Edge of Danger (San Antonio Security #2)

Chapter Seven

What had he been thinking, kissing Tessa like that?

That was hardly what Brax needed to be worried about on the way to the trailer where Nick Lomax’s girlfriend lived with their three-year-old son.

No, Brax should have been thinking about the case. About surrounding the trailer and getting Nick to go with them before anything hit the fan.

Especially with a woman involved. Not to mention a little kid.

Yet kissing Tessa was all he could think about as he’d sped out of town toward the rendezvous point. He tried to tell himself he’d been distracted, in a hurry to meet up with the guys. That it was important that Nick didn’t feel threatened, and Brax was always best in situations like this.

But the lips that were supposed to coax Nick out of the trailer still burned from the sweet, innocent kiss he’d pressed to Tessa’s forehead like any dutiful husband leaving his wife and child at home before heading to work. That should bother him. So why didn’t it?

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. How was he supposed to concentrate on helping Nick out of this situation without his family getting hurt if he couldn’t stop thinking about Tessa?

What if she quit because of this? He’d stepped over the line. Not too far, but far enough. Assuming a sort of intimacy they didn’t share.

He wouldn’t have blamed her if she wanted out of their arrangement. Like it wasn’t bad enough he’d called her at two in the morning and pulled her out of bed. Like he wasn’t already making her life difficult.

He made it to the meeting spot roughly a half mile from the trailer park.

“About time you showed up.” Weston gave him no time to defend himself before gesturing to the tablet Chance held. “We were discussing how we plan to surround the place.”

“I’ll take point,” Brax decided. “If I’m going to be the one to talk him out of there, that’s where I need to be.”

“I’ll flank on the right, Luke on the left,” Weston announced. “Chance, you take the rear in case he decides to escape through a window. Keep eyes on the structure—some of them have doors in the floor. He could slip out and try to make a run for it while we’re all focused on the front.”

“Everything okay?” Luke caught Brax’s eye before hitting him in the face with the beam of his flashlight.

“I was okay before you blinded me.” Brax held up a hand in front of his face. “I’m fine. I had to take care of things with Walker first.”

“Right. Of course.” Weston sounded apologetic, at least, though he didn’t offer any true apology for his remark. Not that Brax expected one.

It was nearly a quarter to three by the time they rolled to a stop and exited their vehicles alongside the fence that defined the trailer park’s boundaries. Keeping his flashlight low, Brax kept an eye on the windows as they approached their target.

“We don’t know whether the girlfriend and kid are inside,” Chance reminded them through the comm system as he took his place behind the trailer.

Brax would’ve bet on it. There were toys in front of the trailer. An inflatable kiddie pool. And a car parked close by. The entire family was probably in there.

He kept this in mind as he crept to the door, waiting for visual confirmation that his brothers were in place before banging his fist against the metal. “Nick Lomax. Come on out.”

It was important to keep his voice strong, firm, but low enough not to shock or startle Nick—or the neighbors, who if they chose to get involved could complicate things.

A light went on in the rear. The sounds of tight, frantic whispering filtered out through the screened window.

“Nick, we’re not here to hurt you or your family. But you can’t keep running. You know you’ll get caught, and it’ll be that much worse for you when you do. Don’t put your family in harm’s way like this.”

There was movement inside. A lot of it. Things getting pushed around, doors opening and closing. The man wasn’t exactly skilled at making a silent getaway.

“Nick.” He rapped harder on the trailer. “This doesn’t have to end badly. Come in with us, and we’ll get it worked out in your favor without having to involve the cops.”

Weston gestured to the window where Nick was visible. His voice rang out in the night air. “I ain’t going back. I’ll shoot you dead before I let anybody take me back.”

Brax’s throat tightened, and he fought to control the tension ratcheting up inside him. One of them had to remain calm and in control.

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” he assured the man. “Notice how we didn’t bring bounty hunters or cops with us. We don’t want to put Darlene or your son in danger.”

“They didn’t do nothing wrong!”

“We know that. Which is why we’re only here to bring you back in. You missed your appearance and a warrant will be issued for your arrest. You know that. We have the trailer surrounded. It’s for the best that you come out now without putting up a fight.”

The baby cried. Not a baby, not anymore, but young enough to instantly bring Walker to mind. What would he do if he were trapped in a trailer with Walker, knowing there were armed men outside? Whatever it took to ensure the kid’s safety, without a doubt.

But how could he say goodbye to him? What if the entire reason he’d run was to be with his child, who he’d now be torn away from?

“Nick, I know you want to be with your family. I get that. But you have to keep them in mind. You’re right. They didn’t do anything wrong. They’re innocent in all this. But you’re dragging them into it now. Don’t you see that?”

Darlene’s crying mixed with the kid’s twisted the knife in Brax’s chest. “You’ve got to do what’s best for them right now, Nick. Which means coming with us. Not putting up a fight. We don’t want any gunfire with a woman and child in the house. And we don’t want to see you get hurt. If you serve your time, you’ll be with your boy in a few years. You try to run and you risk much worse.”

