Page 121 of Twilight Tactics

“I can’t believe you did this.” She gestured to the room.

He met her gaze. “I’m learning that while rules are there for a reason, when the bad guys ignore them, sometimes you have to do the same—or at least bend them a little.” Too bad he hadn’t learned that lesson before his partner died.

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, Piper,” he said. “I’ll check with the investigator.”

She gave him the man’s information. “How’s Ollie?” She bit her lip and tears sprang to her eyes before she blinked them away.

“Safe,” he said. “Back at the ranch with Elena and Maya.” Sully checked his phone and motioned her toward the door. “We have to get back.”

She rose, and he led her back to the interrogation room without a single hiccup. Once she was cuffed back to the table, food in front of her, he left the building, arranged to meet up with the investigator, and learned the man was very, very good at his job. Within hours, Winters was in custody, and the investigation into his corruption was underway.

24

Elena stepped onto the porch, coffee mug warming her hands while the morning sun painted golden streaks across the main house. She walked to the rail and leaned against it, looking out over the property. Four weeks had passed since the nightmare at the compound, and the peaceful quiet still felt surreal. All sounds of reconstruction were long gone. In its place they now had new roofing, repaired siding, upgraded security systems, and more. She and Sully had talked almost every day, but it had been weeks since she’d seen him in person. He would be here soon and her heart was ready to explode with anticipation.

His footsteps sounded on the steps before she saw him. When she looked up, the worry lines in his face made her want to smooth them away. Or kiss them. Kissing would be good. As though he read her mind, he planted a sweet one on her lips before he pulled her with him to sit in the porch swing and drew her close beside him. “It’s so good to see you. I can’t believe I’m actually here.”

“I know.” She snuggled closer. “Tell me everything.”

“I talked to Piper last night. She’s doing okay. Hannah and she are in counseling together. They’re getting there.” He rubbed his jaw, the gesture automatic when something bothered him. “The hardest part is the betrayal by someone we should have trusted. Someone who should have had our backs, someone...” He shook his head. “Sorry, we seem to have this conversation a lot.”

“It’s okay. It’s hard. I understand.”

He gripped her hand in a gentle hold. “I know you do. Maybe that’s why I feel like I can freely express that to you.”

Elena studied his profile. “Winters betrayed a lot of people. You’re definitely not alone.”

“Piper will recover from a lot, but his betrayal cut deeper than I realized. She’s so angry I’m not sure there’s enough counseling in the universe to help her get past that.”

“All we can do is pray that God will give her some divine and supernatural peace when it comes to that.”

“Yes, I’ve been praying for her, but he not only sold out everything we believed in for money, he put her daughter in danger. Damaged her mentally and emotionally. She’s a wreck.”

“What about her job?”

“Surprisingly, she’s not been fired. She did submit her resignation, although I wish she hadn’t. She really did try to do the right thing. I mean, that kind of situation is something I pray I never find myself in. I can’t say I wouldn’t have done exactly what she did. She trusted her superior and did what he told her to do. She’ll be transferred to another office where she can get a fresh start. If she wants it. I don’t think she does. I think she’s going to walk away, but she’s on leave and will make a decision soon.”

“She’ll come out on the other side and be stronger for it. I know that some people don’t believe that, but Piper and Hannah are believers. I have full faith in them and the Lord.”

He squeezed her closer and planted a kiss on her head.Then sighed. “It’s a train wreck. I’m sure you’ve seen how the media is crucifying the Bureau.”

“I’ve seen it and can only pray that everyone will come to understand that one person doesn’t define the whole organization. And one person doesn’t, Sully. You know that too.”

He turned to face her, those dark eyes intense. “I do, of course. It’s just going to take time to get past.”

Elena set her mug on the side table and reached for his hand. “Look at the prepper community. Iris and LaVoy corrupted it. Used fear and greed to turn something that could have been good into something twisted. But people like Lindy Grace were still there, and she wasn’t like them. Even my father realized that what he believed wasn’t what the community believed and freed my mother when she got caught sneaking in to see Iris.”

He grunted. “Your father helped them kidnap you.”

“Ah, Sully, we’ve been over this. He was tricked. She manipulated him the same way Winters manipulated Piper.” Elena squeezed Sully’s fingers. “Sometimes good people make terrible choices because they’re trapped.”

Sully nodded slowly. “Doesn’t make the betrayal hurt less.”

“No, it doesn’t. But it means you can still trust the badge. Trust your training. And still trust those you’ve trusted for years. Winters is an outlier. He’s not the organization.” She paused. “And trust yourself.”

“I know I’ve said this before, but I keep going over and over it in my head. I’m thinking I should have seen it coming. Should have known something was wrong with Winters years ago, but I didn’t.”