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“I know. Your car’s gone.”

Violet stiffened. “I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Okay.”

Hanging up, Violet cleaned up the table quickly, grabbed her keys, and raced out to her car. She was at her apartment in ten minutes, and there was Diane in the Hummer, parked in front of her building. Violet tapped on the window with her knuckle, startling Diane.

“Hey,” Violet said, surprised that the tension in her belly wasn’t there this time. Maybe the last month had really been what she needed.

“Hey.” Diane gave her a pitiful look. “Thanks for talking with me.”

“Yeah. Let’s go upstairs.” They took their time walking to her apartment. Violet unlocked the door and let them in, immediately starting water for tea because those ingrained hospitality habits were never going to be rid from her.

“Thank you again for talking with me.”

“You said that, Diane. What did you want to talk about?” Violet leaned against the wall between the kitchen and the living area, waiting for Diane to start in on everything.

“I’m so sorry about everything that happened this season. It was…not a great start, and I apologize. I should have told you I was hiring Lando.”

“You should have.” Violet drew in a deep breath. “Just like you should have told me you didn’t pay Erik last season.”

Diane’s lips quivered, caught in another deception. Violet could read her, finally, like she’d never been able to before.

“You also should have talked with me about making decisions. This was my grant, Diane. You put that in jeopardy, you put my job and my reputation in jeopardy. And for what? Because that I haven’t figured out.”

Stepping closer, Diane put a hand on Violet’s arm. “I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t thinking, and I got caught up in the stress of it all.”

“In the stress?” Violet raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “You could have asked for help if you couldn’t handle it. That’s the entire point of being on a team. Instead, I’m here fixing your mistakes from a year ago. I’m not out chasing this season like I wanted to be, like I took a leave of absence for.”

“Then come back,” Diane murmured.

“What?” Violet’s eyes widened.

“Come back. Let’s go chasing, just you and me, and it’ll be just like old times again. We can use what’s left of the grant, find tornados—come on.”

“Are you serious?” Violet canted her head to the side, flitting her gaze all over Diane’s face as she dared to find the lie in it.

“Yes. I miss it. I miss you. You’re my best friend, and this past month… I don’t know. I’ve done a lot of thinking, and I can’t live without you. I can’t live without chasing.” Diane’s eyes looked sincere, but Violet still had doubt raging in her belly.

“You can’t live without chasing? You don’t do anything except drive the damn car.” Violet’s harsh tone took Diane by surprise.

Diane’s lips parted, and she moved back, giving Violet some much-needed space. “Are you angry with me still?”

“Yes!” Violet stepped away from the wall and turned the kettle off, deciding they weren’t going to need it after all. “And the fact you think I wouldn’t be is absurd. You toyed with people’s lives, Diane. You let them risk their lives for no benefit at all. You sat around and watched them run into oncoming danger and think you’re a part of the team? No. The team was only ever me and Erik or me and Lando. You were nothing essential.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Good.” Violet glared at her. “Because I’m tired of cleaning up your messes. I’m tired of fixing your mistakes and watching your back and getting nothing in return. I’m tired of being your bitch.”

Diane’s jaw clenched tightly, her brows drawing together. She was either going to lash out in anger or she was going to walk away. Taking the decision for her, Violet stepped toward the door to her apartment and opened it.

“It’s time for you to leave, Diane. If you call me again, I won’t answer. And if you show up here to talk to me, I’ll call the cops. Get the hell out of my life.”

Diane hesitated, but she eventually walked by Violet and out the door. Closing and locking it, Violet put her forehead against the cold metal, closed her eyes, and sighed. It felt good and awful at the same time, but most importantly, she felt lighter. The weight of the relationship was gone, and Violet had never been so free. She should have done this decades ago. Smiling to herself, she thought of Lando, a perfect idea forming in her head.

She waited in her apartment for another thirty minutes to make sure that Diane had left and they wouldn’taccidentallyrun into each other in the parking lot. Closing up her apartment, Violet drove straight for the grocery store. She was going to make them a nice meal that night, have a semi-proper date, and then she would ask Lando the question that had been burning in her mind for weeks. Finalizing her break from Diane only brought it into reality even more, and she didn’t want to wait any longer.

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