Jade kissed her then, soft and unhurried. When they pulled apart, she was smiling. "I need to get ready for work."
"Yeah. Me too."
But neither of them moved immediately, instead standing there in the morning light like they had all the time in the world.
Reluctantly, they pulled away to get dressed, and as they stood by their cars, Maddox leaned in to kiss Jade. “Good luck with today.”
“Thanks,” Jade said and squeezed Maddox’s hand firmly before sitting in the driver’s seat.
The wellness committee meeting started at ten o’clock.
Maddox arrived early, claiming her usual seat near the back where she could see the whole room and all the entrances. Riley was already there, scrolling through her phone, and looked up when Maddox sat down.
"Hey," Riley said. "You look good today. Less like you want to murder everyone."
"Don't push it."
Riley grinned. "Seriously though. You seem...I don't know. Lighter? What's that about?"
Maddox pulled out her notepad, purposefully not meeting Riley's eyes. "Nothing. Just sleeping better."
"Uh huh." Riley's tone made it clear she wasn't buying it, but she didn't push. "Well, whatever it is, keep doing it. It's working."
Other officers filtered in, and Maddox noticed Lowell, Truitt, and Davis still looking rough around the edges from the shooting. Chief Marten took her seat at the head of the table, and Jade slipped in just before the meeting started, taking her usual spot across from Maddox.
Their eyes met briefly. Nothing obvious, just a flicker of acknowledgment before Jade pulled out her tablet and focused on the agenda.
The meeting progressed like always with updates on the mental health outreach program, discussion of upcoming trainings, and Natalie Truitt complaining about the mandatory session schedule. Maddox took notes, contributed when required, and kept her body language neutral.
But she was aware of Jade in a way that felt dangerous. The way Jade's pen tapped against her tablet when she was thinking, the small smile when Chief Marten praised the K-9 demo program's success, the way her hair fell forward when she leaned over to show Morrison something on her screen.
Maddox looked away, forcing her attention back to the agenda.
Across the table, Officer Vanessa Torres was watching them.
Maddox felt it before she saw it, that prickle of attention and weight of someone's assessment. When she glanced up, Torres was leaning back in her chair, arms crossed, her expression unreadable but calculating.
Their eyes met. Torres didn't look away.
Maddox held her gaze for a beat, then deliberately returned to her notes. Her instincts were firing warning signals, but shecouldn't identify the specific threat. Vanessa Torres had always been dismissive about the therapy program and had made snide comments about "feelings getting in the way of the job."
But this felt different, more pointed, specifically ather.
"Shaw?" Chief Marten's voice cut through her thoughts. "Thoughts on expanding the K-9 program to the local middle schools?"
Maddox refocused. "Zeus and I can handle the additional sessions, but I might need to coordinate with Kessler on scheduling." She kept her tone professional and didn't look at Jade when she said her name.
"That works for me," Jade said. "I'll send you my availability."
The meeting continued. Vanessa kept watching her, her attention moving between Maddox and Jade like she was tracking something and noting behaviors.
Maddox’s jaw tightened. Whatever Vanessa thought she was seeing, she was wrong. They were careful and professional, showing nothing visible to report.
But the unease stayed with her through the rest of the meeting, a low hum of wrongness she couldn't shake.
Two days later, Maddox was halfway through her Thursday afternoon shift when her phone buzzed. She was parked outside the elementary school, finishing up paperwork from a routine patrol, Zeus asleep in his compartment behind her. She checked her phone quickly.
Jade:“Thinking about you.”
