Sylvie hid her frustration. Brian couldn’t focus his thoughts for more than five seconds. “Sounds like you’re trying to protect her. Like maybe she got in over her head with Glass. That happen to you, too?” She hoped he knew something more about the accident in the mountains.Come on, Brian. Don’t let me down.
Now he was twitching. “It’s not all about Glass, okay? I just want to make sure that Brianna’s gonna be all right.” He looked behind her again and then came close enough that she could smell his foul breath. “The way you were nice to Candi, maybe you could be nice to Brianna too. Keep an eye on her.”
“Is Brianna still in danger, Brian?”
“I can’t…” He looked around again. When he looked at Sylvie again, there were tears in his eyes. “I fucked up.” He scrubbed his arms. “I’m gonna do the right thing though.” He swallowed and nodded. “We talked. I’m gonna go to rehab. It’s all arranged.” Tears slid down his gaunt cheeks. “I won’t…won’t be a problem after that.”
“Court-ordered?”
He nodded.
Ah. “If you want me to help Brianna, tell me why she’s in danger.”
“She’s in danger because I’m dangerous, okay?” He swiped at his face, tears and snot streaking down his arm. “When I’m out of the way, Glass’ll leave her alone.” He suddenly pushed past her and jogged back into the crowd.
“Wait!” Sylvie started after him, but he’d disappeared. Sylvie ran to the crowded front gate and asked the volunteers if they’d seen a man fitting Brian’s description exit the grounds. They nodded and pointed out into the street. But by the time Sylvie managed to dodge tired families pulling wagons of wiped-out kids, Brian was gone.
“Dammit.”
She pulled out her phone and checked her texts. In the meantime, Alex had replied that what he had to say was meant for a private conversation. A pit opened in her stomach as she read the words. Maybe he’d decided that she was too much trouble after all.
If you love each other, you can find your way past the parts that you can’t share. Her mom’s words from earlier came back to her. Sylvie texted as she headed for her car back at the police substation.
I’ll be up soon. Just have a few things to take care of first.
The number one thing was letting George know what she’d learned. And that he needed to keep it to himself for now.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Alex took the dogs in with him to the kennel for the day. Things were deceptively quiet at Watchdog, with most of the staff off at the festival, including Jodie, who’d wanted to catch some of the day’s sets and made no secret about it. Alex let her go with a smile.
Now as he exercised the dogs, he compulsively checked his phone, hoping for word from Sylvie. When it finally buzzed he was surprised to see an unknown number pop up.
Alex, this is Officer Carla DeVivo, Sylvie’s partner. We need to talk.
A knot formed in his stomach. Mac nudged his hand then took a few steps back and sat down, watching his handler as he texted back asking if Sylvie was all right.
Trick question. Can I meet you at WD?
He texted back asking what time.
“How about now?” A woman’s voice asked from behind him. Startled, he turned to see officer DeVivo, then wondered why Jodie hadn’t alerted him before remembering he’d given her the rest of the day off.
“Sorry, Chief, didn’t mean to take you unawares.”
“It’s on me. I’m getting soft in my old age.”
“Not from what I’ve heard,” she mumbled. She winked when he raised his eyebrows.
“How’d you get in here past the front gate?” Watchdog was closed that day—no classes, no client meetings.
Carla pointed back over her shoulder with her thumb. “I took the cruiser. It still has the sticker thingy you gave Sylvie on the dashboard.”
Ah, right.
“All right, first thing,” Carla launched straight into the conversation, “Sylvie has no clue I’m here right now and she will have my ass when she finds out, but I gotta show you something.” She opened a large purse and took out an oversized envelope. “Look inside, but brace yourself.”
She wasn’t kidding. Alex’s blood boiled when he saw the word written across Sylvie’s face. Rage tore through him until the day went red. Was this the photo Stan saw? Then why the hell wasn’t he going after the cop who did this? He took a deep breath, then met Carla’s eyes.
