I rolled my chair back and stood. Arching my back, I twisted to one side. How was it that sitting still was somehow harder once the sun went down? And working alone made me twitchy.
No other dispatcher was on duty tonight, and there were only a couple of officers in the station. It was a ghost town. It was better than the few occasions I’d been in the building with only the officer behind the reception desk, but still too quiet.
One of the things I loved about working here was the constant buzz of noise. I had the officers on the radio, but even they were typically quieter at night. Tourists pulled over for speeding or DUIs, and the occasional party that needed to be broken up for noise complaints would pick up soon.
I’d have given anything for those calls right now. Instead, I waited, muscles tense and ready to spring into action at the first call of trouble.
It seemed everyone else was feeling the same way. Officers were patrolling neighborhoods, looking for anyone who might be up to no good, their windows rolled down, listening for the sound of a bullet.
Heat crept up the back of my neck, along with a prickling sensation. I glanced over my shoulder to meet a glacial stare. Amber didn’t make any move to avert her gaze.
I sighed inwardly and lowered myself back into my chair. So much for Clint talking to her.
The phone on my desk beeped. It wasn’t that of an incoming call to nine-one-one but an internal call from within the police station. “This is Wren.”
“It’s Lawson. Can I talk to you for a minute? Route dispatch calls to my office.”
My stomach twisted. “Sure.”
I hung up and set up call forwarding. Keeping my head high, I made my way to Lawson’s office, studiously avoiding Amber’s gaze. Why did I feel like I was being called to the principal’s office?
I knocked softly on Lawson’s door.
“Come in.”
Stepping inside, I shut the door behind me. “I didn’t know you were still here.” It was almost midnight, and Lawson liked to keep his nights free for the boys.
He grimaced. “Too much to look into. I asked the sitter to stay the night.”
The dark circles under his eyes looked even more pronounced than a few days ago. “Just make sure you get some sleep at some point.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “You mothering me, Wren?”
I crossed my arms. “Somebody needs to.”
“Trust me, Kerry Hartley does plenty of that.”
“But you’ve gotten too good at hiding how much stress you’re under from her.” Because Lawson didn’t want anyone to worry about him. He was always the one who assumed the role of caretaker.
His jaw tightened. “She doesn’t need anything else on her plate right now.”
I lowered myself to the chair opposite his desk. “It’s okay to ask for help now and again. You know that, right? We’d all love to help with the boys. And I know the other officers here would be happy to take some of your load.”
“I can handle my responsibilities,” Lawson said, an edge slipping into his tone.
I was treading into the no-go zone. “Okay. I’m just saying we’re here if you need us.”
His expression gentled. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Unfortunately, he would never take me up on the offered help.
Lawson leaned back in his chair. “I heard you and Amber had a little run-in.”
It was the last thing I’d expected to come out of his mouth. I’d thought Lawson might be updating me on the case or checking to see how I was holding up. “Run-in might be too strong a word.”
“Not from what I heard.”
My eyes narrowed. “Did Holt call you?”
“No, but he should’ve. I won’t have my officers being cruel to each other.”
“She’s been through a lot.”
Lawson sighed. “I know that. It’s why I’ve given her as much lenience as I have. But she’s about to cross a line that she can’t come back from, and she’s not getting the message.”
My teeth toyed with the corner of my lip. “She didn’t say anything that awful.”
Amber had been hurt, grieving, and had needed to let loose some of that pain. It might not have been fair, but I understood.
“Did she throw the shooting in your face?”
My mouth pressed into a hard line.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Don’t get her in trouble over this, Law. I don’t want it. And it’ll only make things worse between us.”
There was a brief moment of hesitation before Lawson shook his head. “I’ll make it clear that you didn’t want this and weren’t the person to report it. But Amber needs to realize the ramifications of her actions. There’s no way she’ll become the cop she’s capable of if she doesn’t.”
The twisting sensation was back in my stomach. Because I got his point. Lawson did everything he could to create a healthy environment for his officers and the town. He didn’t take the trust the town had put in us lightly. Anyone who put that in jeopardy by behaving badly was dealt with swiftly.
“I try to stay out of her way. I know I bring up bad memories for her, and it kills me that I’d cause someone else pain in that way. I know how it feels.”
Lawson stared at me for a moment. “The difference is that you haven’t let it harden you. You haven’t taken that pain out on others. I see how you react to Joe. You make sure to give him a smile and a kind word every time you see him. That can’t be easy.”
“What his brother did isn’t his fault.” It made me sick that people in this town would hold that against him.
“No, it’s not. And Amber needs to get that through her head.”
“I don’t know if disciplinary action will get her there.”
Lawson shrugged. “It might not. But it’s necessary.”
I wasn’t going to convince him to take it easy on Amber. So, I simply nodded. “Thanks for making it clear that I wasn’t the one to report her.”
“Of course.” He glanced at the clock. “Do you need a ride home when you’re off shift?”
“No. Holt’s coming to pick me up.”
