“Let me know if anything else comes up in the meantime.And the sooner you give me those names, the sooner we can start digging.”
“Will do.”The list was depressingly long.People she’d arrested.People she’d exposed and put in prison.Plenty of motivation to make any of them want to target her.But the few names that automatically jumped to the top of the list seemed unlikely.“I’ll take my car into the office now, see if anyone can sweep it for me.”
“I’ll let them know you’re coming.”
She was extra vigilant as she got in her car and drove to the office.Looking for any hint that someone might be tailing her.The urge to call Tristan was strong, but after their dinner and nearly crossing the line, talking to him wasn’t a good idea.Especially since they would be working in close proximity together over the next few days.
A tech was waiting for her when she arrived at CPS.He checked the car inside and out with a high-sensitivity scanner.“Looks like you’re clear,” he said.
Someone had eyes on her without her being able to see them.They could be tracking her phone somehow.Or someone who knew where she lived had been following her when she’d left the house.
Instead of parking in her driveway, she pulled around back into the narrow alley behind her house and left it behind a stand of cedars so it was at least hidden from view from the street.Once locked inside with a cup of fresh coffee, she caved and texted Tristan, filling him in briefly on what had happened.
You okay?he sent back almost immediately.
Think so.Talked to Ryder about tomorrow.We’re flying to Seattle with the client.
I heard.You wanna talk about it?
She wasn’t sure if he meant the job or her situation, but guessed probably both.
Not right now, but thanks.
She wasn’t ready to tell him about Vegas yet.Though at some point she would have to.She didn’t want to involve him in that, or wade any deeper into the murky waters they were both in.
See you at the office tomorrow, she typed.06:00?
Yep.Call me if you change your mind.
Will do.Thanks.But she wouldn’t.
She had barely set the phone down when it rang.Half-expecting it to be him, she was surprised to see a Vegas area code.
She almost didn’t answer, but her anger and curiosity got the better of her.“Hello?”she said crisply, heart rate picking up.
“Cass, it’s Dane.”
She blinked in surprise, her pulse settling.“Dane.”Her former patrol partner.Several years older than she was, a family man with six years more experience on the force than she had.She hadn’t talked to him since right after leaving Vegas.
He was one of the good guys.One of the few in her department who hadn’t been involved in the IA investigation and all the resulting fallout.“How’d you get my number?”
“From the chief.I just heard what happened last week.That’s...shit, I’m sorry.And there’s a stupid rumor floating around here that you got arrested or some shit yesterday.I knew it was bullshit as soon as I heard it, but I wanted to call you myself and see if you’re okay.”
“I’m doing the best I can,” she told him honestly.“And no, I wasn’t arrested or even charged with anything.So you can kill that rumor right now.”
“Oh, I’m all over it.What the hell’s going on up there?I thought you were looking for peace and quiet.”
She gave a humorless laugh and rubbed her forehead.“Looks like someone’s out to get me.”
A beat of silence followed.“You think it’s someone from here?”
“I don’t know who else it could be.”
“Fuuuuck.”He gave a ragged sigh, and she pictured him dragging a hand down his face the way he did when he was stressed.“Why didn’t you call me?”
“You know why.”She said it gently.
“Yeah.I know.But you know you can trust me, right?”
