Page 109 of More than Need

“You met both your men at your work. How fitting for a workaholic like you,” Peyton said with a lopsided grin.

“I’m surprised no one at home has poisoned you,” Riley responded.

“They all like me there.”

“Small miracles.”

Brotherly banter. Dawson had enough of it with Marshall. Watching Riley interact with his family like this had him struggling with a mix of emotions. A bittersweet tone overlapped it all even as he liked seeing it. It was beautiful and heartbreaking. Sadie could have been part of this. Maybe not exactlythissince them being Riley’s family didn’t automatically make them hers, but the principle still stood. There were so many things she would miss out on.

Guilt swirled in with everything else. If he stayed with Riley,hewould get to experience it. Almost as if he were taking it from her. She didn’t deserve that. And neither did he. The rock and hard place remained firmly between them.

“Are you getting enough sleep, dear?” Theresa asked, leaning forward and patting Riley’s hand. “You look a little tired.”

Peyton spat out his drink at the same Lucas choked on his. Dawson wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

“What?” Theresa asked, looking between them, confused. “He looks tired! Am I not allowed to worry about my own son? Who raised you two animals?”

“Funny, she looked a bit like you,” Lucas said.

“I’m getting adequate sleep, Mum, don’t worry.”

Peyton snickered as he mopped up his mess. “Is that what you’re calling it?”

“I will throw you off the balcony,” Riley promised.

“I don’t think Quinn would like it if you did that.”

“He’ll get over it,” Riley said, deadpan.

Dawson smiled into his mug.

Getting called to hisfather’s office across town wasn’t unusual in and of itself. Riley frequently visited, both to see his father in a personal capacity, and to give him in-person briefs when needed. He rarely gotcalledthere, however, and he didn’t like when things happened out of the ordinary. It never meant anything good. The last time this had happened, Quinn and Grady had been pulled from him for a task force that should have lasted two months, and he’d ended up without them for almost five.

Riley got his refusal speech ready because he refused to allow anyone on his team to go anywhere anymore, not withouttheirapproval. He’d had to listen to Grady complain about it for months afterwards. Considering some of the details, and the terrible organisational skills of the one in charge, Riley had to concur that Grady hadn’t been wrong. His detective liked to grumble, but he knew his stuff, and he had an unparalleled eye for detail despite his peculiar taste in men.

“Sit down,” Simon said severely when Riley entered the room.

Great. That tone did nothing to reassure him. Something bad had happened.

“Please don’t tell me that you’re commandeering some of my men,” Riley said. “I’m not agreeing to it until they want to, and if you can promise that I’ll have temporary detectives put in their place, effective immediately, so that whoever you’re taking can properly get walked through their new caseload. And I won’t allow any of them to bring their own cases with them.” His men had more than enough of their own, and Riley had no patience for incompetence. None of his men had time to handhold anyone, and neither did he. It wasn’t his fault that the other PACs were so lackadaisical, and that Riley had snagged the best detectives in Sydney for himself. They should have been smarter about who they chose and their recruitment filtering.

Simon chuckled. “I’m not taking any of your men, son, don’t worry.”

Why had he been brought here, then? “My quarterly report isn’t due for another three weeks.” He’d almost finished it but needed to go over a few things first, and speak to Quinn and Greer about a few points, and clarify some numbers. Did Simon want it early? That could have been sent in an email, instead of dragging him halfway across the city.

“I have more than enough paperwork to keep me occupied for a good long while,” Simon said. “And I know I don’t need to chase you for it. That’s not why I asked you in either.”

“Then what the hell is going on?” Was he being deliberately vague or skirting the issue?

“I heard you had a few sick in the last month,” Simon said.

Riley narrowed his eyes. There had to be a point to this line of questioning, but Riley couldn’t see it. He didn’t like when that happened. “Yes, Angela and Gideon were out of commission for a few weeks.” Angela for a few weeks, Gideon for a week. What did that have to do with anything? Had someone complained hisdepartment wasn’t pulling their weight because of a few on sick leave? He had the best stats in the entirety of Sydney, so they could shove their complaints somewhere unpleasant.

Simon laced his fingers together and placed them on his desk, leaning forward. Riley knew the move, used it himself, in fact. “Riley, your mother told me about yesterday.”

Fuck. Riley should have expected that. It hadn’t occurred to him at the time that his mum finding out could get back to here. “You can’t use what Mum said to you at work or use it against me.” Except he could. Especially when it came to how much Riley had compromised himself, and the fact his position above Gideon put them in a precarious situation.

“Is that what you think I’m trying to do? Use it against you?” Simon tapped a finger on the desk. “Regardless of how I found out, I won’t be the only one. These things have a way of getting out eventually. It’s a serious breach of conduct, and it puts your leadership into question, not to mention the foundation of your relationship with Gideon, considering your power over him.”

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