Fucking hell.
I square my jaw, my fingers tightening into fists at my sides. From the corner of my eye, I can see Nico’s body go stiff as well.
“I can see neither of you are surprised,” he spits out. “He formally complained about Williams for abuse of power and an attempt to falsely accuse him of a crime stemming from Williams’s dislike of the fact that his girlfriend used to date Mr. Morris.”
“That’s fucking bullshit.”
The words come out before I can think them through, and the moment they’re out I know it’s the wrong thing to say, but screw it. Jenkins didn’t call me in to listen to my side of the story. He won’t care to find out the truth; he’ll just use this opportunity to get rid of me. The exact thing he wanted from the get-go, and now he has the perfect excuse.
“Sheriff…” Nico tries to intervene, but Jenkins’s furious gaze is fixed on me.
“Did you, or did you not, participate in the investigation of the break-in of your girlfriend’s home?”
“Williams left the crime scene with Jessica Richards after she gave her statement,” Nico counters.
“But he was there during the arrest of the suspect and the interrogation.”
It’s not a question, and we all know it.
“He wasn’t in the room…”
“But he wasthere.”
I should have seen this coming, but with everything else going on, Damien’s little threat completely slipped my mind. I didn’t think he had the guts to do it. I should have known better. The asshole has a vengeful streak, and what better way to get his revenge than to get me fired.
Dammit.
“You’re suspended without pay until?—”
My stomach sinks as his words echo inside my head in tune to my wildly beating heart.
Suspended.
Suspended.
I’m suspended.
“Sheriff…” Nico steps in front of me.
“I don’t want to hear about it.” Jenkins points at his desk. “Your badge and gun.”
A knot forms in my throat, making it hard to breathe.
Slowly, I uncurl my fingers and reach for my weapon, putting it on the desk along with the rest of my things.
I stand straight until he finishes, his words a distant blur. The moment we’re dismissed, I spin on the balls of my feet and get the hell out of his office.
The walls seem to be closing in on me, asphyxiating me.
I barely stop to grab my things from my locker. I can hear Nico call after me, but I can’t stay here.
I race out of the station, tossing my backpack over my shoulder, that one word still ringing in my head as I throw my leg over my bike and kick-start the engine.
Suspended.
Everything I worked for.
Suspended.
