Fatal Exchange by Lisa Harris

gym parking lot, parents were escorting their children to waiting cars. He could only imagine their relief in realizing that their children weren’t the ones being held hostage.
    But eleven others hadn’t been so fortunate. Tess, Emily . . . He knew their faces and stories. Knew their family and their love for God. And even those he didn’t know, they had families—moms, dads, brothers and sisters . . .
    God, this one is hitting far too close. I need some perspective.
    He struggled for words. Learning how to pray had become a sequence of baby steps as his faith grew. Letting go and depending on someone else to lead his life had been an even bigger challenge. But lately he’d found a deeper peace as he sought to let God become his biggest source of strength. He was tired of depending on himself.
    Because after his years on the force, the evil in the world still managed to surprise him sometimes. And in his weakness, God’s power seemed magnified. But even that realization didn’t make days like today easy. He’d seen so much evil and hurt that if the desire to fight for justice wasn’t so strong, he’d have jumped ship years ago for some eight-hour shift in a monotonous downtown office. Life was full of evil men who made evil choices. That was a fact of a fallen world. A fact that had prompted him to finally put his trust in a Savior.
    But now Emily was caught up in the fallout of some of those evil choices. He shook off the urge to rush in there and rescue her himself. For some crazy reason, he wanted—needed—to protect her. But Emily Hunt wasn’t that twenty-year-old college student anymore, or just his best friend’s baby sister. Too much had happened since then. Michael’s death, Avery’s accusations, and the department’s investigation into his role in the incident. He might have come out clean to the higher-ups, but Avery had yet to drop her investigation. And Emily was a Hunt.
    There was also the issue of Emily’s former relationship with Charlie. Mason had been at the Hunts’ house to see Michael the day she’d announced her engagement to Charlie. He’d finally dug up the courage and was going to ask her out again that day, not realizing that Charlie had gone from first date to a serious relationship in a matter of weeks.
    He’d stood in the Hunt living room, watching her show off her engagement ring that was the size of a Georgia peach. She was wearing something vintage. Something completely Emily. He’d walked out the door, leaving his feelings for Emily behind. Orat least he thought he had until today. But whatever he felt—or didn’t feel—toward Emily didn’t really matter right now.
    His phone beeped with a message and he pulled it out of his pocket to read the text.
    Rafael’s being manipulated.
    Mason felt the punch to his gut as he read Emily’s message. He stared out across the grassy slopes, soggy from the rain, the words replaying in his mind. He’d considered his mother’s disappearance as leverage, but manipulation?
    He typed in a new message.
    Tell me what you know.
    ———
    Emily hesitated with her response. If she’d somehow read Rafael wrong, she could be putting the lives of all of the students on the line by communicating with Mason. Rafael had let Tess go and was now pacing the front of the room, like he’d done most of the morning, quietly focused. Nothing had changed, except now he was keeping his head turned away from her.
    On purpose?
    Her gut told her yes. Because being wrong wasn’t an option. Someone could die if she’d misread the situation. He was turned away from her on purpose. Giving her a chance to do something to help put a stop to this.
    At this point, though, she had no idea how any of them could stop what was happening without someone else getting hurt. And if someone was watching Rafael, watching all of them . . .
    Tell me what you know.
    Emily read over Mason’s message again. She’d contemplated contacting her sister or her father,