Page 9 of Fractured Fear

Stay. Strong.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Mr. Kingston,” I say, making it clear this embarrassing chat is over.

“Please, call me Zane.” Another smile. Does he ever put that thing away?

“Zane. It was nice meeting you.”

He turns to leave, and I involuntarily note his firm ass. You know a man with an ass like that doesn’t skip leg day.

When the door finally closes behind him, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“You okay there, Boss?” I hear from behind me.

I turn and Hayes is doing his best to hold in his laughter.

“Oh, shut up,” I retort and fan my face. I have a tendency to get cherry-red cheeks, and I know I’m turning a shade of crimson now.

I set my tablet down and use both hands to fan myself. Hayes can’t hold it in any longer and busts out a barking laugh. I just shake my head at him and remind myself to be grateful he’s the only one here right now. I would die of embarrassment if everyone was present to witness how I almost jumped into Zane’s muscular arms.

I know Hayes will inevitably tell Iris and then it’ll spread like wildfire.

I’m so fucked.

On the bright side, I’ll probably never see Zane again.

Is that a bright side?

Yes, yes, it is. I have done my best to rebuild everything my ex-fiancé broke, and I don’t need another man to complicate things.

CHAPTER 4

ZANE

Another day, another case—or ten.

I’ve been at the tenth precinct for the last five years or so. It’s cramped and the building is old, but the people are nice to work with for the most part, which is more than I can say about my last assignment. If you look hard enough you can find bad apples anywhere, but the bad apples were plentiful at my last precinct.

I caught one officer sneaking coke from the evidence room. Come to find out he was being paid to make evidence disappear. His wife mysteriously found out about his arrangement the next day and left with their kids. She was eager to go, especially after she realized her and the kids weren’t seeing any of the extra money he was making. That piece of garbage had a mistress in Queens that got to live a lavish lifestyle from his secret paydays.

Another officer would trade “special favors” with sex workers in lieu of being arrested for solicitation. Turns out not all of them were willing to participate in that little trade, and he may have found himself at the bottom of the Hudson for that one.

The biggest discovery was when a certain lieutenant got popped for installing cameras in the female officer showers and live streaming it on the dark web. That particular incidenttook some digging, but we went about his justice a different way. The legal way. That lieutenant is now serving his sentence at Attica Correctional. It helped further convict him that one of the women filmed was the granddaughterof the Police Commissioner.

All in all, even though the walls here are more gray than white, I’m happier here.

As I stand in the break room waiting for my coffee, I think of all the other things I could be doing today. Hanging out with Rio at his mom’s house while she makes us empanadas, getting drunk at the Black Horse, lazing about on the couch, or getting to know a gorgeous pottery teacher.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I set down the file on the warped laminate counter and think through the details of another missing person’s case I was assigned when I walked in.

Ava Thomas, sixteen-years-old, last seen at Sunny’s Market, three blocks from her home.

This is the fifth missing person’s case this month. I can’t legally prove it, but I know what it means. They’re taking more women and children, and they are not slowing down any time soon.

Bracing my hands on the counter, I drop my head forward. My mind instantly going back toher.

What the hell happened this morning?

Putting one foot in front of the other towards the door was more than a chore. It was damn near impossible. I just about turned right around, went back into Clay Creations, and kissed the hell out of that woman. If I didn’t have to get to work, I would have considered doing it right then.

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