“Oh my God.” The cell door opened, and before I could take a single step, Hansen had already come in. He pulled me into him, holding me tight, his lips brushing my hair as I burrowed my face in his shirt, losing myself completely in his arms, unable to hold myself up for a second longer.
“It turns out Holland Jensen has been blackmailing Jacob Finn,” the cop said. “They set you up to get you thrown out of the department due to the lack of support from the city. Your employment with the department intimidated him. He wanted you gone.”
“So, what happens now? With—with the mayor? And with Jake?”
“He’s an accomplice, P. The police already brought him in.” Hansen lifted my chin with his fingers and kissed me, one hand rubbing the small of my back. “You’re innocent. You’re free.”
I erupted into ugly tears, burying myself in his shirt and sobbing. He smelled so good and familiar that I almost fell to my knees. But he wouldn’t let me. Instead, he held me up against him like I weighed nothing more than a small sack of potatoes.
“I’m sorry,” Hansen said. His sturdy arms held me against him, heart beating softly against my cheek. One hand held the back of my head, and the other caressed the small of my back. “I’m sorry for walking away when you needed me. For taking so long to figure this out. I don’t deserve forgiveness.”
I sighed, sniffling, and allowed the heaviness of my eyelids to take over, sinking into him with silent desperation. He held me tighter, his lips lingering near my temple. I felt so blissfully content at that moment that I could barely speak.
“You were protecting your crew from something you couldn’t understand,” I said. “I might have been offended had you actually refused to doubt me as you would anybody else.”
“I could kill him,” Hansen said. “I could kill him for what he put you through.”
“It’s over.” I ran my fingers through his hair, cheek resting against Hansen’s chest. “It’s over, Hansen, and that’s all I want.”
“You held strong, Miss Hill,” Chief Davis said, stepping up next to Hansen with a nod of his head. He reached out his hand to shake mine, but I ignored it and went in for a hug instead, tears slipping down my cheeks. He held me for a moment, then held me at arm’s length. “I expect you to be back at work on Monday. No excuses.”
“Yes, sir,” I said through tears as Hansen led me out of the cell and into the open hallway. Korbin patted me awkwardly on the shoulder, and I turned and hugged him, too, not caring when he cleared his throat loudly and went rigid.
“It will be good to have you back, I think,” he said. “Shit has been too normal since you left. It’s annoying.”
“I’m sure.” I wiped the last of my tears and leaned into Hansen as we walked out, holding onto him with no intention of ever letting go. Outside, the sun shone down brightly on us. I stopped and raised my face to the sky, closing my eyes against the sunlight as the heat warmed my skin.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Hansen said softly, pressing his lips against my head. I nodded and clung to him, barely able to function, it seemed, without his assistance. For the first time in my life, I had someone to lean on and help me carry the burden when I couldn’t quite make it myself. And it felt good. Really good.
“Thank you,” I said, resting my forehead against Hansen’s. “Thank you for having faith in me when no one else did. Without you, I wouldn’t have survived.”
“Of course, you would have.” He touched my cheek, sending a buzz of electric desire up my spine. I caught his hand and kissed it, tangling my fingers with his.
“You have always managed to overestimate me,” I said with a dry chuckle, and Hansen shook his head.
“I’ve done nothing but underestimate you, Paisley. All of us have.”
“Well, I warned you, didn’t I?” I teased, running my finger down his chest. “You should have known the moment I got onto the squad.”
“Part of me did,” he admitted. “But I had my reservations. Even then, it didn’t matter. You—”
“You pushed back,” Chief Davis said, coming up behind Hansen and me in the parking lot. He smiled at me, and I grinned back, grateful for that man.
“I pushed back,” I agreed, and Hansen looked between the two of us, confused.
“What am I missing?”
“You’re not missing anything,” I assured him, waving to Chief Davis as he got into his car and pulled away, waving at us through the side window. The others had gone already, assuming that we were right behind them.
“So,” Hansen said, still holding my hand as we crossed the asphalt, heading towards his truck. “I don’t see your car here. Would you care for a ride?”
I giggled and shook my head, pretending to think hard about this. “I was taught to not get into the car with strangers,” I said, teasing him.
“You were also taught not to reach for your dreams,” Hansen pointed out, and the reality of his comment hit me hard. He was right. Everything I had and was had nothing to do with anybody else.
“I clawed my way to the top,” I told him. “My mother and father would be so proud.”
“As they should be.”
