I assure him as he pulls into my driveway. “You recognize that SUV?” I ask Chase. It’s all black with tinted windows. I know before I ask the question that he’s not going to know who it is.
“No,” he says, putting his truck in Park, but I’m already reaching for the handle and climbing out. “He’s here. He found her, and her call was her way of getting me here. Fuck!” I run into the house, slipping and sliding on the snow and ice. I almost bust my ass, but I get my footing under me and keep running. I don’t stop until I reach the front door, and bust through, not knowing what I’m walking into, but knowing that my entire fucking life is behind these four walls.
Twisting the handle, I push through the door and survey what I see. Hollis is sitting on the loveseat with Milo asleep in her arms. She’s holding him close, but she doesn’t seem to be afraid or in distress.
“Colt.” She smiles as tears shimmer in her eyes.
I rush to her, taking the seat next to her. Leaning over, I kiss her softly on the lips, running my hands down Milo’s back. I then look at the man and woman sitting on the couch. “What’s going on?” I ask, keeping my eyes on them.
“Who are they?” Chase asks, joining us. He walks over to the loveseat and perches on the arm on the other side of Hollis, crossing his arms over his chest.
“This is Nancy Dawson and Tom Lane.”
“LAPD, special task force,” Tom offers.
“Why are you in our home?”
“Tom is the cop, Colt. He’s the one I saw that night,” Hollis tells me.
“Leave,” I say, my voice deadly calm.
“No,” Hollis speaks up. “I’m sorry I’m not doing very well at explaining. I’m just relieved that it’s all over.”
“Okay, baby.” I kiss her temple, resting my hand on her thigh. I then turn my gaze to Tom. “Start talking.”
He nods. “Special Task Force also means undercover. I was undercover the night Hollis ran into us in the alley. We had to stay in part. I wanted to tell her that she was safe, my partner Hannah too, but Hannah couldn’t leave what looked like a drug bust to chase after an innocent bystander.”
“You were dealing?”
He nods. “Yeah. We had been working on this bust for months. I was playing the part of the crooked cop, stealing drugs from the evidence room.”
“It wasn’t real drugs,” Nancy speaks up. “It was manufactured to look that way. That night was the big bust. Hollis just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“The messages?” I ask them. “She’s been getting messages.” I look over at Hollis. “Did you tell them?”
She nods. “I did.”
“I can explain,” Nancy says. “That night, Hollis being in the alley wasn’t all that went wrong. There were supposed to be two men meeting Tom that night. One of them didn’t show up. One was arrested, and Tom got away. Obviously, we let him. However, they knew he was a cop and insisted on a copy of the police report. Hollis was mentioned. Not her name, but a woman. They were insistent that we, the police, knew who she was. We didn’t know that night, but we found her.”
“That’s why I went to the shelter. I had a note.” Tom reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. “I was going to hand you this, but you ran.” He holds out his hand, and I reach for the note. “I was being followed, so I had to sound menacing. When you’re undercover, you never know who is lurking in the shadows. You never know who you can and can’t trust. That note was the only way for us to let you know that you were safe. He didn’t see you that night, Hollis. It was only me,” Tom says reassuringly.
“Here.” I hand Hollis the note, but she shakes her head.
“You read it.” She places a kiss on Milo’s head, making my heart leap out of my chest. I love how she loves my son.
Nodding, I unfold the small piece of paper and begin to read.
Hollis,
My name is Tom Lane. I am an undercover cop. You ran into me and my partner,
Hannah, a few weeks ago. You’re safe. They didn’t see you. If you have any questions,
call this number and ask for my partner, Hannah. She can explain everything.
Tom
“There’s a number for you to call.” I hold it up