“Bathroom window opened,” Chance whispered in his earpiece. “Looks like he’s going to make a run.”

Weston went around back to prepare for it.

Brax muttered a curse. This was not the way things were supposed to go. “Nick, I need you to talk to me. Where are you? Come on, man. For your son.”

“Please. Don’t shoot him.” That was Darlene near the front door. Her voice was thick with emotion.

“We have no intention of opening fire. I promise you that. But I need him to come out without a weapon. We will defend ourselves if it comes to it.”

“She’ll convince him,” Luke predicted.

Brax wasn’t so sure. The man didn’t want to go to prison. Anybody could understand that.

“For your boy,” he nearly begged. “Let him grow up knowing he has a daddy who loved him enough that he didn’t do anything stupid at a crucial moment. Let him look forward to seeing you again, Nick. You can put this behind you someday. But you have to be smart now.”

His weapon was at the ready, in case their man came out shooting.

The lock flipped. “I’m coming out. I’m unarmed. Don’t hurt my family.”

Brax could’ve collapsed with relief. “We won’t hurt any of you.” Then, more quietly for the sake of his brothers, “He’s coming out through the front.”

Chance and Weston joined him and Luke in time for the door to swing open. “Hey, Nick,” Brax offered. “It’s good to see you.”

By the time he had Nick back in custody and awaiting his rescheduled court appearance, it was nearly dawn. Would Tessa be worried? He hoped she’d managed to get some sleep—the sofa in the reception area was comfortable enough.

Yet she wasn’t out there when he arrived at the office. He entered the code to unlock the door and turn off the alarm, his gaze sweeping the floor as he did. Where was she?

For the briefest moment, just a flash in the back of his mind, Brax imagined Tessa taking Walker and running. Disappearing into the night while he’d been miles away talking a bail jumper out of doing anything stupid.

But no. If she’d left, he would’ve gotten an alert that the alarm had been tripped. Knowing she had to be around somewhere, he could breathe easier as he walked from one room to another looking for her.

He found them in the break room on a pile of blankets on the floor. Tessa slept curled around Walker like she was protecting him.

Brax crouched beside them, content to observe for a moment or two. Walker slept peacefully, his mouth curved into a little bow. What did babies dream about? Diaper rash? No, not if they looked as sweet and comfortable as his nephew did.

Tessa didn’t look so peaceful. Her delicate brows were drawn together, her forehead pinched like she was in pain. What was she dreaming about? Nothing good, that much was clear, especially when she whimpered like a wounded puppy.

It would’ve been mean to leave her that way any longer. Being awake had to be better than whatever was happening in her dream.

“Tessa?” He hesitated to touch her after the stupid kiss earlier, but she wasn’t budging. With a hand on her shoulder, he whispered her name again.

Her eyes flew open, and her body jumped. “What? Huh?”

“Shh, it’s just me. It’s Brax. Everything’s okay.” He stopped short of taking her into his arms to calm her down—barely, since that was all he wanted to do. To hold her and calm her and let her know everything was okay.

She blinked hard, holding a hand to her forehead. “Brax? Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry. I startled you.”

“It’s just that I got a little freaked out, I guess.” She offered a weak little laugh. “All alone here, middle of the night, that sort of thing.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that when I asked you to spend the night here. It must’ve been creepy.” He was careful to speak quietly, and not only for the baby’s sake. Tessa was still spooked.

“At first,” she admitted with a shaky sigh. “But things turned around. And he was an angel the whole time.”

“I’m glad to hear that—though I’m sorry you slept here on the floor. It couldn’t have been comfortable.”

She shrugged. “It was fine. And it’s only been a few hours. Not all that long.”

Before he could dispute this or apologize yet again, she asked, “Did everything turn out okay?”

It took a second for him to understand what she was talking about. “Oh, yeah. It went as well as it could. We took the guy in before anything went wrong.”

“That’s a relief.” She ran a hand over her face, yawning. “What a night for both of us, I guess.”

What would he have done without her? “I can’t thank you enough. I wish I could tell you this sort of thing will never happen again, but I don’t like making promises I can’t keep.”

“I understand. You have an unpredictable job. And I like spending time with this one.” She rubbed Walker’s back with a gentle hand, smiling softly.

The question was out of his mouth before he could even consider thinking twice. “Would you like to make this a full-time arrangement?”

She gulped. “Full-time?”

Now that he’d gotten started, he couldn’t stop. It was like somebody had pulled the plug from a drain.

“You could move into my house—it has three bedrooms, with two on the other side of the house from mine. No strings attached. You’re free to say no. And I hope you know I would never dream of doing anything to make you—”

“Yes.” She touched his knee with a shy smile, cutting off the flow of words pouring from him. “Yes, I would love to do that. Thank you.”

That one touch lit up his insides and convinced him he’d made the right choice.

As long as he could learn to live with a woman and a baby in the house without driving them both insane.