I’m surprised when he nods. “I haven’t seen him leave just yet.”
Captain Rogers is usually the first one out the door once his shift is over.
“I’ll introduce you,” I tell Don.
He follows me as we head up the stairs to the captain’s office. Per usual, his door is closed. I knock on the door a few times and wait.
Don gives me a look, lifting an eyebrow.
“Just wait for it. He’s here,” I reply to his unasked question.
About thirty seconds later I hear feet shuffling across the linoleum floor just before the door is pulled open.
Captain Rogers’ dark blond eyebrows lift in surprise.
“Captain, how are you?” I force a pleasant smile on my face.
He frowns. “Allende. They kicked you out of Rescue already, huh?”
My smile turns cocky. “Not yet, Cap. But if that happens you’ll be the first to know.”
His frown deepens as he catches the sarcastic nature in my tone.
“In fact, this is one of my new squad members. Don. He has a few questions about the fire on Jefferson.”
Captain Rogers’ gaze moves from me to Don, who holds out his hand.
“Captain,” Don greets. “Pleasure to meet you. Emanuel has told us so much about you … all good things,” he adds.
Captain Rogers looks back to me, knowing Don’s words are full of shit. Rogers and I never had any affinity for one another. And while affinity isn’t a prerequisite for either one of us to do our jobs well, respect is and … well, I for one, didn’t respect Rogers as a captain all that much.
“What’s this about?” Rogers demands, folding his arms over his chest.
Don drops his hand. “I see you’re a busy man so I’ll get right to the point. I suspect the fire on Jefferson was arson but it was ruled an electrical fire.”
“It was ruled that way because that’s what it was.”
“Right, but—”
“Why are you both here wasting my time with this? Does your new captain know you’re here?” he questions, looking at me.
“That has nothing to do with why we’re here,” I assert, feeling defensive.
“It has everything to do with why you’re in my station house right now. In fact, maybe I should give Captain Waverly a call—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Don informs him. “We just wanted to talk, but I see right now isn’t a great time for you.”
I’m grilling Rogers in his face when I feel Don grab my arm and begin pulling me away from the door. As soon as I turn my back, I hear the door slam shut.
“Asshole,” I grit as we turn and head back down the stairs to the exit.
“He was a real pleasure. No wonder you enjoyed working for him so much,” Don quips.
“He’s a fucking louse. He got to this point by ass kissing and using his connections.”
Don grunts as he pulls open the passenger door of my car. “I bet,” he says before getting in and shutting the door.
Just as I’m about to climb in my car, I peer up, and standing in front of his window glaring down on the two of us is Captain Rogers. The expression on his face it tight with anger and something else. There’s an almost eerie look on his face. Something strange comes over me and the feeling I used to have sometimes while under his command overtakes me.
