, ་ Chapter 1 The mayor's son was being held hostage . I had my rifle ready , finger on the trigger , just waiting for the order . [ ] But my husband - the team leader - suddenly called a halt . ] We had to wait for his first love , some negotiation expert , to " talk things through . " [ ] However , her negotiation was a total disaster . ] She kept hemming and hawing , which only pissed off the hostage - taker even more . His knife started cutting into the kid's throat . [ ] I'd seen enough. One shot , clean kill , hostage saved . [ ] Afterward , the negotiator got ripped apart by the team and ended up in a psych ward . [ ] My husband said nothing . Just sent me undercover with a crime syndicate on the very next mission . [] Then , right before the bust , he leaked my location to the gang . ] They found me , tied me to a lamppost , and carved me up piece by piece until I bled out . [ ] The last thing I saw was my husband in the distance , telling that negotiator : " We're even now . " When I woke up again , I was back - seven minutes before it all went down . ] Same psycho in the same spot , hostage in his grip . [ ] I eased my finger off the trigger . ] This time , I wasn't in any hurry . [ ] The kid ? I'll save him . ] These two assholes ? Let's see how they FUCKING DIG THEMSELVES OUT OF THIS HOLE . [ ] -.0 " Seven minutes left on the clock ! What's the status ? Any word from inside ? " " SWAT and bomb squad are in position . Is negotiation working or not ? We're ready to breach ! " ] This was the fourth time the deputy commander had barked over the comm channel , and once again , Detective Ryan Sterling's response was nothing but raw fury . " I'm gonna say this one more time - you're the DEPUTY ! Who the hell gave you permission to run your mouth ? Everything goes through me . Got it ?! " " Nina's got this . First time in the field , sure she's nervous - that's normal . Give her some space . She'll pull through . " But the deputy wasn't having it . He was stationed on the floor above the hostage situation , and through his earpiece , he could hear everything going down . " Nina Walsh has been making things worse this whole time ! Every word out of her mouth is setting this guy off ! If the hostage dies , can you live with that ? " ]] Ryan didn't hesitate - he cut the deputy's comm access entirely and snarled into his headset : [ ] " When I say wait , you WAIT ! Save the commentary ! " ] Then he whipped around to face me : " Claire , what's your read on this ? " I eased my finger off the trigger and replied evenly : ] " I'm with Ryan . He's lead commander - we follow orders . " [ ] Ryan clearly wasn't expecting that response . He paused for a beat , then jumped back in : [ ] " You hear that ? THAT'S what a real partner sounds like ! " ] All units , listen up ! No one moves without my green light ! Nobody does anything until I give the word " ] Chepter 1 Through my scope , I watched the hostage - taker . His face was flushed red , breathing ragged , the knife in his hand trembling . The guy was about to snap . Meanwhile , their so - called " negotiation specialist " Nina Walsh kept talking - and talking , and talking - like she was giving some kind of TED talk , completely oblivious to the fact that this maniac was one word away from losing it completely . [ ] THIS was Ryan's idea of " professional talent" ? [ ] The entire building was wired with explosives . One press of that remote , and we'd all be picking debris out of our teeth - if we lived long enough . [ ] But Ryan was dead set on letting his rookie negotiator " learn on the job , " using our lives as training wheels . [ ] In my past life . I'd been too eager . At the critical moment , I took the shot and saved the terrified hostage . [ ] Nina's useless performance was witnessed by the entire team . Back at headquarters , she became the office joke . Everyone who saw her had something snarky say . Playing Russian roulette with everyone's lives and only getting roasted for it ? The team was being generous . She couldn't handle the pressure and eventually resigned . checking herself into a psychiatric facility . As for me ? Because I'd saved the hostage , I got promoted . Ryan never said a word about it . But on the very next mission , he assigned me to go undercover with a crime syndicate . [ ] Just before we were supposed to close the net , I'd barely gotten into position when Ryan