“What the hell?” I muttered.

I opened my eyes, squinting against the pain. Why was I on the floor in a hallway, alone with my pants twisted around my thighs? I sat up slowly, blinking as I tried to clear my head. It took me a few seconds of surveying to figure shit out. Sarah’s hallway. Making love against the wall. Her soft kisses.

And then…pain.

“Shit.” I scrambled to my feet despite the darkness threatening to overcome me. “Sarah!”

No answer.

Of course, there was no fucking answer.

If someone knocked me out, there was one logical person who would have done that, and if he’d come here, she would be with him. I knew Sarah, and Vinnie had more than likely threatened my life, and her mother’s, if she didn’t cooperate.

Her mother.

I struggled to keep consciousness as I opened her mother’s bedroom door, making sure she was unharmed. Once I ensured she was…I was going to find them, and I was going to kill him. I refused to even entertain any other outcome. Knowing that she was alone with that abusive asshole—no, I refused to go down that road. I’d find them. I’d save her.

I’d kill him.

Her mother was in bed, still tucked in and sound asleep. Creeping out, I closed the door quietly and realized I’d never pulled my pants up. As I yanked them up, I lifted my head—and locked eyes with my father. He stared at me, pale, and I froze, because he’d caught me in Sarah’s house with my pants around my ankles and my dick hanging out.

I swallowed, ignoring the giant elephant in the room. “He took her.”

“I figured.” Dad nodded, lowering his gun. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I secured the button of my pants, and let go of my belt, leaving it undone. “He hit me from behind while I was distracted.”

He flexed his jaw. “Obviously.”

“Dad—”

“Not here.” He leaned down and pushed the button on his radio. “The perp took her. Get a bolo out on a late model red Jaguar. Bollins said that’s what the suspect was driving.”

After he finished, I leaned against the wall, catching my equilibrium. The world was still spinning. I probably had a concussion. I didn’t care. “Is he okay?”

“Yes. From what we can tell, he knocked Bollins out, and disabled the radio so he couldn’t call for help. Then came in here.” He squared his jaw. “To you two.”

I said nothing.

“Maybe if you were doing your job—”

That broke my silence. “I was doing my job.”

“Bullshit!” he roared, turning red in the face.

Again, I said nothing.

“Make sure someone stays with her mother. I have to go.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” he shouted at me.

I blinked. I’d never seen him so angry.

“You broke the rules, Detective.”

Shaking my head, I simply said, “I know.”

“There will be consequences,” he snarled.

“I’m the one who initiated this. It’s on me, not her.”

Dad scoffed. “There you go, protecting her, throwing yourself under the bus for a girl who doesn’t deserve it.”

I flexed my jaw. We’d shifted from our jobs, and into the personal sides of our lives. “That’s not fair, Dad.”

“She broke your heart once, she’ll do it again.”

I gritted my teeth. “We were kids back then. We’re not the same people.”

“Yes, you are.”

Fisting my hands, I looked at him. “I love her.”

He made an angry sound. “Your confusing old feelings with the connection one gets with their partner—”

“No, I’m not.” I locked eyes with him. “I love her. I’ve always loved her. I always will love her. Even if she never came back, I’d still love her. Nothing will stop me. Nothing.”

We stared at one another, neither of us talking.

His chest rose and fell, and I sensed he was seconds from imploding. Last time he was this angry was when I’d been ten and I’d climbed to the top of a building and perched on the edge of the roof because some kid dared me to. He’d grounded me for a year that time. I had a feeling the punishment would be much worse this time around.

“Dad…” I started.

“Don’t.” Medics came in, and they headed toward me. Dad took a deep breath, turning his back on me. “Take him in and check him. Clearly, he’s been hit too hard.”

“No.”

He spun on me. “Excuse me?”

“I said…” I pushed off the wall and forced myself to stand still. “No. I’m not going in. I’m going after Sarah.”

“You are not going after Sarah. You are going to the hospital.” He walked right up to me, face to face, either ignoring the fact that I was taller than him by two inches, or not giving a damn. “That’s an order, Detective.”

I never disobeyed an order. Never disrespected authority. Never challenged my father in the office. But this time…this time was different. Sarah was in danger, and nothing—motherfucking nothing—would stop me from finding her. I’d sworn to keep her safe, and I wouldn’t be breaking my promise to her for a second time. “I am going after her.”

With that, I started for the door.

“If you walk out that door, you’re suspended from active duty,” he called out, his tone final.

Freezing, I flexed my jaw. Without hesitation, I removed my badge and gun, leaving them beside the table at the door. “Then consider me suspended.”

As I walked outside, I heard him let loose a string of curses, but I didn’t hesitate. I headed toward my car, blinking away the fogginess. I had no idea where to start looking for her, but I’d be damned if I was going to sit around and do nothing when she was out there alone. This was on me. If I hadn’t been distracted while making love to her, I could have kept her safe.

