Page 2 of A Simple Mistake (Deadly Mistakes #1)

TWO

Liam

One year later—Present day

“Hey, Boss, did you hear about two more people going missing?” Norm asks.

“No, haven’t looked at the news today,” I say. Since opening the diner seven hours ago, I actually haven’t done a whole lot of anything besides get plates out. I tried an audiobook, but the moment the main character spent an entire paragraph describing the love interest’s eyes, I checked out.

No one’s eyes are interesting enough to waste a paragraph on them.

Well… almost no one’s.

“You used to work homicide, right? I guess this killer is picking off homicide or law enforcement or something. Killing them and slicing them up. My brother was telling me about it.” Norm leans over the counter, watching me work.

I know about the first victim who died four months ago, but now there’s more?

“Huh.” I flip the eggs as I realize that maybe , possibly, he’s saying something of interest, which is an extremely rare thing. He usually talks about cars, and the only thing I care about when it comes to a car is if the seat is going to warm my ass when the weather turns cold. “Tracy!”

The young woman leaves her post and comes over to me. “What can I do for you?” she asks with a big smile on her face, like any part of this dreadfulness could remotely be worth smiling over.

“Here, I’ve got something to do,” I say as I place the spatula in her hand.

That sure breaks that smile. “Wait… what? I’m a server.”

“Yeah, but you can cook, right? You brought in those cookies the other day you said you made.”

“I lied! I got them at the bakery and threw them in a container so it looked like I made them.”

“Just… put the closed sign up and finish out the people who are in here and then you can leave. I’m sure you can figure out how to cook an egg,” I say.

Useless.

How are some people so useless?

I pull my apron off and toss it onto a chair before I grab my coat and keys. I step through the back door, hoping they don’t burn the diner down in the process of making an egg, but not quite sure I’d care if they did when I have much bigger things to worry about. At least burning it down would add some excitement to my otherwise boring life.

My drive home takes only about ten minutes, where I hurry straight inside and over to my computer. I pull up the police database, using the name and password I’d taken from one of the lab techs I’d gotten drunk one night. It doesn’t take me long to find out what Norm was talking about.

Yesterday morning, Detective Rick Hughes and Detective Gabriel Hyde were reported missing.

Someone… took my Gabriel from me?

I’ve gotten lax. This past week I was busy and didn’t snoop around efficiently enough.

Fuck.

I’ve been sitting here twiddling my fucking thumbs trying to be a “good” citizen and Gabriel was taken from me.

They’re going to fucking regret taking what is mine.

But now, now I have to figure out where he is, and then I have to make the killer suffer for what they’ve done. Gabriel has to be okay… if they’ve done something to him…

Rage unlike anything I’ve ever felt eats through me at the idea that someone could have killed Gabriel.

Two years ago

“Paige!”

Some days I wonder what they would do if I just never looked up or answered. I mean… they’re not going to fire me, I’m too valuable. How long would they call my name before they just gave up and walked away? Would they keep calling my name until I finally answered? What would they choose to do?

“Detective Paige, I’m well aware that you can hear me. I would just love for you to acknowledge me,” Sergeant Michaels says as he stands in the doorway to my office with a second man behind him.

The other detectives who are stuck with cubicles on the third floor were quite curious how I was able to acquire an office all on my own. So I simply explained how I annoyed my higher-ups until they decided that closing me behind a door was the best idea they’d ever had.

“Detective Paige, do you have a moment?”

Not for you.

“I have a lot of moments,” I respond as I pause what I’m doing and look up. “What can I do for you?”

He seems irritated, like usual. Definitely can’t have anything to do with me ignoring him and probably has to do with the fact that his wife doesn’t like him very much.

“This is Detective Hyde. He’ll be your new partner starting today,” he announces.

I look over at the second man standing in my doorway. Really, one was more than enough, and now I have the joy of a second person to deal with when I’m quite busy. He’s probably around thirty, eight years my junior. Nice face, nice body, not interested.

“No thanks.”

“Not optional. I struggle to understand why you think any part of your job is ever optional,” Sgt. Michaels says.

My eyes flick back to the new detective. He’s got a handsome face with a sweet smile that reaches his dark brown eyes. He’s got that whole… when he smiles you can see it on every inch of his face thing going on. If I were going to hire someone to con my boss into loving me, I’d hire this guy. He looks like he could sucker anyone into caring about what he has to say… anyone but me, that is.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he says.

Is it?

He holds his hand out and I’m forced to place mine in it for a reason that I really don’t understand. Like let’s share our hand germs, I sure hope you washed your hands after taking a piss. But he’s got a nice firm grip that makes me wonder what his fingerprints look like. Probably not one of my healthier obsessions.

“Ah, you too,” I say, and boy does that smile get wider.

It definitely works on the women.

I mean… it would work on me too if we were in a bar and not currently talking about my work life.

“I like working with my old partner,” I say.

“He retired eight months ago,” Sgt. Michaels retorts.

“And some say he didn’t retire soon enough.”

Michaels cocks an eyebrow. “You were the only one saying that.”

“Oh right… are you guys done? I’m rather busy,” I say as I eye my computer. “Let Patsy have him, she’ll love him.”

“No one here is named Patsy.”

“Patty? Petunia? Peter?”

“Donna?”

“Yeah, that one.” I turn to explain the issue to Detective Hyde. “She took my last partner—not the one that retired, the one after that. They wouldn’t let me have that one more than a few days.”

“You made him cry,” Michaels says.

“Once. Would you leave after crying only once?” I ask Detective Hyde.

“I guess it depends how hard you made me cry,” he says with a teasing tone.

I grin at him. “You’re funny. I would say I like you but if I do, the good ol’ sergeant here will think that means we’re meant to be partners.”

Michaels tosses a folder onto my desk. “Why don’t you go over this with Hyde?”

I pick up the folder and hold it out to Hyde. “Have a blast.”

“I said for you to brief him,” Michaels corrects.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was story time. Hyde, would you like to sit on the floor or on my knee?” I ask.

Hyde’s eyebrow shoots up as Michaels looks ready to deep-fry my ass.

“Now, Paige.”

“Got it,” I say.

“And clear off the spare desk. That’s not a place for all of your junk. That’s Hyde’s desk now.” And with that, he storms out.

“That man is just a ray of sunshine,” I comment. “You ever seen a ray that bright?”

Hyde laughs. “Uh… maybe not?”

“Your first order of business is cleaning your desk off. I’m swamped,” I say. “When you’re done, read through that folder and let me know.”

“What am I letting you know?” he asks.

“That you can read.”

“I can do that,” he says as he gives me another of those smiles. I bet he breaks a lot of hearts with that smile. I dutifully return to what I was doing while he works on the desk that faces mine. The room is set up with my desk facing the door so that no one can step in and look at my computer. But this also means that his desk is butted up against mine, so whenever I glance up, it’s right into those warm brown eyes.