Declan paced the small room, infuriated. Once they had arrived at the precinct, the feds had taken Aspen away from him. He didn’t know what the hell was going on but he was going to get to the bottom of it. The feds had been closed-lipped on everything.

What the hell do the feds have to do with Aspen?

“You’re wearing a hole in the floor,” Mac’s voice broke through his thoughts.

Declan blew out a deep breath. He was feeling trapped in the small interrogation room. The windowless space was a cliché of television drama shows with its bleak decor and mirror on the wall. The minute he’d arrived, he’d placed a call to Mac who’d appeared immediately. Without a doubt, Mac was the one person he’d call with any problems. “I’m sure she’s fine—”

“She’s not fine. Those men were going to take her. If it was Sarena, what would you do?” Declan asked, cutting Mac off. It was a low blow. This situation was a slightly different from when Sarena had been kidnapped by a powerful gangster who would have killed her to extract revenge on Mac. But for Declan, seeing those men try to abduct Aspen put him in the same mindset that Mac had been in. He would have gladly emptied his clip into every single one of those men. Declan didn’t know what she was involved in and didn’t care. He’d finally realized what the haunted look in her eyes really was.

Fear and loneliness.

He would be there for her. Erase that sadness from her eyes.

During Mac and Sarena’s ordeal, Declan and the rest of SWAT had been right by Mac’s side doing everything in their power to get her back.

Mac paused, his eyes darkening as he met Declan’s gaze. Their intense standoff was interrupted by the door opening. Captain Spook entered the room, his eyes shifting between Declan and Mac, having picked up on the tension in the room.

“Have a seat, Sergeant Owen,” the captain ordered. His commanding presence drove Declan to have a seat next to Mac. He flopped down in the chair and glanced at Mac.

“Sorry, man. That was low,” Declan muttered, running a hand along his jaw. Mac was as close to him as a brother, and they’d been through tough times. That didn’t give him any right to be a dick.

“Don’t worry about it.” Mac sniffed.

They turned their attention to the captain.

“Now that you ladies are done with whatever the hell I walked in on, we have important matters at hand,” Captain Spook snapped, taking a seat across from them.

Declan sat straight in his chair.

“IRB will be here in any moment. Declan, they are going to be up in your ass since this involved an altercation while you were off duty.”

Declan nodded, fully aware of the situation that was coming.

“Now I want to hear from you exactly what happened.”

Declan blew out a deep breath and retold the story he had already told the uniforms. Mac’s hands balled into fists as Declan got to the part where the men had appeared.

“What has she said?” Mac asked.

“Not much. The feds wouldn’t let her say anything. She just said she was sorry and she wouldn’t forget me. The feds are taking her.” Declan leaned his elbows on the table and gripped his hair in his hands. He squeezed his eyes shut, hating the feeling blossoming in his chest.

Fear.

A strong, comforting hand gripped his shoulder.

Mac.

He’d never been one to experience this before. Not when he was deployed, not on any SWAT call, but the sensation was there, weighing him down. Had he not yelled for her to open the glovebox, she wouldn’t have grabbed the gun. The guy she shot would have dragged her off, and there was no telling what they would have done with her.

“Do you think it’s anything illegal?” Mac questioned the captain.

Declan raised his head to look at the captain.

“From what I was able to gather from Agent Ball, she’s in witness protective custody. After the air is cleared about what happened down at the zoo, I imagine they are going to take Ms. Hale and disappear.”

“But the matter comes back to her firing my weapon and killing the suspect. Will she be charged with anything?” Declan was reaching for any reason she would have to stay.

“Doubt it. There were enough witnesses leaving the zoo who saw what happened and called the authorities. She should be cleared from that, and knowing the feds, if they need her bad enough, this will be filled away as a righteous kill and swept under the rug.”

“Can I speak with her?” Declan asked. He was dying to see Aspen. She had been shaken up after the ordeal. She’d barely let his arm go once the cops had arrived. His heart stuttered thinking that she was alone and afraid with the feds in the other room.

“Let me see what I can do. Stay right here.” The captain glared at him.

Declan knew the look, and if he didn’t want to be busted down to traffic duty, he’d keep his ass in the seat.

The captain pushed back his chair and stood. “I’m going to see if I can delay IRB so we can work out what the hell is going on.”

Declan and Mac remained silent until the door shut again. Mac blew out a deep breath, standing. It was his turn to pace the floor. His movements were that of a predator. Declan recognized it because it was how they were. That’s what made them perfect for SWAT.

“What are you thinking?” Declan asked. He knew when Mac was lost in thought and planning.

“Where was this relationship of yours going?” He turned and faced Declan.

He scowled at Mac and flew from the chair, knocking it over.

“Calm down. I’m asking because I need to know how far in we’re going to be.”

“I’m all in for her.” He clenched his fist.

Mac nodded and walked over to the door. He opened it and stood back while Zain, Iker, Ashton, Brodie, and Miles filed into the room. Each man was decked out in the black fatigues as if prepared to go out on a call. Mac shut the door behind them and moved to stand before them.

His team.

Brothers-in-arms.

He met the eyes of each of his teammates and gave them an appreciative nod.

“Aspen is your woman, then she’s one of us,” Mac announced.

