Page 73 of Four Cards Exposed

The camera had captured the man’s cold, reptilian gaze to perfection.

She made a mental note to call her parents and tell them she was back. There was no rush—they didn’t know she’d been in danger, and even if they had seen the details of the drug raid and arrest in the paper, they wouldn’t link their daughter to that. It was too far from Sharp’s Cove for them to worry about.

Natalie ran into the station and straight towards her. “Susan! We would have picked you up.”

“James …Special Agent Ramsay,” Susan corrected herself before continuing, “drove me.”

Natalie’s blue gaze remained steady. If she was surprised, she didn’t say anything. She was also the only person in the sheriff’s department who’d known that James was undercover as well. “He did, did he? Is he still here?”

Susan shook her head. “He drove back to the city. He has … a lot of paperwork to catch up on.”

“We have paperwork as well,” Rob boomed. “I told you we missed you, didn’t I?”

Natalie bit her lip, coming to a decision. “No. You’re taking the day off, Susan. Go home. Rest. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Susan’s chest went tight with panic. She couldn’t bear to go back to her apartment—for all she knew, she still wouldn’t be able to sleep. Maybe she’d never be able to sleep again.

Except when James is with you.

You sleep then.

Susan silenced the treacherous voice inside her. She couldn’t rely on a man to help her sleep. She had to do this on her own.

But not this morning.

“I want to work. Please. I need … I need to get back to things.”

A man she didn’t recognize walked into the station. He was about her age, with dark blond hair and hazel eyes. Almost as tall as James. She recognized his picture from a bunch of CVs she’d pulled together for Natalie before she left. He wore the same khaki uniform as Natalie and Rob, but his looked newer—as if he still hadn’t broken it in.

Natalie cleared her throat. “Officer Lopes, meet Officer Bell.”

Natalie shook the man’s large hand. “Hi. I just started this week. Nice to meet you, Officer Lopes.”

“It’s Susan.”

“Call me Michael, then.”

“It’s good to meet you, Michael. I guess this means I’m no longer Sharp’s Cove’s newest officer. He’ll be doing most of the parking tickets, now, I assume?” she said, turning to Natalie.

Natalie laughed. “Try not to scare the new guy, Susan.”

“I’m not easily scared,” the man said. Though he smiled, there was steel in his voice.

“You can stay, Susan. But take it easy, okay?” Natalie looked like she wanted to say something else, but Susan knew she wouldn’t say anything, not with everybody looking. “Maybe you and Officer Bell can take the car out on patrol.”

“Sure. But I’m driving,” Susan said.

Bell inclined his head towards her.

“And clear your schedule tomorrow night, Susan. A lot of people want to see you,” Natalie added.

* * *

A lot of people turned out to be the understatement of the year.

She’d never seen the Siren’s Call this full. Everybody from the station was there, of course: Natalie, Rob, Alma, the new guy. Susan knew they were the only ones who knew where she’d been. The guys from the Fire Department, who were also there, just knew Susan had been on rotation in the city.

The Siren’s Call looked as it’d always looked. Warm, inviting … the exact opposite of the bar she’d spent so much time in recently. She looked at Afra, the woman behind the bar, with new respect.