Luke sat at his desk, his eyes scanning over the spreadsheets he'd recovered from the strip club on the job. He hadn't slept in days, too wired, too anxious. His mind was constantly on Riley—where she was, what was happening to her. Every lead they followed had hit a dead end. But he wasn't giving up. Not on her.

As he flipped through the documents, something caught his eye. A name. Torres. He frowned, staring at it.

It didn't make sense at first. Riley Torres? He leaned closer, squinting at the columns of numbers and names, trying to make sense of it. His mind raced as he cross-referenced more pages, and then his stomach dropped.

There it was again. Torres.

Twice.

He flipped back and forth between the documents, a horrible realization dawning on him. Riley had mentioned she'd had older brothers- two of them. Luke wracked his brain, trying to remember their names as he braced his fists against his desk.

And then it dawned on him.

Luke froze, his hand resting on the edge of the drawer. That damn file. He hadn't looked at it in months, hadn't even wanted to think about it since the night Riley had found it in the car and stormed the entire three kilometers back to the station, furious with him. The memory still stung: the way her eyes blazed, her voice low and sharp as she accused him of not trusting her, of prying into her life like she was a suspect instead of a partner. He'd almost thrown the report away that night, convinced it wasn't worth the wedge it drove between them. But something had stopped him.

Now, with her missing, the file felt like the only thing tethering him to her. His fingers trembled slightly as he yanked open the drawer and shoved aside old papers and half-empty notebooks. He spotted the corner of the folder, its edges worn and soft from being shoved to the back of the drawer months ago.

He pulled it out and stared at it for a moment, a lump rising in his throat. Inside was everything he'd learned about her life before the badge: her troubled upbringing, the haunting detail about her younger brother, and the brothers she never talked about.

As Luke flipped the file open, his hand froze on the second page. A small, grainy photo of Riley stared back at him, secured to the page with a paper clip—a picture of her in her academy blues, her face unsmiling but determined. For a moment, he couldn't move, his thumb brushing the edge of the page like touching it too hard might ruin it. The sight of her hit him like a punch to the chest. He didn't just miss her presence, her quick wit, or the way she challenged him at every turn—he missed her laugh, the fire in her eyes when she was pushing herself harder than anyone else dared. He thought of her now, somewhere out there, and his stomach churned with fear.

He clenched his jaw and grabbed the picture from the file, tucking it into his pocket. Flipping through the rest of the documents, he scanned the pages quickly until the names leaped out at him. Michael and Kyle Torres.

His heart thudded painfully as Kyle's name echoed in his mind. Kyle Torres. The man he'd met at the club just a few nights ago. The man who had stepped in to handle things after Riley stabbed Cole. Luke's stomach dropped as he turned another page, his eyes landing on the grainy photo of Riley's brothers.

Kyle. It was him. Luke's breath hitched as he stared at the picture, remembering the man's calm, commanding presence, the way he'd effortlessly taken control of the situation.

His thoughts spiraled as he pieced things together. Kyle had said they couldn't find anything on the girl who stabbed Cole. If Kyle had seen the footage, he would've recognized Riley instantly.

Luke's throat tightened. They'd known. Kyle had known who she was. The realization hit him like a gut punch. They'd recognized Riley in that footage and kept it quiet. Not because they wanted to protect her, but because they wanted to handle her themselves.

They had her.

Luke slammed his hand on his desk and bolted up from his chair, heading straight for Sergeant Donnelly's office. He couldn't waste another second.

"We need everyone, now," Luke said, bursting through Donnelly's door. "It's Riley's brothers. They're involved, and they've got her."

Donnelly didn't ask questions. He saw the fire in Luke's eyes, the raw urgency, and within minutes, the station was alive with movement.

---

**Riley's POV**

Riley kept her eyes on Mike as he walked Carl to the door and locked it behind him. As he returned to the kitchen to presumably begin to plan for the shipment with Kyle, Riley scoffed at him.

"Sinclair, Mike? Really?" She shook her head as he narrowed his eyes on her. "You were always a lot of things, but I didn't realize stupid was one of them."

"You don't know what you're talking about, you useless bitch." Mike spat.

"I know that Sinclair is notorious for killing off his own guys almost as much as his enemies," Riley said coolly. "That's why the police can't make anything stick to him- nobody lives to tell the tale." She let out a heartless laugh. "I don't even have to try to escape now - eventually you idiots will just never come back."

"Enough!" Kyle threw his beer bottle with enough force that it smashed on the wall above her head, showering her in beer and glass shards. His face was contorted in rage as he pointed a finger at her. "Keep this shit up and we'll bring Carl back and tell him he doesn't have to mind his business."

Riley was silent for a few moments, her heart crumpling as she looked between the two men who used to be her heroes. She blinked a few times, refusing to cry as she turned her head, unable to look at them any longer.

"How did we get here?" She whispered, to no one in particular.

Kyle, who had been pacing the room, finally stopped and looked at her with a broken expression. "You left us. You think you can just walk away and pretend none of this matters? We were supposed to protect each other! I failed you, and I failed Josh..."

Riley's breath hitched in her throat. She stared at Kyle, hearing the genuine regret in his voice, but her own heart hardened. "You did," she said quietly, her voice laced with hurt and pain. "You failed us both."

Kyle's face crumpled for a moment, but he quickly masked it with anger, the guilt too much to bear.

Mike spoke again, his voice low. "You're making a big mistake, Riles."

She crossed her arms, glaring at both of them. "Maybe. But at least I'll be able to live with myself."

Kyle shook his head. "You don't understand, Riley. You said you've heard of Sinclair? What do you think he'll do if he finds out that two of his best runners have a cop sister who has been snooping around his operation?"

