Page 85 of Cops and Robbers

Kate straddled her scraped-up bike, turned it on, and placed her sunglasses on her face. “Be careful out there, kid, and remember this line is always open.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” June ended the call.

Kate slid her phone into her rear pocket and backed out of her parking spot. You’d better be at the Dusted Tuck, Caige.

She could have walked, but time was of the essence. Her dinged-up headlight barely illuminated the road as she shot through the Chicago streets. A block down from the Dusted Tuck, she parked beside a dumpster in the alley. The air stank of rotten food. Since no easy entrance existed into the Dusted Tuck that wouldn’t get the cops called on her, she’d have to make one. She headed for the ladder on the building next to her, leading up to a fire escape.

She ran at the wall and kicked off to propel herself up. Her hands hit the rungs, jarring her injured fingers. Sweating, she gripped the metal railing, which felt cold and clammy under her grasp. She yanked herself up, abs and arms protesting until she got her feet under her. She raced to the top. Open windows blared music, a cat hissed, and a domestic dispute occurred. On the roof, the wind chopped at her, springing tears into her eyes. She peered over the building’s ledge. The Dusted Tuck sat on the opposite side of the alleyway, a few stories lower than the building she stood on. She swallowed.

The fire escape on Lewis’s building started from the top but stopped on the second floor. She counted up three stories from there. A light shone from the window—her target.

She stepped back from the edge. Licking her dry lips, she shook her hands and ran.

She jumped over the edge, heart in her throat. The railing came up quickly. Rusty pipe slapped against her palms, jamming her fingers. Fuck. She fell a story before she grasped the grated floor, metal digging into her uninjured fingers as she dangled.

“Ouch…” Her arm protested, shaking with pain. She gritted her teeth and pulled herself up onto the ledge. Rubbing her sore arm, she headed up the stairs to the window. A medical bed lay inside with a blue platform raising two wrapped legs into the air.

Caige? Her stomach dropped.

The unlocked window lifted without a sound and oddly didn’t have a screen.

She climbed inside. Mint and orange aromas wafted around the room. Caige lay in the bed before her, one arm wrapped in a cast resting outside the covers. He seemed to have broken both his legs and his arm. His face was covered in shadow as if a shade had been drawn over him, but his sharply chiseled features didn’t shift; instead, they were a stagnant version of the striking man who had first walked into the bar. Was this his true face?

The interior was painted sea-foam green with a pastel pink accent wall. It didn’t match the resting man but seemed appropriate for Lewis’s taste.

Palms sweaty, she headed to Caige’s side. The heart monitor gave a steady cadence, quiet except for the green peak pulsing on the screen. He seemed at peace. Alive. A tear blurred her vision. As she took the first moment to truly breathe since the mission, everything hit her at once. She had taken responsibility for her actions, but this—

Caige almost died because of her. He’d be in the hospital for months. She selfishly lied to the entire team to get what she needed. Deceived and betrayed them. She wasn’t any different from Matsuda and what he had done to her. She’d never forgive Matsuda, and she was sure none of the others would forgive her actions as well. The pain in her chest returned, an ache so raw and bleeding that tears were running down her face before she could stop them. The urge to sprint from the room overcame her, but she wouldn’t run from what she’d done. She came here for a reason.

She grabbed the little Maneki Neko figurine from her pocket and placed it next to the whale lamp. The red cat stared up at her, paw raised. Get well, Caige.

“What are you doing here?” Caige croaked, eyes open.

Kate stilled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Trying to say I’m sorry.”

He scoffed and fidgeted. “It’s not needed.”

It’s…not needed? What did he mean by that?

“Did she get away okay?” he asked, his piercing blue eyes boring into hers.

“Naomi?” She couldn’t believe he’d be worried about the woman who almost killed him. “Yeah, from what I can tell. Matsuda has no idea we took her body.”

He sighed. “Good.”

“Why do you care?”

“Matsuda needs to be stopped.”

“I didn’t mean for you to get in the crosshairs.”

He was silent, so she turned to leave.

“Sit with me for a moment?” he asked, nudging his chin toward the couch beside her.

“I don’t want them to see me, and I have a date with the law.”

Caige lifted his eyebrows as if to say he wouldn’t ask again.