Page 30 of Change

Chapter Six

Bianca

Trapped

I tucked my hands under my legs and studied my knees as Bryce weaved through the scarce afternoon traffic. “Don’t you think it’s weird how Uncle Gregory doesn’t want me to work with Gloria?”

Bryce stiffened in his seat slightly, then relaxed before answering. “Only a bit. But I can see why he’s concerned.”

“Why?”

“Gloria was a highly decorated detective who worked her way into that position when women were not encouraged to join the police force, but—” Bryce paused, hesitant, before he added, “—it’s been a long time since she’s been in the field, and the work she specialized in was not easy.”

“Like what?”

“She started out in cold cases,” Bryce explained. “When she gained notoriety, she moved on to espionage, serial killers, and other violent crimes. Uncle Gregory and Gloria were on the same team for a long time.”

Yes, that was probably when they were dating.

“What happened?”

“Another one of their team members was killed,” Bryce answered. “His best friend, Michael.”

The words rang heavy in the air, and I remembered Uncle Gregory saying something similar.

Michael Abernathy.

He’d said he was his best friend, that they worked together, that he was one of the members of his quintet.

But nowhere did he mention Gloria.

This added yet another layer to the already-complicated story.

“So why do you think he’s concerned?” If they’d worked together, shouldn’t he know that she was capable?

“Because if you’re with her and she takes on something risky, he won’t be there to help.” Bryce’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. “I can see why he’s worried. He became a consultant and avoided the more violent cases after Michael died. Joe settled into administrative positions. Gloria did not.”

“Joe?” I asked.

“Joseph Kohler, Julian’s grandfather. The four of them made up their own team on the local force.” Bryce clarified.

“But she said she’s not doing anything risky anymore.” My heart was thundering, and, for a second, I worried I might have bitten off more than I could chew. “Is there anything else that would make him worry?”

“I don’t know.” Bryce’s reply was slow—thoughtful—as his attention remained on the road. “All I do know is he has an issue with you being in any situation where she’d have to be forced to protect you.”

I didn’t need an old woman to protect me, besides… “She’s a shifter, I’m sure she could easily bite off someone’s face if she wanted.” Although Milesdidmention once that she wasn’t in the top five in terms of shifter strength, but—according to my calculations—there were nine officers—including two sets of proxies—for each of us. So that still meant that Gloria had to be strong.

A surface-level assessment might indicate that Uncle Gregory just really hated Gloria because of their past. But I didn’t think that was true, even though she seemed to loathe him.

What made more sense, to me at least, was my original theory. Uncle Gregory and Gloria were involved in a scandalous love affair in the past, and he still cared about her. It explained his overbearing—but protective—nature.

Explained. But did not justify. She’d been really angry to learn that he was interfering in our arrangement.

“Love makes people do crazy things,” I mused.

“Love?” Bryce scoffed, glancing at me with raised brow. “Who’s in love?”

I frowned at the blind fool—anyone could see it. “Uncle Gregory and Gloria.”