Page 62 of Defiant Hearts

He asked another question before he took the pouch. “Do we have an agent name? I want to run a background check on him.”

Carson met his stare. “Denver ran him through the system. He checked out. Clean record, ten years in. Nothing unusual. On paper.”

“But.” He gripped the pouch tighter.

“But he transferred into this case two weeks ago after his predecessor went on medical leave.”

Wyatt narrowed his eyes.

“That doesn’t mean anything, Rhodes. Cases get reassigned all the time. But given who we’re dealing with, I want eyes on Whitley too.” He gave a short nod toward the bag in his hand.

He opened it and dumped the contents into his palm. A chain slithered out—simple and understated. This was Black Heart Security’s idea of keeping Whitley safe? A necklace?

He leveled a look at Carson. “And what caliber bullet does it shoot?”

“Rhodes.”

“Even if it’s a tracker, it’s not enough.”

“No. But it’s information. There’s a transmitter built into the pendant. We’ll have a live location on her the entire time she’s in that building. If anything goes sideways, we’ll know.”

Wyatt turned it over in his palm and his muscles unlocked a fraction, though his jaw was still tight. It wasn’t enough.

Nowhere close to fucking enough.

“So we’re giving her the equivalent of a life-alert necklace.” He met Carson’s stare head-on. “If this meeting is so safe, why does she need this?”

“Because ‘safe’ and ‘guaranteed’ aren’t the same word, and none of us are taking chances. This is why we’re the best in our field—we’re prepared for anything. We cover every base, even the ones we don’t expect to need. Like this.”

Wyatt closed his fist around the pendant, the chain pooling against his palm. He thought about Whitley on that mountain, alone, fighting infection and exposure with nothing but stubbornness keeping her alive. Thought about the things she’d told them about being hunted by Lance and Talon Group. For so long, she’d looked for exit routes before she ever entered a location.

Now they were sending her into a federal building alone, armed with nothing but a piece of jewelry and a promise that somebody vetted somebody else.

“So when are you going to tell her? Because this isn’t going to go well,” Wyatt said.

Carson didn’t answer, and the silence stretched.

Wyatt issued a sound that wasn’t quite a laugh. “That’s what I thought. Don’t worry, boss. I’ll tell her myself.”

He pocketed the necklace and turned for the door. Ayla was on the phone when he passed through the office, but she watched him go, her eyes wide enough to know she’d overheard their conversation.

He didn’t immediately go in search of Whitley. He needed a minute to think, to gather the words to tell her she was going off on her own to do this thing that she would reject.

He went straight to the corral. Standing against the fence, he watched the horses trot around, tails and manes streaming in the spring breeze. The day was clear, the sky a washed-out blue with a few clouds feathered across it.

The horses and the land didn’t offer any insights about how to break the news to Whitley that she had to get in a vehicle with a stranger and give a statement about the murder of a federal agent.

He slipped his hand into his pocket and touched the necklace nestled against the smooth stone. He withdrew both and stared at them, hoping for answers he didn’t receive.

A low whistle carried on the wind, and he looked around to see one of the vets, Truman with his service dog. At Truman’s whistle, a couple horses raised their heads and nosed the air. Catching a whiff of their friend, they turned and trotted toward him.

The man’s face was lined, suggesting dark thoughts weighed on him. Wyatt thought about walking over to him and asking if he was okay but just then, Truman’s face smoothed and he smiled as one of the horses pushed his nose into his hand.

He produced apple slices for all of the horses, gently nudging away those who already ate their share.

Wyatt watched him for another minute. Not for the first time, he realized this place just might be the most healing spot on earth—and that said a lot, when he’d been all over the mountains and valleys and seen the most stunning sunrises and soul-altering sunsets with a woman he loved.

He rubbed his thumb over the smooth part of the stone and slid it and the necklace back in his pocket, then turned toward the lodge.