Page 55 of Bad Mother

A head pang made her wince. “Listen, Brandon, I think maybe... we need to consider my move a little break from... us.”

“Sienna, babe, you’re making way too much of a business dinner I was forced to go to.”

Were you forced to go with your buxom coworker? Were you forced to allow her to sit close enough to touch you?But she wasn’t going to bring that up. She’d kissed another man.

She hadn’tmeantto exactly. And she’d pulled away. But...no excuses. She’d never been one for excuses. Gavin had kissed her, but she’d kissed him back. And yes, she’d pulled away, but not before she’d allowed herself to get lost in his taste, the feel of his body against hers, the sweet and terrifying familiarity of the flame that had once again flickered to life inside her.

Point being, this was not all on Brandon.

But she suddenly realized that the question she’d asked herself earlier about Brandon had a clear answer. The worst part of the betrayal she felt didn’t come from him potentially being on a date. It came from his mere presence at that particular dinner, his unwillingness to make a stand. For her. For justice. For what wasright.

“I think you’ll realize this is for the best, Brandon.” She got out of her car, lugging her briefcase over her shoulder. It felt like it weighed ten tons.

“Sienna, you sound... tired... off. Let’s talk about this later, okay?”

“I am tired, but I mean what I say,” she said, dragging herself to her door. “But yes, we can talk about it all later.” Maybe there was more to say. It didn’t really feel like it to her in that moment, but she was admittedly not exactly firing on all four mental cylinders.

“All right.” She heard a female voice, his secretary perhaps. “I’m needed in a meeting, but I’ll talk to you soon, okay? Sienna... take care.”

Take care.“Goodbye, Brandon.”

She flipped her lock behind her and went to the kitchen, tossed her things on the table, which she’d ordered online and which had just arrived the day before, and removed the case file.

She should be going to bed, she knew that, but Brandon’s reasoning for the call—Because I wanted you to know I was thinking about you—was basically bullshit. He’d been “needed” in a meeting two minutes into their conversation. And he hadn’t apologized for going to thedinner. He’d justified his actions.Like the chief of police. Like the mayor.All for future employment ladder climbing. She couldn’t sleep now, despite the banging in her head.Maybe because of the banging in my head.Instead, she made herself a cup of tea—deciding she’d had her fill of coffee—opened the case file on the counter, and tried once more to work out this damn puzzle.

What was relevant? What had the killer given them that they had missed?What will he give us next?

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Gavin held his finger on the doorbell for the third time, hearing the distant buzz from within. “Come on,” he muttered, another flutter of worry heightening his impatience. He’d called Sienna several times, and when she hadn’t called him back, he’d phoned her at the station and been put through to her partner, Kat, who told him she’d gone home earlier that day.

He didn’t want to be a pest... exactly. But he also knew that she was basically alone in this city and had been called out by a killer still on the loose. Someone should be checking on her.She’s a detective trained in the use of firearms and—presumably—fighting techniques, Decker, so don’t lie to yourself and pretend she needs protection.

He thought he heard movement inside, and a moment later, the lock disengaged, and the door was pulled open. Sienna stood there in wrinkled work clothes, her hair in a lopsided updo, one eye squinted as she tilted her head to look at him. “Gavin,” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey,” he said, peering at her, noticing the dark smudges beneath her eyes. “You weren’t answering your phone, so I came to check on you. Are you okay?”

She sighed, gesturing that he should come inside. He did, shutting the door behind him and following her to the living room, where she’d obviously been sitting on the floor working. There were papers and files spread out around the spot she settled herself into now. She picked up her phone lying next to her and then huffed out a breath, tossing it back down. “It’s dead. I need to charge it.”

He glanced around, but there was still no furniture, just the two unopened boxes positioned where they’d sat the first time he’d been there. He took the same seat on the sagging box, leaning his elbows on his knees. Sienna sat back against the wall, grimacing as she rubbed her forehead. He watched her for a minute. “You’re exhausted,” he noted. And it appeared she had a headache.

She gave a short laugh that morphed into a pained huff of breath. “I’m aware. That’s why I came home to work.”

“It seems like sleep might be the better priority.”

She shot him a look that said she didn’t need his unsolicited advice, but the grimace that followed proved his point. She leaned forward, stretching her neck. “It’s really this headache that’s making me miserable,” she said.

“Have you taken anything for it?”

She shook her head, and even that small movement appeared to cause her discomfort. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Gavin pulled himself up from the cardboard box. “Do you have anything in your medicine cabinet?”

“No. I thought I had something, but I don’t,” she murmured. “It’s been so long since I’ve had a headache like this,” she said, her words so soft he almost didn’t hear them.

His heart reached for her. She’d pushed herself so hard she’d hit a brick wall. And still, she was sitting on the floor in her house, going over case notes.

“I’ll be right back.” He was pretty sure he had a bottle of Tylenol in his glove box. He walked outside, leaving her door very slightly ajar,and went to the passenger side of his car. “Score,” he murmured, pulling out the medicine. He closed his car door and turned toward Sienna’s walkway, uncertainty making him pause.

He pressed his lips together, then stopped and took his phone from his pocket before dialing. “Mom?”

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