“We need to talk,” he says quietly. “Privately.”
My stomach drops. I adjust my glasses. “Something wrong?”
Sawyer glances around the bank. Nora is at her desk with a customer, and Megan is busy in the drive-through. “Is there somewhere we can go?”
I look toward Nora’s office. She’s not in there right now. “Follow me.”
I lead him into the small office and close the door behind us. The space suddenly feels too small, the air too thick. “Sawyer, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
He takes a deep breath. “Your mother filed a complaint against me.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. My hand flies to my mouth. “What?”
“Tracy filed an official complaint with the department. She claims I overstepped my authority when I arrested Lance. Said my involvement with you clouded my judgment.”
I sink into Nora’s chair, my legs suddenly unsteady. The leather squeaks under my weight. Outside the door, phones ring and customers murmur. “But that’s not true. You were just protecting me. Lance was hurting me.”
“I know, but your mother is trying to make it look like I arrested Lance because we’re involved, not because he committed a crime.”
My hands start shaking, and I push my glasses up my nose again. “I can’t believe she would do this.” I don’t know why this even surprises me anymore. This is exactly the kind of thing she would do.
“It gets worse,” Sawyer says, sitting on the edge of Nora’s desk. Papers crinkle under his weight. “Ali, this could affect my promotion. The sergeant exam is coming up, and the review board looks at everything in your file, especially complaints.”
The guilt hits me like a truck. My chest tightens, making it hard to breathe. “Oh God, Sawyer. I’m so sorry.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“Yes, it is. If you hadn’t gotten involved with me, if you hadn’t found that tracker, if you hadn’t arrested Lance—”
“Then he’d still be stalking you,” Sawyer interrupts. “Maybe he would have escalated even further. I can’t imagine what he might have done to you.”
“But your career—"
Sawyer runs a hand through his hair. He's more worried than he's letting on.
“Alicat,” his voice is firm. “I did what any officer should do. I arrested a man who was committing multiple crimes.”
I lean back in the chair, overwhelmed. Everything I touch turns to disaster. “She really did this. She actually filed a complaint against you.”
“The Chief says this might just be the beginning.”
“I have to fix this.”
“How?”
“I'll talk to her. Make her withdraw the complaint.”
Even as I say it, I know it's hopeless. My mother stopped listening to me years ago.
Sawyer shakes his head. “Alice, you can’t reason with someone who thinks Lance was the victim in this situation.”
“I have to try. I’m not going to let her destroy your career because Lance got what he deserved.”
Sawyer moves closer. “Alice, you don’t need to fix this. Youarethe victim. Your mother is the one choosing to defend him instead of protecting her own daughter.”
The truth of that hits hard. My own mother is more concerned with protecting Lance than she is with my safety. How did I end up with a mother who cares more about her job than her own daughter? When did I become so disposable to her? I press my palms against the desk to steady myself.
“What did your Chief say?”
