Page 48 of Critical Strike

Like the seven hours he’d spent with Detectives Arellano and Fisher.

He had a hard time believing neither of them was dirty, or at least being pushed from behind by the large, firm hand of one Vance Ballard. Weston still couldn’t offer insight into the two of them, which meant he had no way of smoothing things over or asking them to pull back a little. They weren’t his former colleagues, unlike the local San Antonio cops.

Luke had known that going in.

But seven hours of constant questions had worn his nerves to their breaking point. No amount of preparation could keep his frustration at bay, though he’d fought against it until the end. He repeated the story he and his brothers had come up with, right down to the smallest detail, giving neither detective so much as an inch they could slide a wedge into.

If he’d been frustrated, they’d been near the end of their ropes by the time the questioning wrapped up. It was clear they had an end in mind, a goal—drawing connections between him and Claire, figuring out what role he played in this. Whether they could use him to get to her or not.

They’d had no idea who they were dealing with going into the questioning. He figured they had a pretty good idea by the time they’d finished, though.

“Do you really want to protect a murderer?” Fisher had asked more than once.

“You know she shot that cop, too, right?” Arellano had demanded. Luke still wondered, hours later, how much the two of them knew. Whether they believed Claire had been behind it or if they were aware of Ballard’s henchmen.

Better to stick to the prepared answers Weston had helped coach him through before the interrogation. Claire was appealing, big-eyed and in need of protection. He hadn’t asked too many questions because he couldn’t have imagined she’d be wrapped up in something this big. She’d asked for help, had made him feel like the only one who could provide it—she’d played on his protective instincts.

Even as the words had soured in his mouth, he’d watched understanding dawn on the faces of the men in front of him. Probably identifying with the sentiment. He was surprised his teeth were still intact after grinding them so hard.

In the end, there’d been no way to prove he wasn’t telling the full truth, and no way to connect him and Claire. Even if they knew about her time in the Skyline Park group home, his name hadn’t been Patterson then.

His release had come as a relief, but not a total win because they’d still be watching.

Which meant doing something he couldn’t have imagined being capable of at this particular time—going into the office like it was an ordinary day and pretending to work for hours. All that had kept him in place was knowing Claire was safe. Brax had taken her someplace and was guarding her while Luke and the rest kept up the charade of everything being status quo.

One memory of those long, tense hours made him smile—the fact that two weeks’ worth of filing had been done for him by Maci Ford, the new office manager his brothers had hired. His office was much easier to kill time in without those files staring at him. It would be nice to meet the person responsible for that.

Once this was over. Once life felt like life again.

For the afternoon, all he could do was look forward to being with Claire. He trusted Brax with his life, but there was nothing that could touch the certainty of having her in his arms. Seeing as how Brax couldn’t tell him where he’d planned to take Claire for the sake of keeping Luke honest when he claimed he had no idea where she was, his anxiety had been through the roof.

Even Luke was impressed with what his brother had come up with. Chance always was the tactical mastermind. He’d found four cars of the same make and model, and working together, they’d crisscrossed all over town. Trading cars in parking lots, beneath overpasses. Talking on the phone all the while, just in case anyone was listening, comparing notes on their favorite teams and player stats the way any group of brothers would. Like there was nothing out of the ordinary going on.

That was what outsiders didn’t understand, and it was the Pattersons’ most powerful weapon—the fact that they were brothers, not simply business associates. They’d go out of their way to have one another’s backs, would spend hours leading anyone on their trail on a wild-goose chase. All for the sake of protecting one of them.

And what mattered most in the world to him.

After two hours, Luke had finally landed in the car holding Claire and Khan in the back seat, the two of them lying low to avoid notice. That was when he’d finally been able to breathe without a weight on his chest. Chance had continued the game with the tail following his car, thinking Luke was the driver.

Luke, meanwhile, was on his way out of town with his woman and her cat-dog safe and secure.

He was only a few miles away from his destination. Nobody knew about this place. It wasn’t even on the grid, using a generator and solar panels to keep it powered up. The perfect hiding spot.

Though that wasn’t what his parents had intended, obviously. Back in the day, it was a getaway. Somewhere to disconnect from the pressures of the world, somewhere for their dad to teach them to fish, where they could breathe fresh air outside the city.

In other words, an ideal location for him and Claire to spend a few days. She needed the rest, needed to feel secure for a little while. They could come up with a plan for moving forward once they had the time to reset.

He was still thinking along those lines as he turned off the main road onto the rocky trail leading up to the cabin. The change in terrain left the car swaying a little, which stirred Claire into wakefulness. “Is this Lake Conroe?” she mumbled, still sleepy.

Even now, she struck him as hopelessly adorable, rubbing sleep from her eyes before immediately looking to check on Khan. “Almost. Just a few minutes more.”

“I can’t wait to stretch my legs.”

“I’ll bet. Cramped up in a car for hours.” But she’d held on, going with the flow. She might’ve been the strongest woman he knew, except for maybe his mom.

That thought lingered in his mind as he pulled closer to the cabin.

And found the lights on inside.