"Yes?"
He frowns, looking around the break room. "Who were you talking to just now?"
I tense up and quickly look away from him, my eyes scanning the now deserted break room.“The officer,” I mutter. But I’m alone.
I could have sworn someone was standing there waiting to get past me. My jaw is clenched so tightly it feels like my teeth will shatter as I spin away and leave the break room. I’m not going down this fucking rabbit hole again. I’m stressed, and when I’m stressed, I start seeing things. Things that aren’t there. Mostly shadows, or a disturbance in the energy around me.
I slam the file down on my desk and take several deep breaths, placing my hands on my hips.
“Everything alright, Sinclair?” Milo asks, having followed me.
I turn to meet his warm friendly gaze, a ball sitting at the bottom of my stomach, and I can’t shake the feeling of discomfort that’s hanging over me today. I run a hand over my hair, realizing it desperately needs to be cut.
“I’m fine. It’s just this case is . . . it’s hard to swallow. These girls, they all look like Salena. I can’t help feeling like it’s connected somehow.” Then there is the threat she got.
Milo takes a seat at my desk and picks up the file. “So, you and Salena are close?”
My gaze snaps to him and I growl, “That’s none of your concern.”
Milo shrugs and keeps flicking through the file. “Just asking. No need to get pissy.”
I stare down at him, wondering why he is here at my desk. My general unfriendliness keeps people away, but not Milo. It’s like he doesn’t even notice the wall I put up around myself.
“So, you think it’s someone targeting Salena?”
“Possibly.” With a huff, I take a seat and pick up my pen, tapping it on the desk. “The first body showed up just over a week ago. Then the next day a cat is killed and left on Salena's doorstep. That isn’t asomeoneescalating, that is two different MO’s. They have completely different patterns.”
“Salena doesn’t seem like the type to easily scare,” Milo muses.
“She doesn’t, does she?” I say thinking back on the way she reacted to the cat.
“If you need help just let me know.”
“I’m fine.”
“Still . . . ”
“I said I was fine,” I grumble, opening up my file.
“You should be nicer, you know,” Milo says, tapping his knuckles on my desk as he stands.
“You know I’m not nearly as mean as I’d like to be. You should really appreciate that more,” I reply, leaning back in my chair.
Milos eyes crinkle and he laughs. “Fuck man,” he says, shaking his head and walking off, his shoulders shaking with laughter. I feel my own lips twitch in response.
“Sinclair, in my office,” the captain booms from the door of his office.
“Yes, captain,” I call.
My phone dings with a message, and I frown, picking it up and swiping my thumb over the screen. Kai.
Kai: You busy?
Logan: Give me 5 mins!
Kai: Oh, okay. On the shitter then?
Logan: What? No. Meeting.