As always, Columbia Police Department protected their own.

Aspen blew out a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. Ball sat at the table with her while the detectives sat across from her. They eyed her with distrust on their faces. They’d gone over the story of what happened at least four times.

She’d lost track of time since she’d entered the small interrogation room.

“How did you get Sergeant Owen’s gun?” Detective Roth asked, cocking an eyebrow.

She’d seen the look in his eyes before. It was the look of a cop who had already deemed her guilty just because of the color of her skin. As if all people of color were guilty of heinous crimes.

“Right before those men attacked us, Declan made me get in the car and told me to open the glovebox. But before I or he could get it, the men jumped him, and the one I shot—” Her voice ended on a catch. She bit her lip to keep it from quivering.

She’d taken a life.

Her vision blurred, making it hard for her to see. She sniffed and ran a hand across her eyes to wipe the tears before they fell. She wasn’t a violent person and because of that man’s actions she’d had to protect herself.

There was only one man to truly blame for this.

Ray Acosta.

“And your relationship with Sergeant Owen is what?” Detective Shots asked.

She rolled her eyes. This was the second time he’d asked her the question. He’d only formed it a different way this time. She glanced over at Ball who nodded.

“We’ve been seeing each other,” she replied. She looked him straight in the eye, not caring if she appeared agitated. She was tired, hungry, and worried about Declan. Since arriving at the police precinct, she’d yet to see him. They’d kept them separated, and she was worried that he was still trying to claim that he’d shot the dead guy. “It hasn’t changed since the last time you asked me.”

Roth let out a snort and tapped his fingers on the table. Nothing she could say was going to change this man’s prejudice against her. He was probably counting down the seconds until he could handcuff her and throw her in a jail cell.

“I’m just curious on why, if you are a regular woman dating an officer, the feds have to be here in the room—”

“As I told you, you don’t have clearance to know why Ms. Hale has to have a federal agent here,” Ball cut off Detective Shots’ question. His demeaning tone wasn’t lost on any of them in the room. Neither of the detectives’ pay grade would allow them the privilege to know the details of Aspen’s case. “Now as I told you, there will be no charges against Ms. Hale. It was purely self-defense. You have about ten witnesses who reported those men were assaulting your coworker and trying to drag her off to kidnap her.”

“Now see here—”

The door opened, and a tall, older man in a uniform with an air of authority entered.

“Good evening,” the man said. His gaze landed on Aspen before he offered his hand to her. “Hello, Ms. Hale. My name is Captain Spook.”

She murmured a greeting before sitting back and watching him greet Agent Ball.

The detectives stood from the table, offering their seats to the captain. He sat in his chair, his worn face looking as tired as Aspen felt.

“Ms. Hale, I’ve recently gotten off the phone with the mayor, and it would seem there will be no charges brought up on the death of the man you shot,” Captain Spook announced.

“What?” Shots and Roth echoed simultaneously. Their complaints were silenced with one stern glare from the captain.

Aspen held back a smirk, watching the emotions cross Roth’s face. He had wanted to find a reason he could arrest her, but it looked like the feds must have spoken with the mayor.

“Ms. Hale, you are to be released into the custody of the US Marshals.” Captain Spook nodded to Ball.

“Thank you, Captain.” Ball stood and extended his hand to the captain, who took it.

“Before you go, we have someone who wants to speak to Ms. Hale.” Captain Spook stood from his chair.

Aspen already knew without question who would be outside the door waiting for her.

“We don’t have time—”

“Please,” she whispered, turning her eyes to Ball.

His lips pressed in a firm line before he blew out a deep breath.

“Fine. A few minutes, then we must go.”

She nodded and stood, watching as the men filed out the room, ignoring Roth’s hard glare as he followed his partner out. Her attention was captured by the sight of a bruised Declan standing by the door.

“You don’t have long, Declan. The captain patted Declan on the back. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks, Captain,” Declan breathed before stepping into the small room. He shut the door and leaned back against it.

Their eyes met as they stood staring at each other.

She bit her lip to keep the cry from escaping her lips then rushed to him. He stepped forward and caught her in his embrace. His strong arms folded around her, and she squeezed him as tight as she could. Sobs escaped her.

“I’m so sorry,” she hiccupped. Her face was buried against his chest as the sobs continued.

“You don’t have to be sorry,” he murmured, his chest vibrating with his words.

The strength of him brought her comfort. She sniffed, regaining control of herself. In his arms she no longer felt alone. In his arms was where she wanted to stay for all time, but there was a certain federal agent not too far away who would prevent it from happening.

“Are you all right?”

She pulled back with a nod. Declan reached up and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

“As good as I can ever be.”

“I’m here for you. You don’t have to do this alone.” His eyes searched hers.

He cupped her cheek, and she leaned into it, knowing she could trust him.

Her heart skipped a beat. She shook her head slowly, unsure of what to say. How much did he know?

“I’ve been alone for so long—”

Their conversation was interrupted by the door opening. US Marshal Ball stood in the doorway. His mouth was pressed into a thin line, and he glared at them. Aspen leaned into Declan, not wanting to leave.

“I’m not sure who Captain Spook knows, but it would seem he has called in a favor. Sergeant Owen will be coming with us for the night.”