, the

brass has managed to keep this quiet.

They’ve sent Newsom out as if he’s

resigned for health concerns. But she

raised hell, threatening to go to the

media

about

corruption

in

the

department, unless they gave you a

chance. They can’t afford the scrutiny.”

Troy paused, watching him closely. “She

was something else.”

Bowen didn’t speak for a long time.

Sera could see he wanted to believe it,

but was still not ready. When he seemed

to realize both men were waiting for a

response, he tossed an absent glance at

Connor. “So which one of us gets to be

Batman and who’s stuck playing

Robin?”

“I’m Batman,” Connor said.

“You wish.”

“Actually,” Troy started slowly.

“You’ll be traveling with a third. She’s

not exactly a criminal, but she’s had

some experience living among them. I

guess you could call her Batgirl.”

Sera watched as Bowen went so still,

he didn’t even appear to be breathing.

That was her cue to go in, but she

couldn’t judge his expression and it

made her nervous. What if he couldn’t

forgive her? What if he didn’t want her

in Chicago? With a deep breath for

courage, she left the observation area

and joined the three men in the room.

Bowen locked eyes on her the second

she walked through the door, intense as

always, but unreadable.

Troy and Connor stood abruptly, both

appearing all too eager to flee the

awkward situation. On the way out,

Connor laid a comforting hand on her

shoulder. It caused Bowen to tense, his

fingers to curl against his thighs. That

telltale sign he still felt possessive

toward her boosted her confidence in a

much-needed way.

When the door closed behind Troy

and Connor, she didn’t bother sitting.

This was her chance to explain

everything and she wouldn’t waste a

moment, wouldn’t risk him tuning her out

again. “I asked my uncle to pick you up

to keep you safe. That night in Marco’s, I

overheard a discussion about everything

changing on the ninth. That you wouldn’t

be around for much longer after the

score.” She wet her lips. “That’s why I

went outside…to call him. I didn’t know

any other way that wouldn’t blow my

cover. And I’m only sorry because my

uncle turned out to be someone

untrustworthy. Not that I did it, though. I

would have done anything to keep you

from being hurt.”

His face remained impassive.

“I should have told you everything.

About what my brother did, how my

uncle hid it. Everything that happened

while I was undercover. I’m sorry I

didn’t. It put us both in danger and I’ll

never forgive myself.” She swallowed

hard. “I don’t have an excuse, except

I’ve never had anyone to confide in

before. It felt like a failure and I didn’t

want to face it. Didn’t want you to know

I’d failed.”

“It wouldn’t have made a damn

difference.”

Bowen’s rusty voice made her insides

jump.
Wouldn’t have.
Past tense? “You

told me once that you started falling for

me before we met. From just a

photograph.” Her voice dropped to a

near-whisper. “It happened that way for

me, too, in a way. Before I found out

your

name,

you

were

already

overwhelming me. I saw
you
. It was

already too late for me when I realized

who you were.”

Still he said nothing, the picture of

stillness in his metal chair, watching her.

“And you are
not
your name. You’re

more. So much more. To me, you’re

everything.” She drew in a deep breath.

“I need the mural artist, the fighter, the

man who might have lost his way for a

while, but still remained good where it

counted. I want the man who loves one

minute and rages the next. The man who

suffers through church and makes me egg

sandwiches. The man who touches me so

perfectly.” His lack of response made

her want to scream and cry. “I’m coming

to Chicago. If you don’t want me there,

too bad. I’m going to be right there,

every day, standing beside you, because

standing anywhere else doesn’t feel right

anymore. I love you. No, I’ve
loved
you.

And I’m not saying take it or leave it.

I’m saying
take
it.” Tears blurred her

vision. “Please, take it?” she finished

shakily.

Every second that passed where he

didn’t move or speak felt like broken

glass raking over her heart, her exposed

skin. He didn’t want her. Okay, okay…

she would just have to work harder.

She’d earn his trust back in Chicago and

eventually he’d come around. What they

had didn’t just go away overnight. Did

it?

She swiped a hand over her damp

eyes and turned for the door, everything

moving in slow motion around her. As

soon as her hand touched the knob, she

heard the metal chair scrape against the

floor and go flying, colliding with the

opposite wall. Bowen’s body heat

suddenly surrounded her, wrenching a

sob from her throat. His arms banded

around her from behind, molding her to

his chest, warm, rapid breaths in her ear.

“Jesus Christ, Sera,” he rasped. “You

just handed me everything I’ve ever

wanted in this world. I needed a minute

to believe it was real.” The tension in

her body evaporated with his words, but

Bowen simply held her tighter so she

wouldn’t fall into a heap. “I love you. So

fucking much I’m not sure I have room