“Oh, how ridiculous.” The guest throws up his hands. “This is an abuse of power. I don’t know who the hell you think youare, but you should know I will be filing a complaint with your superior.”
“Be my guest.”
“Who made the report?” Luke demands.
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
“It’s bullshit,” Luke snaps, then leans in, lowering his voice. “I know exactly who put you up to this, and I know why. You tell your boss that whatever he does, I can do better. If he wants to declare war and thinks it ends here, he should think again. He’s not the only one with friends in high places.”
Detective Sergeant Park’s eyes narrow, then flick to me. “Who are you, miss?”
“No one,” Reid says before I can answer, taking my hand and drawing me slightly behind him. I feel the shift in his stance, protective, deliberate, and some of the tension in my chest eases a fraction. The detective’s gaze lingers on our joined hands, just long enough to show he’s noticed.
Then he shifts gear, trying for something smoother. He spreads his hands in a gesture of ease, a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Look, I know it’s a pain, and I’m sorry we’ve had to disturb you. But see it from my side. A call like this comes in, we follow it up. No choice. Best thing you can do is relax and wait it out.” His tone hardens slightly. “We have a description of the alleged victim. If we find her… we’ll deal with it. If we don’t, we leave.”
“And who’s paying for the door you broke down?” Luke shoots back. “Who’s compensating the guest for the trauma you’ve just inflicted—and the progress you’ve just undone? Not to mention the damage to our reputation.”
The smile slips from Park’s face, replaced by a scowl.
“I’m sure your precious psychos will survive one night without their beauty sleep.”
The mockery lands exactly where it’s meant to. Something dangerous flickers in Luke’s expression, the kind of smile that isn’t a smile at all. “Oh, I’ll be remembering you. Detective Sergeant Park, was it?”
“Luke,” I warn quietly. When he glances at me, I shake my head. “It’s fine. Let them do their jobs and leave.” The thought of this spiraling—of Reid, Luke, Tal getting pulled into something worse—sends a fresh spike through me. My head swims for a second, and I lean into Luke’s side, grounding myself against the solid heat of him.
“Thank you, ma’am,” the detective replies, already turning away as the chaos rolls on around us.
My fingers tighten in Reid’s hand as I take it all in—the shouting, the tension, the way the officers move like they expect to find something. Like they’ve already decided we’re guilty. A cold thread of unease slips under my skin despite everything we’ve done.
But we were ready for this.
Reid and Luke had warned everyone it might happen. At dinner, they explained about Amanda—how she was hiding from her husband, how far he was willing to go to get her back, even using the police to force the issue. Amanda confirmed it herself, her voice breaking as she spoke. By the end, there hadn’t been a dry eye at the table.
Reid gave anyone who felt unsafe the option to leave, full refunds included.
No one took it.
Instead, they closed ranks around Amanda, pulling her into something that felt more like family than a group of strangers. I felt it too—that quiet, collective decision not to let her face it alone.
Even Kane, who’d only been here a few days, stepped forward. Later, he mentioned—almost casually—that he had ahandgun and wouldn’t hesitate to use it if things got out of control. Reid shut that down fast.
“Are you sure?” Kane had asked, completely serious. “I used to be special ops. I’m licensed. Trust me, I can take them.”
“The last thing we want is another Waco,” Reid had said, and that ended it, though it drew a few uneasy smiles.
Still, Kane had been useful.
He’d given us insight into how men like Amanda’s husband operate—how they move money, how they hide things. Enough that Reid passed it on to his investigators.
And partly because of that, Amanda is gone now. Safe.
We convinced her to leave, even though she didn’t want to. She stripped herself of anything that could be tracked—jewelry, clothes, everything—and Tal slipped her out in the middle of the night without anyone noticing.
Which means this whole performance?
They’re already too late.