Between his family, Liam, and the entire police station, therehadto be something he could dig up. While Ian knew going after a man like Eric was difficult and convicting him almost impossible, he clung to his faith and his hope. After everything they’d gone through, he refused to believe that this was how things ended for them.
Exhaling, Ian ended the call, lifted up the collar of his jacket, and hurried into the station. His shoes squeaked against the linoleum floors, and bright fluorescent lighting danced on the edges of his vision. He strode down the hallway, which spilled out into the main part of the station, with desks on either side of him and a pair of stairs that led to the top floor.
Marissa stood on the far side of the room, flipping through files with a few other patrol officers. She looked up when hecame in, and her lips tightened. Her brows were raised when she handed the file over to a younger officer with blond hair and blue eyes.
She made a beeline for Ian, and they met in the middle. Wordlessly, Ian gestured to his desk and sat down.
Marissa pulled up her own chair and folded her arms in her lap. “Please tell me Bryce has something good. Nothing we’ve done has panned out so far. Everything is a dead end.”
Ian’s hand hovered over the mouse while he waited for the page to load. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Marissa shrugged and leaned forward. “I’m just being honest, E. Don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
“You’re supposed to keep my morale up,” Ian muttered to himself.
His email loaded, and he maximized the screen, finding several attachments from Bryce. Many of the documents scanned were old and frayed around the edges. A few of them had certain paragraphs underlined.
In silence, Ian and Marissa scanned the evidence.
When Ian was done, he pushed his chair back and read over the evidence again, hoping against hope that something different would happen. Slowly, he used the mouse to highlight certain phrases. After a second read-through, he twisted to face Marissa, who had taken her phone out and was scrolling through it.
“Yeah, there’s an article here about the case against Eric.” Marissa’s eyebrows drew together. “But the charges were dropped because there wasn’t enough evidence.”
“So, in other words, he paid off a few people and pulled some strings.”
Marissa tossed her phone onto her desk. “Looks like it. I’m sorry, E.”
Ian stood and went to the staff lounge, Marissa close on his heels. He poured a cup of coffee, took his sandwich out of the fridge, and went to the holding cells. Once he crossed the threshold, Marissa squeezed his shoulder and disappeared.
“Where’s that pretty partner of yours going?”
Ian tossed the sandwich through the metal bars, and Jake’s hand darted out to catch it. “She’s got better things to do than waste time on you.”
Jake unwrapped the sandwich and pushed himself off the wall. “That’s too bad. She’s definitely a lot easier on the eyes than you are.”
“You know, I’m surprised you get as much business as you do, considering the mouth you have on you.”
Jake shoved his long, dirty hair out of his eyes. “When you want the best, certain allowances need to be made.”
Ian released the metal bars, set the cup of coffee down, and took a few steps back. “Still think you’re the best, huh? Even after you were almost killed?”
“When I get out of here, people are going to be clamoring to hire me,” Jake said between bites of food. He used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth and rubbed it against the front of his shirt, leaving stains there. “As far as they’re concerned, I’ve survived the police and Eric Taylor. I’m practically a legend now.”
Ian snorted. “What does that make me?”
Jake took another big bite of his sandwich. “You’re either going to be a legend or a cautionary tale. It depends on how good your PI is.”
“He’s good, but Eric’s covered his tracks well.”
“What do you expect? Now that he knows you’re onto him, he’s not going to let things go.”
“I see you’ve been catching up on the gossip.”
Jake scarfed down the rest of his sandwich and rubbed his hands on either side of his jeans. “It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do here. I’m glad they decided to transfer me back to Falmouth.”
“Lucky you.”
Jake shook his hair out of his eyes and shoved both hands into his pockets. “I wouldn’t worry too much, Railings. You’ve already survived a lot longer than I thought you would. You are officially a thorn in Eric’s side and my new favorite cop.”