leaked my location to the gang . They found me , tied me to a lamppost , and carved me up piece by piece . The last thing I saw before I died was Ryan in the distance , talking into his phone : " We're w0 even now . Didn't take a genius to figure out he was settling the score for Nina . ] This time around , I'm not making the same mistake . Let's see just how long you two can keep this charade going . ] ] Five minutes left . [ ] Everyone in the building was holding their breath - everyone except Nina Walsh , who stood facing the hostage - taker looking completely chill : [ ] " Hey , buddy , easy does it . Put the knife down and let's just talk this through . " " Look , the knife isn't helping anyone here . Let him go , and we can work this out like civilized people , okay ? " Her voice crackled through our Bluetooth earpieces . Everyone was thinking the same thing - THIS was supposed to be professional negotiation ? ] " Does she actually know how to talk to people ? She's been repeating the same two lines ! " ] " If two sentences could make a psycho drop his weapon , what the hell do they need SWAT for ? Is she brain - dead ? " " Jesus Christ ! We're sitting here while she runs her mouth ? Commander , let's just move already ! Of course Nina could hear every word . Through my scope , I watched her actually POUT right in front of the hostage - taker , looking like a kicked puppy as she whined : " Well if you think you can do better , be my guest ! " ] ] " Ryan . I'm done here . They're being mean to me ! " And then - I swear I'm not making this up - her voice started cracking like she was about to cry . The entire comm channel went dead silent . [ ] Someone finally exploded : " Lady , this isn't a damn tea party ! Have you lost your mind ? " ] A few of the hothead officers let her have it . ] That was Nina's breaking point . She stormed toward the exit , pounding on the door : [ ] " Open up ? Let me out ! I quit " ] Look , pulling her out wasn't the issue - but she was heading straight for our trap point . If she came through that exit , it would blow our entire setup . [ ] The officer who'd just finished setting up the position was livid : [ ] " We went out of our way to secure that exit ! We already told you not to use that route ! What is fucking wrong with you ?" [ ] Before anyone else could respond , Ryan's voice cut through : [ ] Chapter 1 " Enough ! Clear that position and let Nina through ! " " Anyone else wants to mouth off , you're getting muted too ! I said follow orders ! " [ ] Nina actually GIGGLED when she heard that - right in front of the hostage - taker : [ ] " Aww , Ryan always has my back . He's the sweetest ! " Even the psycho with the knife started laughing - but not the good kind . [] " Oh , that's rich ! You cops sent me a freaking comedian ? You think this is some kind of joke ? " ] His right hand tightened around the hostage's throat while his left dug into his pocket , pulling out the detonator . [ ] " You want to play games with me ? Fine ! Nobody's walking out of here alive ! " ] With revenge - driven nutjobs like this , you had to stroke their ego , make them feel important - anything to keep them calm and buy time . [ ] Even someone like me , who's primarily tactical , knew this basic rule . But this so - called " expert " had been lecturing him like a school principal , hitting every single trigger . The warning crackled through everyone's earpiece : suspect has raised the detonator and may activate at any moment . ] Every officer in that building felt their heart stop . One button press , and we were all toast . [] The SWAT team leader finally lost it , making an emergency request : " Commander ! SWAT requesting immediate breach ! Suspect is completely unstable ! I repeat , requesting immediate breach ! " [ ] " 1 repeat " was the code for critical situation - meaning the scene had reached the breaking point and command needed to act NOW . My finger locked onto the trigger again . Protecting civilians - that's what we swore to do . ] But Ryan's response was the same as always : [ ] " Stand down ! Wait until Nina is clear , then we move ! " ] " Aww , Ryan's the best ! I knew you'd protect me ! " [ ] Nina was practically purring over the comm , but nobody was in the mood for her cutesy act . 1 Right now , everyone in that building was hanging by a thread . Nobody was laughing . Nobody had any fight left in them . [ ]