Page 32 of Forgiveness River

Again, that exchange of glances. “I’ll get it,” the third man said. “Where exactly?”

“Under the counter, black leather bag,” Raven directed, praying her stalling would buy enough time for someone—anyone—to notice something was wrong.

As the man disappeared back into the boutique, she scanned the empty alley desperately. The boutiques had closed for the night; the summer festival crowds had dispersed hours ago. No one to witness her abduction, no one to raise the alarm.

Except—there. A movement at the far end of the alley caught her eye. A figure stepped into view, silhouetted against the streetlight—too far to make out clearly, but something in the way they moved, the breadth of their shoulders, was achingly familiar.

Wyatt.

Relief flooded through her, so intense it nearly buckled her knees. But she kept her expression neutral, afraid to alert hercaptors. If Wyatt was here, it wasn’t a coincidence. He must have been watching her too.

The third man returned with her purse, rifling through it. “Nothing in here looks like heart medication.”

“It’s a small white bottle,” Raven insisted. “It might have fallen out.”

“Enough games,” the leader snapped, yanking her toward the SUV. “We’re wasting time.”

As they reached the vehicle, Raven risked one more glance toward the end of the alley. The figure was gone. Had she imagined it? Was her desperate hope for rescue creating phantoms in the shadows?

The rear door of the SUV swung open. “Get in,” the leader ordered, his patience clearly wearing thin.

Raven hesitated, knowing that once she was in that vehicle, her chances of escape would plummet. “Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere your husband can find you,” he replied, shoving her forward.

A whisper of movement was all the warning they had. Then the alley erupted in chaos.

The man holding Raven’s right arm jerked suddenly, a choked sound escaping him as he collapsed to his knees. The leader spun around, reaching for his weapon, but a dark shape materialized from the shadows, moving with lethal precision.

Wyatt drove his fist into the leader’s solar plexus, following with an elbow strike that dropped the man instantly. The third man managed to draw his gun, but Wyatt was already on him, twisting the weapon away with practiced efficiency before delivering a blow that sent him sprawling.

In seconds, all three men were incapacitated, and Wyatt stood in the center of the carnage, his chest heaving, his eyes wild as they found hers.

“Are you hurt?” he demanded, crossing to her in two strides, his hands gentle as they cupped her face, checking for injuries.

“No,” she managed, her voice trembling with delayed shock. “No, I’m okay.”

With swift, practiced movements, he cut the zip tie binding her wrists, then pulled her against his chest, his arms wrapping around her so tightly she could feel his heartbeat hammering against her cheek.

“I almost lost you,” he murmured into her hair, his voice raw. “God, Raven, if I hadn’t been watching?—”

“You were watching me?” she pulled back enough to see his face.

“Every night since you left,” he admitted, the confession stark in its simplicity. “I couldn’t protect you by staying away, so I did the next best thing.”

Before she could process this, the sound of approaching sirens filled the air. Wyatt’s gaze sharpened, his expression shifting from relieved husband to focused agent in an instant.

“Blaze is on his way with backup,” he explained, reluctantly releasing her to secure the unconscious men with their own zip ties. “These men work for Adrian Moss—the head of a drug operation I’ve been investigating undercover for the DEA. That’s what I couldn’t tell you, Raven. That’s the secret that’s been destroying us.”

“A drug operation?” Raven repeated, struggling to align this revelation with her fears of infidelity. “That woman at the café?—”

“Agent Kwan. My DEA handler.” Wyatt’s eyes met hers, unflinching and honest. “I have never betrayed you, Raven. Not with another woman. But I betrayed your trust by keeping you in the dark, and for that, I am so sorry.”

Police vehicles screeched to a halt at the end of the alley, their flashing lights illuminating Wyatt’s face—the face of theman she’d loved since childhood, the face she’d feared she might never truly know again.

“We need to get you somewhere safe,” he said, his arm circling her waist as Blaze and several deputies approached. “I’ll explain everything, I swear. But not here.”

The enormity of what had just happened—what had almost happened—suddenly crashed over Raven. Her knees buckled, and Wyatt caught her, lifting her effortlessly into his arms.

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