I holstered my gun and grabbed Colin’s arms, scanning him. “Are you hurt?” My voice was firm, controlled.

Blood smeared his fingers, and he showed me his palms, jaw clenched. “Not—not my blood.”

“Good.” I turned to Juliette, letting go of him. “Take Colin. Get in the car. Now.”

Sirens wailed in the distance. Real cops this time.

I searched the bodies, pocketed their wallets, and grabbed the badge. No phones on them. Must’ve left them in their car.

I dragged the bodies out from behind my Maserati. No reason to further scar Juliette and Colin by backing over their corpses.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, I looked at them in the backseat to check on them. Juliette’s hands were shaking, and Colin was stone silent.

I faced forward, throwing the car into reverse. “They weren’t real cops,” I said, voice calm, even though my adrenaline still burned. “Or, at the least, they were crooked. The last place they planned to take you was the station.”

Juliette whispered, “Then why don’t we wait for the real police?”

I exhaled, gripping the wheel as the sirens closed in on us. “Because the last time I was arrested for murder”—I glanced back at her again—“it ended with me becoming a contract killer for the government.”

33. Juliette

Chapter 33

Juliette

We passed multiple police cruisers speeding toward the mall, their red and blue lights flashing. A handful of seconds was all that stood between us and being caught in that mess back there if Constantine had not left the garage in time.

I pulled Colin against me, holding his head to my chest as if he were six, not sixteen. The both of us were trembling and breathing quickly.

“Are you okay?” Constantine adjusted the mirror, his gaze meeting mine. Steady and calm. So much calmer than I felt.

I swallowed. “You used your body as a shield for us. You were ready to take a literal bullet for me back there.” Did that answer his question?

“But are you okay?” He cut through my thoughts, sidestepping my concerns.

“We’re all alive and safe.” That was the best I could give him. “But you . . .”

He switched lanes before his focus returned to me in the mirror. “This is what I do. But you two never should have been in any danger.”

So confident and unwavering. So, everything I wasn’t.

“We can’t lose you.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

His grip on the wheel noticeably tightened. A soft shake of his head, followed by a quiet, “I know,” as he took the allegedly fake badge from his pocket.

“How did you know they weren’t real cops?” I asked, still clutching Colin, hoping the tremors wracking his body would soon stop.