Page 28 of Her Protector Daddies

“Selena, that’s amazing,” Tyler beamed, then he turned away and grabbed his radio from his belt as Jay waved me over to the car.

This was good.

Matt could be the key to putting me back in touch with my father and getting to the bottom of this whole case.

We just had to get to him first.

11

BAILEY

“He fell. There’s no other way I can say it.”

Literally, it was the most simple sentence to describe what happened to the assailant on the roof, but Internal Affairs (IA) were, as always, making me repeat myself until I was blue in the face.

“And you weren’t within touching distance of the suspect?” Mr. Franks from IA adjusted his glasses and then squinted up at me.

“No. I wasn’t.”

“How far away would you say you were?”

I sent a pained glance to my Captain, Captain Aubrey, over his shoulder and grit my teeth. “Like I said earlier, no closer than six feet. Are you having trouble taking notes? Do you need me to write it down?”

“Bailey,” my Captain warned immediately.

I rolled my eyes, huffed out an irritated breath, and then slumped back. “Honestly, I’ve told you this fifteen times already. I have nothing more to say unless you want to hear it in Spanish.”

“No, that’s quite alright, Detective Grant. I have everything I need.” Mr Franks closed his pad and shoved it into a sleek black briefcase.

“So we’re done here?” I asked tightly.

Mr. Franks nodded. “I’ll be in touch when we reach a decision.”

“Am I pulled from active duty?” That was the only question I cared about.

“Given the circumstances, I’d prefer not,” interrupted my Captain, and she pushed off from her leaning spot on the wall. “There’s nothing to suggest Detective Grant did anything wrong here, so I want to keep him as an active officer right now.”

“Fine.” My Franks stood and straightened his tie. “Try to stay off rooftops, Detective Grant.

“Gotcha.” I forced a smile and held it until Mr. Franks left the office, then I slumped forward with a groan and placed my elbows on my knees. “Asshole.”

“He’s just doing his job.” Aubrey returned to her desk, straightening some files then she fixed me with a pointed stare I couldn’t look away from. There were few Officers who had earned my respect like she had.

“I’m vouching for you here, Bailey. Don’t fuck this up.”

“I have no plans to, but I’m not going to mourn some Dorame grunt that couldn’t keep his feet on the ground,” I replied.

“That’s not what I mean. We’ve been after the Dorame for years, and if the case we’re building gets thrown out on account of you being unable to control your temper, I will have your badge.”

I smirked and made a faux wounded noise – deep down, I knew how serious she was. I shared the same sentiment; I was just more willing to smash in some scumbag’s face for answers.

“Did you give Jay the same ultimatum back in the day?”

Aubrey, her gaze down at her desk, froze and her green eyes locked onto me. Her dark brows pinched together and for a moment, I expected her to yell. Instead, she just sighed.

“Jay’s situation was different. He lost his partner, and that does painful things to people when you’ve been together for so long,” she said.

“His partner wasn’t lost,” I scoffed bitterly. “He was killed by Andrés. Funny how often that asshole gets away with murder.”

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