Page 44 of Shadows of Justice

I sigh, running my nails over my scalp.

He can’t be.

“Nevermind. I must be reading too far into this,” I say, shaking my head. “The man is like father of the year. They’re probably already polishing his throne in heaven. And he was the last person in that office that believed in me, and now I’ve even gone and fucked that up.”

“I’m so sorry, Viv,” he says, shaking his head. “I’ve fucked up your life.”

I put my hand on his shoulder. Thankfully, he’s wearing a T-shirt now.

“Enough of that. I’m a big girl, and I own my own decisions,” I say. “Let’s just un-fuck it. If I make this right, it could be big news. Big enough to restore my reputation and maybe even get me out of PPD.”

He turns to me, and I realize that I’m still touching him, but he doesn’t seem to mind, so I keep my hand there. His knee brushes my leg, sending tingles down its length. That ever-present charge is still there, constantly sparking in the air between us.

It’s a damned wonder my hair isn’t standing on end with static electricity.

“I think we should start with the imports and continue surveillance,” he says. “It’ll be slower work because of how high-tech the Dogs are, and now they know who to look for, but I know how to stay concealed. It’ll just take time.”

I nod at him, and Leo looks at my mouth again for a moment. My blood heats in that way that only he can ignite, but the moment is defused by my phone ringing. I grit my teeth and take it out of my pocket, looking at the caller ID.

Gavin Montgomery.

“Yeesh,” I say with a grimace, showing Leo who it is before sending it to voicemail. “That’s a hard no.”

“Just keep ducking him. He probably just wants to fuck with you.”

“Well, it’s working,” I say. “I should go—my shift starts in a few hours. Let me know if you pick up anything about where they might be building that bomb.”

Leo nods, and rises to walk me out. Downstairs, he opens the front door for me and leans against it, his gaze still burning me up.

“Watch your back, Schaeffer,” he says from behind me as I walk to my car. “We make a pretty good team, you and I, huh?” I can’t help but smile back at him, a side effect I’ve become familiar with from my conversations with Leo.

“Mmhmm,” I say. “Pretty good.”

The next three days go by at a snail’s pace.

I’m not yet suspended, but all talk of the Valley Dogs tip is effectively squashed by Jennings. He tells me that if I know what’s good for me, I won’t bring it up again.

So much for an open door policy.

Something still doesn’t sit right with me at the way he’s handling this. I understand more than anyone the pressure of having my father breathing down your neck. So if that’s what’s causing his behavior, I can understand. But it feels like more. Something is nagging at my brain about it, but I try to keep my focus on my work and not get distracted.

Just because I’ve become as crooked as scoliosis, doesn’t mean everyone else around me has.

Gavin lurks around like a fucking stalker. He’s always at the precinct, and when he’s not, I’m wondering where the hell he’s watching me from. I keep my routine as boring as possible, pouring my off time into working out, sparring, or going to the gun range. I think I spotted him running behind me once, but maybe that was just my mind playing tricks on me.

Yesterday I got a call from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, letting me know that when they attempted to serve my restraining order to Tim at work, his boss stated that he hadn’t been there in two days. It’s odd, especially for Tim, but after his uncharacteristic attack on me, maybe I don’t really know him at all. I’m sure he just skipped town because he knew what was coming.

I haven’t heard from Leo in three days, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about him. I’m dying to know what he’s uncovered about the MG-T12 and the Dogs, and it would just be nice to hear from him.

You know, so I know that he’s still alive.

I’m down on my hands and knees, stress cleaning my baseboards, when my new favorite song starts playing from my bedroom. I feel a stupidly large grin spread across my face.

“I can be your hero, baby.”

I jump up and sprint into my room, grabbing the flip phone from its place in my purse and answering it so fast I almost snap it in half.

“Hello?”

---