Page 24 of The Stolen Dagger
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
DREW
“ L et me get this straight,” Captain Rodgers said sternly from behind his desk the next morning. “Are you telling me you’ve been working on a cold case out of your jurisdiction instead of the cases you were assigned?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That is a serious conflict of interest.” He ran a hand through his short, gray hair in frustration. “You shouldn’t be involved, considering your relationship with this woman. You have no right to this case.”
“I know, sir, but Katherine was scared,” I explained. “She still is. It took a while for her to open up about this. I know I should’ve come to you first, but with no evidence and then the threats, she didn’t trust anyone, let alone the police. ”
Captain Rodgers sighed. “If what you say about this girl’s past is true, then I can understand why she’d be cautious.”
I nodded. “I also didn’t want to come to you without all the information, but I’m here now. We have an idea where the dagger could be. With that, we’d have the evidence needed to close this case.”
“That’s just the thing, son,” he said, clasping his thick, callused hands together and leaning back in his chair. “It’s not your case. And how do we know this Katherine girl is telling you the truth about the dagger’s whereabouts?”
“What reason would she have to lie?” I countered. “Look, Captain, she’s terrified of the perp. She wants this all behind her. What’s she to gain from lying?”
The whirr of the air conditioner filled the few seconds of silence between us. Captain Rodgers hummed again and rubbed his closely shaven white beard.
“Well,” he cleared his throat, “this is quite the mess you’ve gotten yourself mixed up in. And all for some woman.”
“She’s not just some woman, sir,” I argued, but a smile pulled at my lips as I thought of Katherine.
I love her.
I didn’t need to say the words for him to understand my meaning.
“The things we do for love.” Captain Rodger’s mustache twitched with the remnants of a matching smile as he glanced at the framed picture on his left, the portrait of his wife. “If this Katherine is anything like my Marie, then she’s sure as hell worth it.”
“That she is, sir.” I agreed, thinking of Katherine that morning, legs tangled in my sheets and wrapped up in my arms. “So, what can we do?”
“I’ll be straight with you, son,” Captain Rodgers said. “I’ll do everything I can to help this girl, but I can’t ignore the fact you broke protocol working on this case and went behind my back. You’ll be suspended when this is over, but I’ll do what I can to help.”
My shoulders sagged in relief, expecting something worse than a suspension.
“I understand, sir,” I said. “What are our next steps?”
“Well, first things first.” Captain Rodgers leaned forward with his elbows on the desk. “I need to speak with Katherine. I want to hear her side of the story. The sooner I have that, the sooner we can catch this guy.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, already reaching for my phone in my pocket.
I stood and exited the office, dialing Katherine’s number. While she didn’t want to talk to Captain Rogers, it was our only way to stop Adrian and make sure no one else was hurt in the process.
I needed to tell her about this before she took matters into her own hands.
KATHERINE
With my packed bag in one hand and phone in the other, I was halfway out the door when Drew called.
After he left for work that morning to talk with his captain, I’d been formulating a plan of my own, and the first step: leave.
Knowing Drew would try to stop me, I had to go before he got back. It should have been the easiest part of the plan. All I needed to do was get in my car and drive.
So why was I hesitating?
Because you love him , that little voice in my head whispered.
Which was exactly why I had to leave, wasn’t it? To protect the people I loved. To protect Drew and Leah from Adrian. Because it was my fault they were involved at all.
Because of me, Hunter threatened them and the life I’d made for myself away from Vegas, away from Adrian.
Yes , I reminded myself. I do love Drew , which was why I had to leave. To make sure this mess would be over with. For good.
But now, as my phone vibrated in my hand, I froze.
A lump lodged in my throat at the sight of his name on the small, lit screen and shame flooded me. I stepped back into the apartment and dropped my bag on the floor.
If I answer it, will he know something is wrong? Will he hear it in my voice? Will he try to stop me?
I answered the call before I could overthink it.
“Hey,” I said, trying to sound normal.
“Hey, baby,” Drew replied.
Baby. Something in my chest lurched.
“Captain Rodgers agreed to help, but he wants to speak with you first. I can leave now and be there in about ten minutes to pick you up.”
A wave of strife washed over me, pulling me in two different directions. I should walk out the front door right now, but another part of me wanted to trust that Drew knew what he was doing.
“Why does he want to speak with me?” I asked. “Doesn’t he have all the information he needs?”
“Yes, but it would be better if?—”
The vibration of an incoming call cut off his sentence. I pulled the phone from my ear.
Leah’s name flashed across the screen. I narrowed my eyes at the little screen until the call dropped just for her name to pop up again a few seconds later.
Why is she calling me ?
“Katherine?” Drew asked, his voice far off. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah,” I replied and put the phone back to my ear. “Sorry. Leah is calling me.”
“Leah?” Drew asked, just as perplexed as I was. “Shouldn’t she be in class right now?”
She was. She never called during class.
“It must be important,” Drew said. “Either way, I’ll be there in ten.”
“No, wait—” I said, but he had already hung up.
I sighed, missing my chance at a clean escape. Leah’s name flashed across the phone again for the third time, and I answered it.
“Leah? Everything okay?”
The deep male voice that answered made my stomach churn.
“Guess again, cupcake.”