Page 51 of Making Home with You

“And,” he says, cutting me off.“Your version will be listened too and both sides will be given a voice.I give you my word,” he promises as he looks across at me.I nod, swallowing hard as I force myself to believe him.“In the meantime, I will ask that you continue to stay away from Ms.Robinson and to keep the details of this investigation to yourself.”

“So I’m not suspended?”I ask.

“You’re not,” he says and I immediately feel a weight lift off me.“But you do need to be careful,” he adds.“If anything comes up, or if Ms.Robinson requests police assistance for any reason, you are not to become involved, is that clear?”

“Yes,” I tell him.

“Right,” he says, gathering his things.“Here’s my contact details,” he adds, sliding a business card onto my desk.“Feel free to get in touch if you think of anything else that may help this investigation.”

I stare down at it, at the words printed across the plain white card, the insignia in the top left-hand corner.It’s not something I ever expected to see in my policing career and it scares the shit out of me that I’m seeing it now.

Part of me wishes this guy could provide some kind of reassurance that everything will be okay, that we’re on the same side and I’m not facing the prospect of losing my job and my career.

But I know he can’t do that.He has to remain impartial and unbiased, regardless of the fact we both took the same oath to serve and protect.

“Thanks for your time,” he adds, reminding me he’s still here.“I’ll be in touch.”

I nod, unable to say anything as he shakes my hand and walks out the door.It’s only after he’s gone that I realize I haven’t told him anything about my run-in with Carla at the fish and chips shop she owns or my suspicions about her being in my backyard last Saturday night.

“Fuck,” I mumble, glancing at my watch.“Fuck,” I repeat, louder this time when I see it’s now twenty-seven minutes after twelve and I’ve completely forgotten and now missed my lunch with Sarah.

I grab my phone, type out a quick text.

Me: Babe, I am so sorry.Something came up at work and I’m still in Rockport.Will have to raincheck lunch.Sorry.

I stare at my phone, willing the three floating bubbles that tells me Sarah is replying to my message to appear on the screen.But they don’t and all I can do is wonder if she’s waiting somewhere for me to show up, trying to avoid the boss she doesn’t like and who I already have a bad feeling about.

“Fucking hell,” I murmur, through gritted teeth.

I trying calling, but her phone rings out, the call eventually going to voicemail.I don’t bother leaving a message because at this point, I have no idea what I can possibly say.

I spend the rest of the afternoon trying to stay focused on work and not text or call Sarah repeatedly.She never responds to my original message and by four o’clock, I know I can’t stay here any longer.

Packing up my things, I grab may jacket and head outside to my car, not stopping as I call out a quick goodbye to everyone in the office.No one has come to ask me about the plain clothes detective who spent a couple of hours in my office this morning and I haven’t bothered to share any information with them either.Not because I’ve been told not to, but because I really don’t need anyone knowing or talking about this anymore than they already are.

Unlocking the car, I throw my things in the back seat and quickly Google the address in Boston.Typing it into the GPS, I pull out of the parking lot and head toward the I95.

Traffic is a bitch and it takes me the better part of two hours to get there, another thirty minutes to find a park.Eventually, I’m walking into Sarah’s building, heading over to the reception.

“I’m here to see Sarah Summers,” I say to the guard at the front.

I watch as he eyes my uniform, the questions that I know he wants to ask, but isn’t sure he’s allowed to.It’s obvious I’m not a Boston cop, but that probably doesn’t mean much to this guy.At best, he’s an overweight rent-a-guard who probably wishes he was wearing the uniform.

“Fourteenth floor,” he says, gesturing to the elevators.

I nod and head toward them, but before I have a chance to even press the call button, the doors open and a dozen people push out, Sarah included, head down as though all she wants to do is get away from something.She doesn’t even see me and it’s only me, reaching out to her, that stops her.

“Sarah?”I ask?

Chapter Fifteen

Sarah

I nearly slam into Finn with my heart racing so fast in my chest that I’m afraid he might feel it when he hugs me.

As I pull back, I ask, “What are you doing here?”But I’m breathless and I feel like he might misinterpret my need to get the hell out of here for something else.“I mean…” I say, smiling up at him, but everything about this moment is wrong.

I know Andrew is hot on my heels and will be hitting the lobby any second now, and having Finn see him, possibly meet him, is not at all how I wanted a surprise like this to play out.