Page 63 of To Have and to Hold

“You can’t come, man,” Levi said—unnecessarily—and followed Knox.

“That kind of news can’t possibly keep me here,” I said to their backs, and decided, fuck it, and followed them down the hall.

Levi said over his shoulder, “Look, hang out in Interrogation One. Emme’s parents are in there and maybe you could—”

Knox rounded. “We may have him, Spence. This case has been blown wide open, which means we can’t have anything fuck it up. You’ve been through this grind before and know exactly what our next steps are. Bringing him in, questioning him, finding where he’s hidden Emme—all of it.” He stepped up to me, the window sending spotlights of the night-lit city onto his form. “It’s not my goal to be an asshole here. But there are points when you have to defer to the level heads. And I’m asking you to do that.”

Knox’s patience was colossal and a minuscule piece inside regretted contorting him the way I had, but we were meant to be pros, and as such, professionals had their own ways of crafting loopholes and getting their way. Right now, I was in Knox’s way.

“Save her.” The burn spread, leaving charred craters in its wake.

Knox pulled me into a surprising, quick hug. He said close to my ear, “I will do everything to get that done.”

He smacked me on the back when he let go. His footsteps receded, Levi’s quiet rumblings fading, and I stood in the empty hallway for a while, staring out into the city I thought I could take by storm, but instead it was Emme stuck in the eye of a hurricane.

I’d forgotten how it was with us, how visceral that love was. Even worse, I couldn’t remember why I let her go.

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