There was a cop-turned-detective in this car, and even without her Sig . . . even sporting painful injuries . . . she was more equipped to deal with him than he could ever suspect—if she could do so without endangering Kayla.

Unfortunately, that was a big if.

But unless Zeke and his crew or her own people figured out how to find them, it was going to be up to her to see that the two of them got out of this alive.

After relieving one of the surveillance agents assigned to Hernandez, Zeke parked a few doors down from Eduardo’s house and hunkered down in his car. The agent stationed in back was more likely to spot activity if the man drove out the alley, but due to the high stakes, they were covering all the bases tonight.

He’d have put agents front and back too if he was running this takedown.

The gentle snow that had begun falling wasn’t helping visibility, however.

He flicked on the wipers. At this rate, he’d have to clear the windshield every couple of minutes—not ideal if he wanted to stay under the radar.

Since no one was lingering outside on this cold night, however, his presence might not be noticed.

He pulled out his cell. If Hernandez stayed put, they wouldn’t be moving in for the arrest for six hours. This was a perfect time to connect with Cate.

Keeping the phone below window level, he clicked on her name. Put the cell to his ear.

When the call went straight to voicemail, a tingle of alarm raced through him.

Her cell was turned off or not receiving a signal.

Where was she?

What was she doing?

Had she been in touch with her own people in the past hour?

Were there any hits yet on the partial license plate number he’d passed on to the office?

He wanted answers.

Keeping watch on Eduardo’s front door, Zeke keyed in the number for his handler—who’d spoken with the County PD after Zeke’s unexpected reunion with Cate. He ought to have a number or two he could pass on. It would expedite the process to talk with someone who was already aware of the overlapping investigations. Plus, County had been briefed on the takedown tonight and was providing backup personnel. At this stage, the two agencies were working in tandem.

His handler answered on the first ring, clearly distracted.

Join the club.

But the man did scroll through his calls from early January and pass on the number for Cate’s sergeant.

Too bad it wasn’t a name he recognized from his tenure with County.

“Any news on the cab?” He squinted at a shadowed movement behind the drawn shades in Eduardo’s unit.

“Yeah. I was getting ready to call you. We identified the cab and the driver about ten minutes ago. You want to pass the info on to County, or shall we?”