Keller’s head snapped toward the door. For one frozen moment, his gun wavered between Wyatt and the new arrivals.
The syndicate man bolted for the back entrance.
Kevin materialized from the shadows, tackling him before he made it three steps. They went down hard, the evidence box skittering across the floor.
Keller made his choice.
He swung his weapon toward Sam.
Lucy hit him like a freight train.
Ninety pounds of German Shepherd slammed into Keller’s chest, driving him backward. His shot went wild, punching a hole in the ceiling, and then he was on the ground with Lucy’s teeth inches from his throat, her growl a promise of violence.
“Call her off!” Keller screamed. “Call her off!”
Sam stepped forward, his weapon trained on Keller’s head. “Lucy, hold.”
The dog didn’t back away. She stayed exactly where she was, her body rigid, her eyes locked on the man beneath her.
Jo was at Wyatt’s side, helping him to his feet. “You okay?”
Wyatt nodded, unable to speak. The coin was still clutched in his hand, the metal warm now from his grip.
Shaw moved past them, her weapon trained on Keller as Sam pulled out handcuffs. “Daniel Keller, you’re under arrest for conspiracy, corruption, and the murders of FBI Agents James Cooper and Marcus Harrington. You have the right to remain silent?—“
“This isn’t over.” Keller’s voice was venomous, even with Lucy’s teeth hovering over his jugular. “You have no idea what you’ve done. The people I work for—they’ll burn this whole town to the ground before they let you touch them.”
Sam wrenched Keller’s arms behind his back, the cuffs clicking shut with a sound like finality. “Maybe. But they’ll have to do it without you.”
He hauled Keller to his feet. Lucy stayed close, still growling, her hackles raised.
Across the room, Kevin had the syndicate man restrained, the evidence box safely recovered. The man wasn’t talking—professionals rarely did—but his silence didn’t matter. They had Keller. They had the recording from Wyatt’s wire. They had enough.
Shaw holstered her weapon and turned to Wyatt. Her eyes dropped to his hand, to the coin he still held.
“You picked it up,” she said quietly.
Wyatt looked down at the broken chain, the watching eye. The symbol of everything he’d spent his life running from.
“I was buying time,” he said.
Shaw studied his face for a long moment. Whatever she saw there seemed to satisfy her.
“Good answer,” she said.
Jo squeezed Wyatt’s arm. “It’s over. You did it.”
But Wyatt wasn’t so sure.
He opened his hand and let the coin fall to the concrete floor. It landed face-up, the eye staring at the ceiling, at the night sky beyond, at nothing at all.
Keller was watching him as Sam dragged him toward the door. Even in handcuffs, even beaten, there was something knowing in his expression.
“Your father won’t forget this,” Keller said. “Neither will I.”
“Save it for your lawyer,” Sam growled, shoving him forward.
Wyatt watched them go. Lucy padded back to his side, pressing against his leg, her warmth a comfort he didn’t deserve.