Page 22 of Shielding Aubree

"Nick was all about Nick."

"What happened when your father turned him in?"

Aubree shifted on the chair again, her gaze dropping to the carpet under her bare feet. "Well, that's not exactly public knowledge."

Henley nodded. "You don't have to tell me, Aubree."

Aubree looked at the walls around her and the open doorway into the private office. She still couldn't close herself in without taking a sedative. "There aren't any recordings, right?"

She tensed when Henley raised a brow in her direction.

"I just have to be sure."

Henley's smile was easy and the gentle look in her eyes said that she wasn't upset.

"Nick was allowed to retire. It was at a huge cut in his pension, but it was... more than he deserved."

Henley nodded.

"He moved away, to where? I don't know. I'm not even sure that my dad knows either. And after that, things weren't the same for my father. Nick was popular with the other officers. Very popular. Of course, it was likely because he was taking money on the side. Money he could spend on making people like him. Bringing people to his side. My father was everything Nick wasn't. My father was a true officer of the law. We never had much. We had our road trip vacations. We had our family gatherings, but we never had a lot of fancy things.

"That certainly didn't keep any of us from wanting to go after our own badges."

Henley smiled at her. "Why do you suppose that is?"

"Satisfaction. At least that's why I joined. I have no expectations to ever make a name for myself on the force. I don't care if I never end up in the news or getting an award. But when I help a lost child find their parents or pull a distracted driver off the road, I feel good. Canned food drive for the local Food Bank? It feels damn good." Aubree nodded. "Satisfaction. I like doing good things for people and helping keep people safe."

"I get it."

"I know it sounds a little cheesy, but I think it's the way we lived. It made an influence on me and my sibs, too. One of my mom's neighbors said we're just a family of do-gooders and I don't think I've ever seen my mom so happy."

Aubree felt her stomach drop and her cheeks grew heavy.

"That was a week before Diego died.”

She took the time to breathe in and out a few times, gathering her thoughts and feelings.

“Do you want to talk about that?”

Aubree shook her head instead of speaking.

“Okay.”

She relaxed a little, looking off to the side.

“I’m just not… ready. Our family still doesn’t talk about it much. Same with Jay.”

She felt a twinge of pain in her chest, and she lifted a hand and pressed the heel of her hand to the center of the pain.

She pressed harder and harder, but it barely relaxed. The pain dulled but it didn't go away.

Henley sat forward on her chair. "Are you okay?"

Aubree forced herself to look up into Henley's troubled gaze.

It was nearly impossible, but she did it.

"I think I just need to walk."

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