ADRIAN
We told Mom earlier and that’s all it took to convince her to move up here.
The relief I feel knowing my mom is moving closer is overshadowed by the tight pressure building in my chest—the ugly head of jealousy starting to rear. And it makes me feel like the worst kind of person.
We go back and forth for a while, but once I tell him I’m on shift, the conversation winds down, and we call it a night.
My workload has doubled in size the past couple weeks.
Ever since my temporary assignment under Vorheis began, I’ve been consumed by the Delmar case. On top of that, I’ve been quietly working my own investigation into Ellie’s situation. Technically, I was pulled from the case for being too close to it—but I can’t help myself.
What makes it worse is that whoever’s behind it has gone completely silent. Her car turned up with zero evidence, and the note, the picture, and the flower haven’t led us anywhere.
IfRyker were around, I’d bounce some ideas off him—but he’s been on leave all week. His wife’s pregnancy took a turn that landed her in the hospital, and he didn’t hesitate to step back from work.
The station’s felt off ever since.
“Alvarez,” Vorheis calls from his office.
I push up from my chair and head his way. “Yeah, Sarge?”
He’s holding a case file, flipping it open as I step in. “Patrol got called to a convenience store robbery just outside city limits—technically our turf, but RMPD responded first.”
I nod slowly. “So, you want me to play jurisdiction tug-of-war?”
“Get eyes on the scene so we can figure out who the lead is.Keep it clean. If it’s ours, we take it. If not, don’t waste time getting territorial.You think you can handle it?”
The last time I responded to a call at a convenience store, I got shot.
I swallow against the anxiety lodged in my throat. “Yeah, I can handle it.”
CHAPTER 39
Elyse
CAN WE PRETEND
PRESENT
“Hey,” Dominic says quietly as he passes through the front door.
It takes me less than a second to realize something is wrong. I stayed up, waiting for him, and he doesn’t seem at all surprised to see me wide awake at six in the morning.
Standing, I approach him cautiously. I’ve never seen him so sullen looking, and I’m not sure what the right response is. “Everything okay?”
He looks at me as if he’s just now noticed I was speaking. His eyes sweep over me, lingering on my breasts for a moment. I’m not wearing anything exciting; a black tank top and lounge pants. No bra, which is probably why his gaze snagged there.
A few heartbeats of silence pass before he lets out a sigh. “Shitty night.”
My lips twist, teeth tugging on my bottom lip. “Am Iallowed to ask why? I don’t really know the rules, what you’re allowed to tell me.”
His eyes lose some of the hardness they held when he walked through the door as they settle with mine. “You’re allowed to ask me anything you want, about anything. Sometimes I can’t answer and sometimes I won’t because you don’t need your head filled with evil shit. But ask anyway, I won’t keep anything from you I don’t have to.”
I nod, words escaping me. I can feel his turmoil like it’s my own. It’s like a twisted coil, uncomfortably tight.
“Can you do me a favor, querida mía?” His voice is strained, raspy, almost.
“What is it?”