Riley froze. "He... he knows about me?"

Kyle stopped pacing and leveled her with a hard stare. "You've got a target on your back now—for the rest of your life, however short that might be. And believe me, it's going to be short if you don't start listening to us."

Riley's jaw clenched. "You're the ones who put me in this position," she hissed. "You dragged me into this mess—"

Suddenly, there was a thunderous knock at the door. "Police! Open up!" Luke's voice boomed, and relief flooded through her.

Her brothers shot each other panicked looks, and Riley's heart leapt as Kyle reached for the gun on his belt.

Before anyone could move, the front door burst open, and the room filled with uniformed officers. Guns were drawn, and the air was electric with tension.

"Hands in the air!" Luke's voice boomed, cutting through the chaos.

Mike and Kyle froze, their hands slowly rising as officers swarmed them.

Riley couldn't move, her body shaking with adrenaline and fear. She barely had time to register what was happening before she saw him. Luke. His eyes locked onto hers the moment he entered the room.

As officers began to read her brothers their rights and haul them away in cuffs, Luke crossed the room in two strides, dropping to her side. "Riley," he breathed, his voice low and soft. "Are you okay?" His grip on her arm tightened.

She nodded, still in shock. "I'm fine, I just—" Her voice wavered for a moment. "I just need to be alone right now."

Luke's eyes flickered with concern, but he didn't push as an officer with bolt cutters approached and released her restraints. Luke glanced over his shoulder and flagged down a paramedic, but Riley quickly shook her head.

"I don't need that. I'm fine," she insisted. She could feel the adrenaline still coursing through her veins, but she wasn't hurt. Not physically, at least.

Luke hesitated but finally relented. "Okay. Let's get you out of here." He guided her outside, where the cool evening air hit her like a slap to the face. Without another word, they both climbed into a squad car, the silence between them heavy as they began the drive back to the station. Tension swirled between them.

Riley stared out the window, the city lights blurring past, her hands still shaking slightly from the adrenaline of the rescue. She could feel Luke glancing at her, his worry radiating off him in waves, but she wasn't ready to face him yet. Not after everything.

"You okay?" Luke's voice was quiet, strained, but steady enough that it almost fooled her into thinking he wasn't as wrecked as he clearly was.

"I'm fine," Riley said, her voice hollow. She didn't feel fine. But she couldn't let herself unravel, not here, not now.

"Riley," Luke pressed, his hands gripping the steering wheel tighter as his Adam's apple bobbed. "Talk to me. Please."

She turned her head to look at him, his face illuminated by the dim glow of the dashboard lights. His jaw was tense, his knuckles white on the steering wheel, and his eyes... his eyes held so much emotion that it made her chest tighten.

"You gave up the whole job to come after me," she said quietly, guilt tugging at her insides. "You were so close, Luke. You were undercover for months, making real progress. Now it's all gone because of me."

Luke's eyes flickered with frustration, but also something softer. "I don't care about the job. I care about you."

His words hung heavy in the air, and Riley had to look away, her heart clenching painfully. She didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve him putting her first.

"What about your cover? Is it blown?" she asked, shifting the focus, her voice almost mechanical.

"Yeah," Luke said, exhaling sharply. "I'm out. Officially pulled from the op. They'll have to assign someone else to take it over now."

Riley felt a pang of guilt, knowing how much work he had put into getting in with Sinclair's crew, knowing how dangerous it was for him. And he'd thrown it all away for her. "You shouldn't have done that," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"How could I not?" Luke shot back, his voice low, strained. "You were in danger, Riley. There was no choice."

Riley swallowed hard. "There's always a choice."

Luke shook his head, frustrated as he stared out the windshield.

She faced the window again, her mind numb. "The man running the gun operation is Sinclair. My brothers work for him, and he knows who I am now," she said after a moment, her voice quiet but steady. "He knows everything."

Luke's head snapped toward her, panic flashing across his face. "What? Riley, that's serious. You're in danger—real danger."

"I know." Riley's calm response seemed to only heighten his panic.

"What do you mean, 'you know'? We have to get you somewhere safe, we need to figure this out—"

Riley felt a lump in her throat. It was all too much. "Luke-"

"Don't." He said softly.

Riley blinked tears away, her voice fragile. "Whatever this is-"

"Riley-"

"It needs to stop."

Luke said nothing, every muscle in his body tense.

"The time we spent together," Riley swallowed, hating every word that was coming out of her mouth. "It was a mistake."

Luke said nothing as he stared at her, jaw clenched.

"I'm not dragging you down with me," she continued, her words harsher than she intended, but she needed him to understand. "We can't keep doing this. It'll only hurt you the closer we are."

He shook his head, clearly not willing to accept it. "No, this isn't right. I'm not going to let you push me away just because you think you're protecting me."

"It's not just about protecting you," she said softly, turning to face him fully. "It's about protecting both of us. If we keep getting closer... we'll both end up hurt. And I can't do that to you. I won't."

Luke's jaw clenched, his eyes burning with frustration, but she could see the resignation starting to settle in. He didn't like it—he hated it—but part of him understood.

He looked back at the road, his hands still gripping the wheel, the tension between them palpable. "So... that's it?" he asked quietly, his voice raw.

Riley nodded, though the motion felt like a dagger twisting in her chest. "Yeah. That's it."

The rest of the drive was silent, the weight of her decision pressing down on her. When they finally arrived at the station, Riley opened the door without looking back at him and went inside.

********************

Author Note

*Sobs of devastation* 

This one sucked to write :( 

Do you think they will find their way back to each other?

Is Sinclair going to find Riley?

Vote and comment!!!