Page 57 of Colton’s Secret Identity

Please let them be alone.

She didn’t check the second window on the other side of the cabin door, there wasn’t time. When shots rang out from somewhere behind the cabin, she dropped any concerns about who remained in the cabin and made a run for it to the cabin’s eleven-o’clock position, from where she and Dylan had spied on the hideout. Her footsteps were all but silent on the fresh snow, the ridiculous boots suddenly a great asset as their lack of grooved soles didn’t make the noise that her snow boots would have. But she struggled for traction, slipping and sliding, trying to stay upright despite the blinding snow and the pounding pain in her face and the side of her skull where she’d been injured.

She made out their figures a full two strides before she had to take action. Slim and Dylan were in a face-off, moving in a slow circle, each with a knife in one hand. Veronica didn’t break stride as she aimed at Slim’s back, knocking him off balance. He remained upright, his knife hand swiping at her.

“Argh!” Slim bellowed as the knife sliced the air inches in front of her face. She reached to block his arm, but the knife-wielding arm disappeared. Dylan twisted Slim’s arm, falling to his knees to do so. Dylan maintained his hold on Slim until the unmistakable sound of a bone breaking reached her ears. Slim crumpled to the ground. She quickly rolled away from him, got to her feet, and reassessed. Dylan lay on the ground next to Slim, who was unconscious, his arm twisted at an unnatural angle. She ran over to Slim and quickly cleared his form of three more knives and one pistol, tossing them aside.

She stepped over to Dylan, who’d sat up, catching his breath. Offering her hand to give him a tug onto his feet, she smiled at him, and realized that she’d just acted on pure instinct, without fear. Because as she continued to meet his gaze, realization dawned.

She was in love with Dylan. He wasn’t a former BFF she’d had the hots for, or a man she could have made a go with. Dylan was the love of her life, and she needed to tell him.

“Dylan, I know you’re leaving. I mean, you’ve never indicated nothing else, but you need to—”

Gunfire erupted all around them. Bark flew from the nearby trees as rounds hit. A searing pain went through her heart. She’d never be able to tell him. Blackness engulfed her and she plummeted into an abyss of gunfire, pain and misery.

Without Dylan.

Chapter 25

“Get down!” He yanked on her hand, pulling her onto the ground. But it was too late. For the second time that afternoon he watched Veronica’s limp form fall to the ground. But this was nothing like when she’d been thrown to the porch, when he knew she was injured but still alive.

He began a medical first aid assessment. Her pulse was weak at her jugular but it was still there. Snow pelted him as he felt over her head, her throat for wetness, a sign of being shot. Nothing. He moved to her legs, checking for the same.

The gunfire had ceased, footsteps pounded, sirens blared, but he was in his own world, trying desperately to save the one woman he’d ever loved.

Loved. No, no, not past tense. “I love you, Veronica. Now and forever.” But he spoke to a limp form who couldn’t hear the words he’d waited too long to say.

“EMT. Step aside.” Dylan heard the request but couldn’t stop looking for what was keeping Veronica from opening her eyes, from looking at him, from hearing his words.

“Sir, please let us help her. Now.” More insistent.

He couldn’t leave her, wouldn’t. He fought the strong arms that lifted him away from Veronica’s still form, engulfed him in a bear hug.

“Good job, bro. We got ’em.” Cal’s words, spoken gruffly into his ear, did nothing to stop the mental agony coursing through him.

Without Veronica, he had nothing.

“Seats, everyone, grab a cup of hot joe while you’re at it, and I think the doughnuts are still warm.” Cal stood at the head of the conference table, pointing at the two carafes and assorted doughnuts, pastries and bagels in the center of the table. Dylan poured himself coffee and grabbed a pumpernickel bagel, but wasn’t sure if he’d be able to eat. He was still jammed up over the complete helplessness he’d felt when Veronica was shot.

The room grew quiet as everyone sat down and turned their attention to Cal. “Let me open by saying the one LEO who isn’t here is going to be okay, and is expected to go home today. Veronica took a bullet to her body armor in the right place to crack a couple of ribs, and she has a slight concussion from one of two conks to her head. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that we’ve now accomplished our task with every LEO alive and ready to fight the good fight again.”

The task force erupted in subdued cheers. No one had had more than a few hours of sleep by the time they’d secured the cabin scene and made the drive back to Red Grove. A secondary team of LEOs had taken over the remaining forensic collection.

“Okay, then.” Cal sat down, having assured everyone that their colleague Veronica was going to be okay. “Let’s wrap it up the same way we began, folks. Go around the table, tell us your original task, how it played out, and anything you wish the task force had provided for you during the assignment.”

Dylan listened with a heavy heart as he sat at the same conference table he’d been at only two days earlier, when Veronica sat next to him. The empty seat to his left taunted him with the guilt and self-recrimination he’d carried since the takedown yesterday.

Sure, he was as thrilled as any one of the LEOs around the Stark County conference table that they’d brought down the cartel. It was a major victory for all, from RGPD to FBI and DEA to their RCMP colleagues north of the border. Slim and Rex had been hauled away in cuffs, along with several henchmen who’d been first hit with tear gas while still in the cabin and then surrounded by the task force’s backup LEOs. But Veronica hadn’t had the satisfaction of seeing any of it. She’d been taken out in an ambulance, still unconscious. An airlift had been impossible due to the snowstorm. It had delayed the trauma level of care she required. His stomach churning, he tried to refocus on the wrap-up meeting.

The FBI cyber analyst was finishing her report. “…the drug trafficking ring has been dismantled for good, and we have several agents on the ground now, apprehending the remaining distributors and dealers. We’ll make our final summary once each has given a statement.”

“Excellent, thank you.” Cal looked at Dylan. More than anyone at the table, Cal understood the hell Dylan was going through. “Dylan?”

“I don’t have much to add, except to thank everyone for the excellent teamwork, and aiding Officer Martin and me with keeping our cover as long as possible.” He sucked in a deep breath, continued. “Extra kudos to RGPD Chief Brady. I understand the three men who ‘worked’ for me are in custody.”

“No problem.” The chief smiled. “Although Scar, Slash and Brick aren’t their birth names, FYI.” A chuckle erupted and Dylan smiled. Until his mental image of Veronica lying on the ground lifeless reappeared.

“Do we know who killed Hank?” Dylan looked from Chief Brady to Cal.