I should have kept her safe.

Leaning against my car, I pulled up our messages and checked her location. We’d decided to share our locations with one another in case something like this happened. It took forever to load, and I shook it angrily. “Come on.” It loaded, and the location shown was…

Her fucking house.

“Son of a bitch,” I snarled, throwing the phone inside my car.

Resting my hands on the roof, I breathed heavily, the world still spinning around me. A car pulled up behind me and stopped.

A window rolled down, and Hernandez called out, “Get in.”

“I’m not going to the hospital—” I started.

“Dude. I know.” He revved his engine. “I have a tip on her location. I heard your dad on the radio.”

“Where?” I asked, spinning on him.

He swallowed. “Get in.”

“I’m going alone.”

He laughed. Hard. Short. “No, you’re not.”

“Look, man, I’m suspended for disobeying orders. If you go with me, you’ll get in trouble—”

“As if I give a damn about any of that,” he snarled, angry. “I’m your best friend, asshole. You’re always there for me, no matter the consequences, and I’m always there for you. He hit you, and you’re probably concussed, plus you don’t have a weapon. You need help, and I’m your help. Get in the fucking car.”

He was right, about all of it. So, I got in, closing the door behind me. He sped away from the curb, cutting off a truck. “Word is they were spotted at a rest stop off I-5. It’s a half hour from here, and the tip just came in.”

I leaned against the seat, touching my head gingerly. It hurt like a bitch. “That’s too much time. I was out too long. We’ll never catch up.”

“We’ve got a full tank of gas and the police on our side. They’ll be taking it slow, trying to stay under the radar, but we can go as fast as we want.” As if proving his point, he turned onto the on ramp and stepped on the gas. “We’ll get her.”

I said nothing. I should be with her right now.

“This isn’t your fault,” Hernandez said, reading my mind like usual.

“Yes, it is.”

He shook his head. “No—”

“When he took me down, I was inside her, telling her I was serious about us, kissing her like an idiot. I wasn’t watching her back, or mine, and I wasn’t doing my fucking job.” I swallowed hard. “So, yes, this is my fault. If I’d kept my pants on, and my head on straight, this wouldn’t have happened. I would have seen him coming from a mile away.”

Hernandez stared straight ahead, cutting between two cars to get to the carpool lane. “You guys fucked?”

“Yes, we fucked.” I closed my eyes. “Several times. More than that, Dad knows, and I may have cost us both our jobs.”

He whistled through his teeth. “Shit.”

“Yeah. Shit.”

After a moment of silence, Hernandez said, “Why’d you risk it?”

“Because I love her,” I said honestly. “I never stopped, but having her back here, with me, only cemented it in my brain. I love her, and if I don’t find her…”

“We will.” Hernandez side-eyed me. “We’ll find her. No one knows you’re with me, so I’ll get the intel.”

I swallowed. The world was starting to clear a bit. “I don’t want you to get in trouble for helping me. When we get there, you can drop me off and—”

“I don’t give a damn if I do, and I’m insulted that you think I would leave you on your own, without backup. We might not be partners anymore, but that doesn’t change that fact that we’re partners in every other sense of the word. If the roles were reversed, and I was going after the woman I loved, you’d be right there with me.”

He was right. I would. “Do you have another gun?”

“Glovebox.”

I pulled it out, checking the chamber and the mag. Fully loaded and clear. I set it on my lap, staring outside as we sped past moving vehicles so fast it looked like they were parked. We had to find her, as soon as possible. There was no other choice. No other option. If something bad happened to her, if he hurt one hair on her head, that was on me. It would be my fault.

How could she ever forgive me for failing her?

Hernandez’s phone rang, and he hit the button on his steering wheel. “Officer Hernandez.” Silence, and then: “I’m approximately fifteen minutes from there, sir.” A head nod. “Yes, sir.”

He hung up, and I asked: “What did he say?”

“They’re at a motel frequented by hookers and drug dealers. Maybe he’s getting his fix? Or he wanted a place he could pay cash without questions or records?”

“Or he couldn’t wait to get his hands on her, and he’s throwing logic to the wind.”

“Don’t think like that, man,” Hernandez said, flexing his jaw. “He’s probably just coming up with a plan. Maybe he’s trying to sell his car or trade it for a different one. He’s gotta know we’re looking for him.”

I said nothing.

“I’ve been ordered to scope it out, and then stand down to wait for backup.”

I let out a hard laugh. “I’m not waiting for backup.”

“I figured.” Hernandez tightened his grip on the wheel. “You love her? Like, love her, love her?”

I nodded.

He let out a sigh. “Well, then, let’s get this son of a bitch, and put an end to all this shit for the last time.”

I couldn’t agree more.