Lawson’s lips twitched.
I rolled my eyes as I stood. “Oh, shut up.”
“Pretty sure I didn’t say a word, Little Williams.”
“Your danged smirk says it all.”
Lawson held up both hands. “It makes me happy to see the people I care about happy.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I started out the door, Lawson’s chuckle following behind me. As much as I gave him a hard time, it meant everything to me that he cared. That he was invested. My parents might have been nonexistent in my life, but I’d filled that space with chosen family—those who stuck.
Taking the long way around to avoid Amber, I sought out the break room. Coffee was a no-go this late, and my nerves wouldn’t thank me for it anyway. Instead, I went in search of my secret stash.
Opening the fridge, I pawed through to the back and grabbed one of the two caffeine-free Diet Cokes. Cracking it open, I took a long sip as I walked back to my desk. As I sat, I stole a quick look in Amber’s direction. Her desk was empty.
Shit. I turned back to my station, ending the call forwarding and trying to focus intently on a game of solitaire, but my body was too aware of every little sound.
A door slammed, and my head jerked up.
Amber stormed to her desk. She ripped open one of the drawers, grabbed a bag, and then slammed that, too. Her eyes cut to mine, and I saw rage blazing there.
Clint grabbed her arm and whispered something in her ear.
She shrugged him off and turned for the back door, but not before sending me one last scathing look.
“What the hell is that all about?”
I jumped at the sound of Abel’s voice. “Geez, give a girl a little warning, would you?”
He grunted. “You were too distracted by the death stares.”
I winced. He might have a point there. “What are you doing here? You’re not on till two.”
“Couldn’t sleep. Figured I’d come play backup until my shift starts.”
Secretly, I was relieved. I could get Abel on a tear about something. The school board’s inane rules. How the intersection north of town desperately needed a stoplight. Anything that would take my mind off the silence and give me something to think about other than another shooting call coming in.
“Everything’s been pretty quiet.”
Abel glanced at me. “Quiet’s good.”
It was. But it was also killing my nerves.
Clint strode over. “Can I talk to you for a sec, Wren?”
Abel motioned me to go, muttering something about us being worse than his telenovelas.
I pushed to my feet and followed Clint a few steps away. “I didn’t report her.”
“I know, but you could’ve convinced Lawson not to bench her.”
“I tried, but he’s at his wits’ end with her.”
A muscle in Clint’s cheek fluttered. “She’s been through a lot. And this is a hard time of year for everyone.”
A hard time of year because we were coming up on the date of the shooting. Everything in me pitched as if I were a sailor trying to stay upright on a stormy sea. “Trust me. I know it’s a hard time of year.”
Clint blanched. “I wasn’t trying to suggest that it wasn’t—”
I held up a hand. “I know she’s your partner. I’m doing what I can to keep the peace. I try to avoid her and be nice when we do see each other.”
“It’ll be easy to avoid her now. Law suspended her for two weeks. Black mark on her record.”
I winced. That wasn’t good. But Clint’s tone basically insinuated that this whole thing was my fault. I met his stare, not looking away. “I’m not the one who makes Amber’s decisions.”
“You could’ve had her back the other day. Supported her.”
I gaped at him. “She’s going on a witch hunt. We don’t know that Joe has anything to do with this.”
“We don’t know he doesn’t.”
My back teeth ground together as I shook my head. “I thought better of you.”
Turning on my heel, I strode back to dispatch. “Can I take five?”
“Have at it,” Abel said. “Might want to take a few swings at the punching bag. You can pretend it’s Clint’s face.” He said the words loud enough for Clint to hear.
I wanted to laugh, could almost get there, but no sound escaped my lips. I didn’t need to hit something. I needed to breathe.
Pushing the back door open, I stepped outside. The night air still had a bite to it, and I sucked it in. The slight hint of pain helped ease the anger a bit, and the clean pine scent helped me reach for peace.
Guilt pricked at me as I took in Amber’s empty parking space. She needed a friend—someone who could talk her around to sane decisions. Grae had always been that for me, but not everyone was so lucky.
I pulled out my phone and tapped out a text.
Me: Lucky as hell to have you, G. Love your guts.
There was no response, but I didn’t expect one. Grae had to lead a hike tomorrow, and she needed her rest more than the average person.
I shoved my phone back into my pocket.
Gravel crunched against the asphalt, and I turned. The blow caught me before I could get there, knuckles cracking against my temple in a vicious hit. Lights danced in front of my eyes.
It was all I registered before falling.
I hit the ground with an ugly thud. The pavement tore at my skin, and I let out a moan.
A shoe came flying at my face, but I rolled, my shoulder taking the hit instead. My fingers locked around the keys in my pocket, and I tugged them free.
A hard kick landed on my back, right above my kidneys.
I cried out, frantically searching my keychain for what I needed. A second later, a piercing siren split the air.
I thought I heard someone curse and then footsteps running away. But I couldn’t be sure. All I knew was that the darkness was trying to claim me.
