Page 48 of Colton’s Secret Identity

“Except Rex would want to take us out himself,” Dylan mused. His profile was solid steel as he turned his gaze on Kat. “Who do you really work for?”

“You came too close to the edge this morning, bro.” Cal stood with Dylan away from the group of LEOs who’d arrived into the park at daybreak. Dylan had called in to his team at the Bureau while Veronica informed the task force of their location and recent “activities.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t fun taking care of it all before my coffee.”

“Stop joking. Rex still wants you and Veronica dead,” Cal said. They’d gotten the information they needed from Dylan’s intel team, confirming by photographs that Kat Caruthers was actually Paloma Lopez, youngest daughter of Slim Lopez. As in, the RGPD rookie was in fact working undercover as a cop, to gain intelligence on undercover drug operations. Paloma had admitted she wanted to be in charge of intelligence gathering for the cartel, but her father, Slim, had forbidden it. Only her brothers were allowed to work for Papa. So she’d taken it upon herself to prove to Slim that she was invaluable. She’d taken out Hank, with the intention to kill Rex and Bulldog, too, but they’d escaped when she’d decided keep eyes on Veronica and Hawk.

“Slim has no idea where we are at this point. She may have relayed our location, but once we leave here, no one’s on our tail.”

“You thought that before.” Cal’s tone reflected regret more than gravity. “We all missed her. Thelma’s beside herself.”

“It’s impossible to beat them all, Cal. There’s more money and usually better technology on their side.” Billions were poured into the cartel’s security and infrastructure, placing a rural county like Stark at a disadvantage. “What matters is that she didn’t kill us, and Slim doesn’t know she’s been arrested.”

“Not yet,” Cal agreed. “And there’s no indication that she thinks you’re anyone but Hawk Masters.”

“No, Veronica didn’t say anything to her, only reported to her at the salon to assure Thelma that she was doing okay and didn’t need any RGPD support for the time being.”

“Correct.” His brother nodded, placed his hands on his hips as they watched Paloma Lopez taken away in cuffs. “Looks like you’re getting new wheels.”

Dylan registered the SUV arriving on-site, driven by the same agent who’d swapped the sedan for the truck. “At least I can stretch my legs in this one. That tent offers zero protection from the cold.”

“That’s nothing for a Colton. Remember our camping trips with Dad?”

“I do.” Dylan stopped himself from adding that he’d recently shared those memories with Veronica. No sense getting his brother’s matchmaking radar going.

“How are you holding up, really? It’s been a long haul, Dylan.”

“I’m okay. As you know, the haul isn’t over yet.” Reluctance to share his deepest fear with Cal set off his internal red flags. Fear that Veronica could have been killed, that she still could be killed before the end of this assignment screwed with his serenity, to say the least.

“You and Veronica good?” He heard the unasked question in Cal’s tone and decided to face it.

“We’re close, bro. Closer than I like to be with a partner, if I’m being honest. But we work so well together it’s worth the risk.”

“What risk? That you’ll be distracted with trying to protect her instead of doing your job?”

“No.” He knew without a doubt that his instinct to protect her was on him. “I don’t have to worry about protecting Veronica. She’s better than anyone else I’ve ever worked. Her instincts are spot-on. If not for her chasing off the cougar, in fact, you would have arrived to see our bones being gnawed by a mountain lion.”

“That’s a lovely thought, Dylan.” Cal grunted. “So, what’s the risk you’re talking about?”

“That it’s going to hurt like hell when I leave again.” Because he was leaving and going back to Southern California. The Bureau and undercover work was his life. He’d taken great pains to make it so and wasn’t willing to give it all up.

Aren’t you?

His gut tightened. The fact that he was arguing with himself about letting go of his career or not set off the loudest mental alarm bells yet.

Was Cal right about what he wasn’t saying aloud? That his attachment to Veronica was affecting his ability to finish the job with the lowest risk? Was he in over his head here?

In over his heart was more like it.

Chapter 21

“This feels absolutely wrong.” Veronica pulled into the driveway of Dylan’s childhood home. She’d driven the short distance from Roosevelt National Park back to Red Grove in their third vehicle after switching the sedan for a late-model Honda Pilot. “In the middle of the day, too.”

“What, using a nice car for our work?” Dylan had remained silent the entire drive, only speaking to give her the address where they were to wait for further instructions.

“To be back in Red Grove, together, as ourselves and not undercover.” As much as she loathed that pixie wig, she felt positively naked, exposed without it.

“We’re still undercover as far as Rex, Bulldog and Slim are concerned. But none of them are anywhere near here at the moment.” He spoke with authority.