Teresa shrugged. “I don’t know. Thirty minutes? An hour? I couldn’t tell you.”
Alex didn’t bother to answer her disrespect with words. He paced across the room, moved into her space, pushed forward even as she stumbled backward. Alarm replaced anger on her face. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t stop, either, until she had moved back and caught against the far wall. Movement flashed in the corner of his eye as Joseph ducked down further with a whimper. He hated Teresa for this. If she gave a single damn about her child’s well-being, she would have cooperated. He’d have searched the house, been on his way to find Lena. But no, she had to try to prove how clever she was.
Except she wasn’t clever, or strong, or tough. She was nothing like her sister. He had a new appreciation for why Lena had fled Azcon to make her home in an abandoned gas station in the middle of Kewa country.
“How long ago did she leave?” He breathed the question directly in her face as he stared down at her.
Teresa swallowed. “Twenty minutes. Maybe almost thirty? No more.”
He waited, holding the invasion of her space, drawing it out.
“I swear,” she blurted. “Twenty, twenty-five minutes. She ran out of here. And she really won’t be back.”
He understood. He was leaving, and he never wanted to return either.
He backed away. His heart wanted him to check on Joseph, but his head knew what he’d see: a terrified child, shrinking away from the Council agent, marked for life by the encounter. His lips twisted. Generally, he could assure himself that the things he had to do in order to change the world for the better didn’t make him a bad person. Sometimes, like today, he couldn’t avoid the truth. He was a very bad man. He did bad things. That he did them for a good reason didn’t pardon him.
He left them. The gate swung open behind him. He hoped her neighbors scuttled over and stole all of her damn pretentious pecans.
***
Alex rapped at Ace’s apartment door, holding himself stiff. He’d experienced the pain of broken ribs before. He’d also been under the gun, literally and figuratively, trying to make things happen against the odds. The fact that Lena had him wound so tight was not good.
He raised his hand to knock again, his ire rising. Would they have the audacity to take off on him?
Ace opened the door. He stood framed in the narrow opening for a long, silent moment, his eyes hooded and smoldering with banked anger. Finally, he stepped back.
A long breath eased from Alex. She was here.
He only made it a few steps into the living area before he felt the shift in pressure behind him as Ace moved in fast. His ribs slowed his reaction. Before he’d even managed to make a quarter turn, he felt the hand drop to the back shoulder of his shirt, and Ace spun him around. Alex gasped, and then held his breath.
“Stop doing that,” he managed to grit out. “My damn ribs are broken.”
“Good. That’s an excellent start. Because I tell you now, more than your ribs are going to be broken if you don’t explain yourself in the next five minutes.” Clearly, Ace had been catching up with Lena.
He took a shallow, tired breath. This would be pointless. Nothing he could say would appease the big man. “I did what I had to under the circumstances.”
Ace scowled, shaking his head.
“And actually, I did exactly what I told you I would.”
“You told me you’d protect her.”
“I told you I would get her to safety. And I did. And if you’ll notice, I’m still working on doing that.” Alex pointed a finger in Ace’s face. “I also told you I was running out of time and at some point my hands would be tied.”
“Your hands would be tied? You shot her. You shot her. Then you handed her over to them.” Ace’s chest heaved. His lips thinned.
“I stunned her. And at that point, I had to. Lucas would have had her in custody in a matter of moments, and I had to be sure I would be included in her interrogation. It was the only way I could think to buy the time to figure out how to get her out of there.” It sucked. It did. But it had been the first step to saving her. Did he even stand a chance at making Ace understand it?
“You stunned her? You betrayed her.” Ace all but snarled rage and frustration at Alex.
Nope, not a chance. He sighed. “I never intended for her to stay in custody. It was just something that had to happen to buy time. There is more at stake than—”
“Like Mercedes’s death?” Ace’s voice rose now, enough that any neighbors at home might hear. Alex needed to end the conversation now. But Ace shouted, “You said you would keep her safe—”
“And you think I haven’t?” Alex interrupted. “I’ve risked everything to help her. Who the hell are you to tell me you don’t like the way I’ve done it? She would be dead right now if not for me. Dead or worse.”
“Or worse?” Ace scoffed. “I’ve got news for you, man. There ain’t anything worse than dead.”