But Wicks didn’t seem fazed. His jaw just tightened a little more, and his chestnut eyes darkened. “Do you have any witnesses?” he asked.
She couldn’t be certain, but it almost seemed as though there might be trepidation in his voice. And what the hell did witnesses have to do with it? They took any and all sexual harassment cases seriously, whether the victim had a witness or not. Why was she any different?
She shook her head. “N-no, sir. There was no one in the lunch room just now, and all the other times we were out on patrol. I didn’t think I required awitnessin order for my claim to be taken seriously.”
Fuck, now his brown eyes looked more like Myles’s black ones. Dark and soulless. “I’ll handle it,” he clipped. “Besides, you’re going onlightduty now, rookie. You won’t have to work with Constable Slade anymore. This can all be water under the bridge.”
Water under the bridge?
Her mouth hung open for maybe a moment too long before she finally had to snap it shut. Was this really happening? Was he really dismissing her complaints?
Blinking a few times and resisting the urge to pinch herself, she finally found her voice. “Are you not going to deal with this, sir? I mean, I can’t be theonlyfemale officer who has had issues with Constable Slade.”
The staff sergeant let out a weighted, almost irritated sigh. “You’re moving on to light duty. I don’t see the issue.”
Before she knew what she was doing, Krista had pushed back her chair and was standing over her superior’s desk, hands on her hips, body hinged forward, glowering down at him. “That’s irrelevant,sir. I’m making a formal complaint about Constable Slade and his inappropriate work behavior. Now if you’re unwilling to handle this, then I have no problem going to HR. But IthoughtI was to come to you first?”
Well, that seemed to have knocked the cotton from his ears. Only it also seemed to have set that cotton aflame. Red flooded the older man’s cheeks, and his face hardened. Slowly, purposefully so, he rose up out his chair. He was a tall man. Maybe not as tall as Brock but damn close, and even with a big wooden desk between them, he towered over her. She was forced to lift her head and tilt her neck to look him in the eye.
“I hope that wasn’t athreat…rookie?”
She swallowed, suddenly feeling the size of a gnat and just as easily squishable. “No, sir. Not a threat.”
“Good. I didn’t think so.” His face softened a touch, though you could probably still shatter crystal on it. “I’ll deal with Slade. No need to involve HR just yet. It’d take ages for anything to happen. I’ll file your paperwork for lightduty right now, and you can head on upstairs and see Mallory. She’ll get you sorted out.” Then, before she could say anything, even mutter a thank you, he spun around and showed her his back. “Dismissed.” And that was the end of that, apparently.
Confused, frazzled, and worried about what had just happened with the staff sergeant, the incident with Slade in the break room and what would happennowthat the word was out about her pregnancy, Krista made her way toward the offices.
“Hey!” It was Slade.
Oh, of all things holy.
“Where the fuck are you going? We have patrol.” Careful not to lay a hand on her where anyone walking by might notice, he approached Krista in the narrow corridor between Wicks’ office and the stairwell heading upstairs to the other offices. He stopped roughly six feet in front of her, clearly still pissed about their altercation earlier. Well, good. So was she. And hopefully the prick would be getting what was coming to him soon enough.
“I’m on light duty now. You’re officially no longer my coach.”
His eyes bugged out, but that didn’t make them any less spooky looking. “You knocked up?”
She didn’t answer him.
“Are you?”
“It’s none of your business. Medically I need to go on light duty.” With that she left him standing in the hallway and headed upstairs to find Mallory.
He didn’t have to hear her to know she was home. He couldfeelher presence. And not in some paranormal spirit type way. No. That shit was dumb. If ghosts existed, he was sure his dad would be haunting him every waking moment. No, the house became a home when Krista stepped inside. He could feel her warmth.Feel the change in the atmosphere. Smell that sweet and unique smell of hers, even when masked by a day’s worth of work out on the streets.
Busy standing over the stove and pushing meat and veggies around in a big wok for dinner, he waited for her to come up the stairs. Only she didn’t. Ordinarily, it took roughly twenty-seven seconds for her to shut the door, hang up her coat, take off her boots and ascend the stairs. And based on what the clock on the microwave said, she’d been home for nearly three minutes. What was up?
He glanced toward the staircase. A curly red ponytail was all that he saw. She was sitting on the last few steps, staring straight ahead at the front door. Turning off the element on the stove and ignoring his grumbling stomach, he headed down the stairs.
“Forget how to walk?”
She didn’t say anything.
“You’re not that far along yet that you need me to carry you, are you?”
Not even a shoulder shrug.
She wasn’t a big person, but he certainly was, and trying to push past her small frame on the steps without stepping on her or putting his elbow into the drywall proved to be a challenge. But he made it and then crouched down in front of her in the small entryway.
