Chapter 39 Sierra
Sierra
Adrenaline jerks me awake. The sound of an explosion—then another.
What the fuck’s going on?
A heavy thud rattles through the walls. My body goes rigid as more sounds crash in around me. Doors slamming. Voices shouting—sharp, urgent, commanding.
For a split second, I’m not here. I’m back in that house. In my bed, small and silent, listening to my father stumble in drunk—the crashes, the shouting, my mother’s tight voice trying to contain something that never stayed contained. Waiting it out. Always waiting it out.
The fog clears fast, my pulse already spiking. I shake my head, dragging myself back to the present.
I don’t need anyone to explain what’s happening.
A police raid.
I turn on my bedside lamp and glance at my phone. Three in the morning. Still dark outside. Jesus.
“Police! Open the door now!” The words echo again and again, chased by guests yelling back, confused and angry. Somewhere down the corridor, a woman screams.
Reid and Luke’s voices cut through the chaos, louder than the rest—angry, controlled, demanding answers.
Heavy footsteps pound past my door. I force myself out of bed, dragging on my clothes with unsteady hands, breath coming too fast, too shallow.
Dressed, I open the door and step into pure chaos.
Police in SWAT jackets move through the hallway with weapons drawn, knocking and pushing into rooms. Guests stumble out in sleepwear, blinking and disoriented, while staff try to calm them and get shoved aside.
Everyone’s talking over each other. No one’s explaining anything.
I keep my head down and move through the noise, threading past people until I reach the entrance, where Reid and Luke are facing off with a man dressed in a SWAT Team jacket over civilian clothes, cowboy boots and a black Stetson.
From his stance and general demeanor, he clearly thinks he’s something special.
“What on earth is happening?” one of the guests demands from his doorway.
He’s wrapped in a black cotton kimono with a gold dragon curling across it, slippers shoved onto his feet, anger sharpening his voice.
“This is a retreat center, not a goddamned drugs factory. Who is in charge of this ridiculous intrusion on our privacy, and what the hell do you think you’re doing? ”
I step in beside Reid, close enough to feel the tension in his body, as the officer replies in a bored tone, “My name is Detective Sergeant Park, sir, and I am in charge.” He flashes a badge. “This is standard procedure.”
“Standard procedure for what? Disturbing innocent people in the middle of the night? On what grounds?”
“We’ve received a report of a kidnapping. We’re checking it out. Now if you could just return to your room—”
“Oh, how ridiculous.” The guest throws up his hands. “This is an abuse of power. I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you should know I will be filing a complaint with your superior.”
“Be my guest.”
“Who made the report?” Luke demands.
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
“It’s bullshit,” Luke snaps, then leans in, lowering his voice.
“I know exactly who put you up to this, and I know why. You tell your boss that whatever he does, I can do better. If he wants to declare war and thinks it ends here, he should think again. He’s not the only one with friends in high places. ”
Detective Sergeant Park’s eyes narrow, then flick to me. “Who are you, miss?”
“No one,” Reid says before I can answer, taking my hand and drawing me slightly behind him. I feel the shift in his stance, protective, deliberate, and some of the tension in my chest eases a fraction. The detective’s gaze lingers on our joined hands, just long enough to show he’s noticed.
Then he shifts gear, trying for something smoother. He spreads his hands in a gesture of ease, a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Look, I know it’s a pain, and I’m sorry we’ve had to disturb you.
But see it from my side. A call like this comes in, we follow it up.
No choice. Best thing you can do is relax and wait it out.
” His tone hardens slightly. “We have a description of the alleged victim. If we find her… we’ll deal with it. If we don’t, we leave.”
“And who’s paying for the door you broke down?” Luke shoots back. “Who’s compensating the guest for the trauma you’ve just inflicted—and the progress you’ve just undone? Not to mention the damage to our reputation.”
The smile slips from Park’s face, replaced by a scowl.
“I’m sure your precious psychos will survive one night without their beauty sleep.”
