Page 98 of Corpse Roads

“I won’t release her from protective custody until it’s safe,” Hunter answers my biggest fear. “Regardless of what Giana wants.”

“And if Harlow wants to be with her family?”

I can see his reluctance and conflict, no matter the pointless games he plays. Gone is the man that wanted to pack Harlow off to a safe house and never deal with her again.

He’s seen what the rest of us are so desperate to protect. She’s a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, beautiful and fragile in the trauma of rebirth.

I will do anything to watch Harlow spread her wings and become the person I know she is inside. Nobody on this damned earth is going to take that pleasure away from me.

“It’s our job to protect her,” Hunter decides. “Whether she likes it or not, we’re her home until these monsters are caught.”

I nod at him from across the table. We live and die by the sword, and our family is what keeps us alive. Harlow belongs with us. She’s more than a client now.

Not even Theo can walk away from us without a fight. I’ll get him back, no matter what it takes. His place is here, by our side. I’m going to get him back and I know exactly the person to help.

“You good here? I need to make a phone call.”

Hunter waves me away, his attention caught by another police report. I slip out of the office and into the quiet corridor, reaching a tinted window concealing London’s vast horizon.

We saved a family before. Maybe they can be the ones to fix us this time around. No one is more qualified than them.

Holding the phone to my ear, I call the only person left on the planet that I trust with my innermost thoughts. She earned that privilege in a war zone, and our friendship has only grown in the tumultuous years since.

When she answers with a half-awake groan, I can’t help but smile. Her voice is heavy with sleep after the team took a few days to recover from their latest assignment.

“Hey, big guy. I’ve been waiting for you to call me back.”

“Brooke.” I breathe out a sigh. “It’s been a hell of a month.”

“You’re telling me. The news has been dragging your asses over the coals for the entire country to see every night.”

“You sound like you’re enjoying it.”

Her laugh is exasperated. “Hardly. Kade won’t tell me shit about the case. Kindly remove the stick from his ass so we can talk about work at mealtimes.”

“He put that stick up there, he can take it out.”

“Dammit,” she growls, disturbing someone napping in the background. “I was hoping you’d put a gag order on him.”

“Afraid not, wildfire. He’s your mess to sort out, last time I checked.”

“Fucking great. Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Speaking of messes… I need your help. Things have gotten a little fucked up here. Well, more than a little.”

I can hear the smile in Brooklyn’s voice.

“I’ll be there in half an hour.”

CHAPTER 19

HARLOW

BAD PLACE - THE HUNNA

Staring out of the window at the twisting country lane hugging Hunter’s beast of a car, I watch the empty fields melt away. We’ve been driving all afternoon, only stopping to fuel up and grab some late lunch.

Hunter’s being even more tight-lipped than usual. He’s barely spoken a word to me since we left Leighton still asleep back home. I’m not stupid. This trip isn’t for fun. I have a bad feeling about wherever we’re going.

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