Expired Getaway (Last Chance County #7) - Lisa Phillips Page 0,80

as well. After everything she’s been through? I barely know her, and I want to take down Clarke.” He lowered his voice to say, “What I don’t get is why you kept Bridget and her personal life a secret when she means so much to you.”

“It would have put the boys at risk.” She shrugged one shoulder and followed Bridget, not knowing if her friend could hear them or not. “You don’t bring your work home, so neither did I.”

He did that side-glance again. They needed to talk about this later, so she stayed silent while they crossed the parking lot. She’d never imagined this level of mess would come out of something she’d built—not to mention Sasha and what she’d done to Bridget.

Millie needed a plan. If those two feds didn’t catch Clarke tonight, she wanted to go after him tomorrow. Catch him unawares.

Eric frowned. “If he was here and aware of what Capeira is up to, then maybe we can take them down at the same time.”

“The way your agents tried to tonight?” Bridget turned, and they all had to stop. “They jumped the gun and Clarke got away.”

Eric lifted his chin. “They stopped you from being kidnapped and then killed. After Capeira would have done who-knows-what to you. That means you owe the FBI.”

“I had it handled. They blew in too fast and someone got hurt.” Bridget folded her arms, swaying slightly. “Capeira wasn’t here, right?”

“One of his guys will talk.”

Millie motioned to an EMT, who was packing up already, and asked for an ice pack.

“Do you want to see a doctor?”

“Not especially.” Bridget shot her a sardonic look. “But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t go anyway.”

“Good idea.” Millie figured she wanted to be fighting fit to take down Clarke. If she pushed too hard, she might face complications to injuries previously sustained that would only make things worse in the long run.

Bridget turned to Eric. “I had the chance to find out the details of their agreement with Clarke. They would have told me one way or another, and then I’d have worked out a way to get free.”

“There were four of them.”

“She’s done it before.” Millie needed him to know. Which meant she probably should’ve told him about Sasha in the van, and the four Capeira guys. “That’s what we do. We go into situations where the odds are stacked against us. Alone. With no backup. There’s never any backup except for what we have in each other. And help is usually a continent away.”

Eric turned a dark expression her way. “I guess you don’t need my help then.” He strode toward his people, and she saw the two agents emerge from the trees. Without Clarke.

They hadn’t found him.

“He got away.”

Bridget touched her shoulder. “He’ll crawl out of the woodwork soon enough.”

“Ma’am?”

They both turned to the EMT. Millie ushered Bridget toward them. “Go. I’ll stop by later.”

Bridget gave her a quick hug and then walked off with the EMT, a whole lot less steady on her legs now that the adrenaline had dissipated. She nearly fell into the ambulance but managed to get on the bed and lie down.

Millie turned back to her husband. He leaned against the hood of an SUV and directed his people from there. That strong, commanding man she’d always adored. Since the day she met him, Eric had brought his strength and resilience to a world of uncertainty. He was like the strong, tall mast on the ship. The one central part that held everything else together.

And yet, his people had jumped the gun tonight. They hadn’t trusted Bridget’s ability to aid them, because they didn’t know her. Instead of formulating a plan ahead of time, they had followed and then moved in when the bad guys played the first card—rather than waiting to see their whole hand.

Now they had the chance of a lead, but nothing concrete.

Millie pulled out her phone and called Sasha.

“Mill.”

“Sash.” She stared at the trees, as though her friend watched, even though that was unlikely.

“You want to know if I’m sorry. But you also need help. Will you still want help if my answer hasn’t changed?”

Millie gripped the phone. “Yes, but I want to understand as well.”

“You know my past. I told you all of it.”

“Maybe that’s true.” Millie didn’t wait for Sasha to object. “Everything you told me is true. I know that.” She’d cried over all Sasha had been through. But she knew her friend probably still held some things sacred. Things that