The mockery lands exactly where it’s meant to. Something dangerous flickers in Luke’s expression, the kind of smile that isn’t a smile at all. “Oh, I’ll be remembering you. Detective Sergeant Park, was it?”
“Luke,” I warn quietly. When he glances at me, I shake my head.
“It’s fine. Let them do their jobs and leave.
” The thought of this spiraling—of Reid, Luke, Tal getting pulled into something worse—sends a fresh spike through me.
My head swims for a second, and I lean into Luke’s side, grounding myself against the solid heat of him.
“Thank you, ma’am,” the detective replies, already turning away as the chaos rolls on around us.
My fingers tighten in Reid’s hand as I take it all in—the shouting, the tension, the way the officers move like they expect to find something. Like they’ve already decided we’re guilty. A cold thread of unease slips under my skin despite everything we’ve done.
But we were ready for this.
Reid and Luke had warned everyone it might happen.
At dinner, they explained about Amanda—how she was hiding from her husband, how far he was willing to go to get her back, even using the police to force the issue.
Amanda confirmed it herself, her voice breaking as she spoke.
By the end, there hadn’t been a dry eye at the table.
Reid gave anyone who felt unsafe the option to leave, full refunds included.
No one took it.
Instead, they closed ranks around Amanda, pulling her into something that felt more like family than a group of strangers. I felt it too—that quiet, collective decision not to let her face it alone.
Even Kane, who’d only been here a few days, stepped forward. Later, he mentioned—almost casually—that he had a handgun and wouldn’t hesitate to use it if things got out of control. Reid shut that down fast.
“Are you sure?” Kane had asked, completely serious. “I used to be special ops. I’m licensed. Trust me, I can take them.”
“The last thing we want is another Waco,” Reid had said, and that ended it, though it drew a few uneasy smiles.
Still, Kane had been useful.
He’d given us insight into how men like Amanda’s husband operate—how they move money, how they hide things. Enough that Reid passed it on to his investigators.
And partly because of that, Amanda is gone now. Safe.
We convinced her to leave, even though she didn’t want to. She stripped herself of anything that could be tracked—jewelry, clothes, everything—and Tal slipped her out in the middle of the night without anyone noticing.
Which means this whole performance?
They’re already too late.
She didn’t want to go at first, terrified to leave the safety of the retreat, but we convinced her it was the only way. She just had to hold on a little longer.
Before she left, she stripped herself of anything traceable—jewelry, clothes, electronic devices—and then, without anyone noticing, Tal slipped her out into the night.
Which means when the police round everyone up into the main living and dining area, they’ve got everyone except the one person they came for. Well… almost everyone.
“Is that everyone?” Park asks his team.
“Yeah, boss. Except for one guy. He’s in the outhouse.”
“Why isn’t he here?”
“We couldn’t get him to come in. He was… difficult.”
They have to be talking about Talon. Luke doesn’t even try to hide his grin.
“What the fuck!” Park barks. “Stop wasting my time and go get him.”
The officer swallows hard, nods, and heads for the door, taking two others with him. Even with three of them, I’m not convinced they’ll manage it if Tal decides he’s not moving.
“There’s supposed to be one more.” Park glances down at a list, then back up at Reid. “Where is she?”
“Where is who?”
“Amanda Barnes. I know she was here. Where is she now?”
Reid shrugs, easy, unbothered. “Clearly not here. Despite what you might think, I don’t keep my clients hostage. They’re free to come and go.”
“So where did she go?”
“I don’t know. She must have checked herself out while I was busy. Usually we give people a proper send-off—dinner, conversation—but she didn’t say anything. Some guests don’t stay in touch.”
“Do you have a number for her?”
“That’s confidential.”
“We’re investigating a crime. Confidentiality doesn’t apply.”
Reid lets out a long, measured sigh. “Are you going to arrest me if I don’t give it to you?”
“You bet your sweet ass I will.”
Reid sighs again. “In that case, the information is in my office. But I want it on record I’m only giving it to you under duress. Follow me.”
Park studies him for a moment. “Any drugs on the premises?”
“Did you find any?”
