Page 60 of Draven

Shelton raises his head. “Rhodes. About goddamn ti—” He trails off the moment he spots Kevan behind me. Frowning, he snaps, “What’s this, Rhodes?”

“Procedure, Sergeant Shelton,” Kevan replies on my behalf, closing the door behind him. “Procedure. Y’know, since y’all are incapable of following it and all.” He throws his arms out to the side. “I’m here to make sure you do.”

I like this guy. A lot. The knot in my gut unwinds, and for the first time this morning, I relax my shoulders.

Kevan doesn’t wait for Shelton to invite him to sit when he flops onto a chair, leaving the second one free for me. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Sergeant. I’d suggest the easy way. Reinstate Ms. Rhodes to her position of detective immediately, carry out a proper investigation into her alleged offenses, and I’ll have no need to go see the captain.”

Shelton snorts a laugh. “Go ahead,” he says. “It was the captain who gave the order to demote her.”

My eyes widen. Shelton hadn’t divulged that nugget of information at Kiera’s funeral. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve always sensed the captain’s dislike of me, although I haven’t a clue what I might have done to earn that accolade.

Kevan doesn’t even blink at Shelton’s comment. “Not a problem. I’ll have a chat with the deputy police chief next time I see him. My wife plays bridge with his wife, so I’m sure I’ll bump into him this week when we’re playing cab driver for our better halves.”

This guy’s good. I have no clue whether or not he’s telling the truth. For all I know he could be full of shit, but none of that matters because Shelton clearly believes him if his blotched cheeks are anything to go by. Not to mention he’s fidgeting as if someone has tipped a bucket of ants down his pants.

“I-I’ll need to talk to the captain,” Shelton stutters.

If he hadn’t behaved like an asshole, I’d feel sorry for him, but he crossed a line when he came to Kiera’s funeral and told me that my career’s in the shitter. My head had been so all over the place, I hadn’t even thought about how they’d broken protocol by demoting me without a proper hearing. Thank God for Draven—and Kevan.

Kevan’s slow smile curves the edges of his lips. “You do that, Sergeant Shelton. I’ll look forward to an update in due course.”

He rises, cocks his head at me, and opens the door, waiting for me to walk through before following. Once we’re outside Shelton’s office, I sag against the wall, the adrenaline running through my veins making my knees wobbly. Living a life entrenched in duty and following the rules has made what just happened a difficult experience—one I might not have had the balls to follow through on if Kevan hadn’t supported me, or without Draven urging me to fight back.

“Thank you,” I say.

“Don’t thank me yet,” he replies. “They will hold an investigation, and they will expect you to explain yourself. There’s no saying how that will go. You could still end up rank stripped. It all depends how much fuss the FBI makes. In the meantime, keep your nose clean.” He playfully shoulder-bumps me.

“I will.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

He walks away. As he disappears into the elevator, the door behind me opens, and Shelton marches out, his face beet-red, his jaw clenched so tightly, it’s likely to give him a toothache. He stops when he sees me loitering.

“What the fuck was that, Rhodes?” he hisses. “You couldn’t come and talk to me first before getting the union involved?”

I channel my outrage and stand up straight, squaring up to him, my gaze locked on his. “If you’d asked me that a couple of weeks ago, sir, I’d have said that, yes, of course I would have spoken to you rather than involve my union rep. But things have changed. You were wrong to come to my sister’s funeral, the worst day of my…” Tears threaten to fall. I blink rapidly and swallow past a lump in my throat. “The worst day of my life, and tell me I’d been demoted without following protocol. It was cruel and unnecessary, regardless of the wrongs you think I’ve committed. So, no, sir, you weren’t my first thought when I walked through the doors this morning. I may not have gone about things the right way with the trafficking case, but you have no idea of the pain me and my family have gone through since Kiera was snatched. You have no clue about the sense of desperation we felt, or of how it drove me to do anything to save her. And if that makes me a bad person in the eyes of you, of the captain, of the FBI, of the goddamn president, then so be it. If I had to do it all again, I wouldn’t change a single thing. My sister died in a hospital bed with those she loved close by. If it had been left up to you and the FBI, she’d have passed away lying on a dirty, semen-stained mattress, in a cold, damp warehouse.”

I don’t give Shelton the chance to reply. Instead, I spin on my heel and stride off with pride swelling my chest and hardening my resolve.

Back in my office, a crowd has gathered. Clearly, the news of my return to work has spread. I flop onto my chair and wake up my computer, ignoring the stares and furtive glances around me, as well as the whispers and murmurings. But when the gossiping doesn’t abate, I snatch a glass and a dime from my desk and tap the coin on the side of the vessel, drawing everyone’s attention.

A hush comes over the room.

“Guys, let me make this real easy for you. You don’t have to offer condolences for my sister, and I’m not expecting you to put your own careers on the line to help me save mine. I’m perfectly capable of fighting my own corner. But what I do expect is for you to treat me exactly the same as you did before any of this happened. I’m still the same person. I’m still your coworker. We all have a job to do. Let’s get on and do it.”

Allan is the first to act. He rises from his desk and begins to clap. Soon, the whole room joins in. One by one, my coworkers come up to me, shake my hand, or give me a friendly pat on the shoulder, welcoming me back into the fold.

As the normal buzz of a busy office surrounds me, I sit at my desk and set about catching up on what has happened during my absence. While diligently working, I barely notice the passage of time until Shelton appears by my desk. I bring my head up and wait for him to speak.

“You’re reinstated pending a full investigation. You’ll receive an invitation to a hearing in due course.”

“Yes, sir.”

Shelton hesitates as though he wants to say something else, then he nods curtly and leaves.

I briefly close my eyes. The war may not be over, but that battle goes to me. I’m still in the fight.

And I won’t go down easily.

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