“Not yet. But we can always look harder. Starting with searching everyone here.”
The threat lands, heavy and deliberate.
My grip tightens on Reid’s hand before I can stop it.
“There are no drugs or unregistered weapons here,” Reid says calmly. “You’re welcome to check. Just so we’re clear—if anything appears that wasn’t here before, we’ll know.”
“Are you accusing us of something?” Park snaps.
“No,” Reid replies mildly. “Just clarifying. Our security system records everything. Constant uploads, full coverage. No blind spots.” He smiles faintly. “Just in case that matters.”
Park holds his gaze a beat too long, something calculating flickering behind his eyes.
“You should also know I’ll be filing a complaint,” Luke adds. “A detailed one. I hope your paperwork is flawless.”
Park’s jaw tightens. He looks from Luke to Reid, then back again, weighing it.
“Fine,” he says at last, voice clipped. He jerks his chin at his team. “ID checks only. No physical searches unless you have cause.”
A few of the officers shift, some of the tension bleeding out of the room.
I hadn’t realized how tight my chest had gotten until it eases a fraction.
“Take me to your office,” Park says to Reid. “The rest of you—finish up here. The faster we’re done, the sooner we’re out.”
After Reid and Park disappear, the remaining officers move through the group, checking IDs, asking questions, trying to claw back some control.
They grow more irritated with every empty answer and every sarcastic comment thrown back at them.
By the time Park returns, his expression says it all.
Nothing.
In the end, Tal stays put in his outhouse, and the police leave with exactly what they came in with.
Nothing.
As their vehicles pull away, the guests erupt—cheers, applause, a forest of raised middle fingers.
“That’s right, assholes!” Kane shouts. “Run along.”
“I wouldn’t mind that Officer Park between my legs,” Key murmurs dreamily. “He reminded me of Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain.”
“Jesus,” Lacey mutters, patting his shoulder. “Aim higher. He’s a cop.”
With sleep now out of the question, everyone drifts toward the dining hall, buzzing with adrenaline and leftover anger. Luke disappears into the kitchen and comes back with snacks like it’s some kind of bizarre after-party.
Talon joins us soon after, confirming they found nothing on him either.
“Nice instincts,” I say quietly to Reid. He squeezes my hand before stepping forward to address the room.
“Thank you,” he says. “All of you. It means more than you know.”
“No problem,” Kane replies. “Nice to stick it to someone for a change.”
“I’d still like to stick it in that officer—”
“Yes, Key, we heard you the first time,” Luke cuts in, dropping a bowl of popcorn chicken onto the table. “Eat something.”
Laughter breaks out, the tension finally cracking.
The day drifts by in a strange, quiet haze. A yoga lesson, a short walk, conversation with one or two of the other guests.
After lunch Reid says he has time to give me another Reiki session just before dinner, and I tell him I’ll go to my room to make some notes and then take a nap, and agree to meet him in the Reiki treatment room at six.
Once I’ve updated my notes, I give a yawn, realizing just how tired I am after all the events of the last few days.
I glance at my phone and see it’s just gone three o’clock, so decide to set my alarm for half-past-five, to give me time to get up and have a quick shower before my Reiki date with Reid.
I undress quickly, and get into bed, my muscles tired, my mind even more so. I let my eyes close, my body finally starting to unwind from the stresses of the last few days. It can’t be much later than nine thirty pm, but I am already beginning to drift into a peaceful slumber.
Half asleep, I hear my door softly open.
Assuming it’s Luke, or maybe even Reid if he’d managed to get away early form whatever he’d had planned between now our planned Reiki session.
I lie there, expectant, my eyes closed, anticipating the creak of the mattress, and a soft hand on my shoulder, followed by a delicate kiss.
But… something’s wrong.
The odor hits first—cheap aftershave, tobacco, stale sweat. Nothing like how Luke or Reid smells.
Then the footsteps. Too quiet. Too careful.
My eyes snap open.
Too late.
A hand clamps over my mouth. A sharp prick bites into my arm—
Then nothing.