They kept it from you, is that what you want?
No, but there must be a reason for why they didn’t say a word.
“Adelaide,” Harry sauntered in without a knock. His initial bald head was growing back. He carried his infectious confidence into my space. “You rarely call me down.”
“Have a seat, Harry.”
His movement faltered before he cleared his throat. “Alright, what’s this about?”
“Let’s have a celebratory party for me today.”
Harry’s eyes narrowed. “What’s the rush when it’s planned for next weekend?”
“It’s a Friday and I have nothing to do,” I lied. “It would be the perfect time to have fun, don’t you think?”
“I’d have to…” he pulled at his collar. “Speak with the men about this, see if they’re free.”
“Please,” I gave him puppy eyes with a slight pout. “Consider it my early birthday present.”
He didn’t know that my birthday passed, but it was enough incentive. My legs fidgeted up and down as they waited for his answer.
Say yes. Say yes. Say yes.
“Alright.” He gave in quicker than I thought he would. Usually, he’d put up a fight—finding reasons not to meet up.That, and he liked to belittle me. Holding your ground madea huge difference with men like Harry. “I’ll text you the address.”
“Perfect,” I clapped my hands together. “It’ll be fun.”
A dark, slanted look. “It will, Adelaide.”
“I’d advise against this, Adelaide.”
It was risky meeting up with Rowlen in Starlight. Afterwork, I texted him for an urgent meeting. For this to work—to find out the full truth—I needed back up.
You have back up. All around the world, we call them our husbands.
Not him.
Christian was my liability. His entrancing wretched stare broke me once, and they would do it again and again until I was at my knees in front of him.
Love was a facade. It spoke in code and jammed right when I’d try to decode it.
“I’m not asking for your advice, Jake.”
The police station was like any other station. Rows of cubicles, some empty, some busy with men filling in papers. Rowlen sat back on his chair with his arms crossed, muscles bulging and an entirely unamused glance at the culprit—me.
Christian laid out the plans for him and vice versa. I would be pissed at Jake too if it wasn’t his job to stay secretive.
“You don’t want me to inform your husband and the other guys about this, but you want me to help you. How do you not expect meto give advice?”
“Your job is to the country—to the citizens. Not to them. I’m helping you reach the end of the case you’ve been working on for far too long. You should be jumping at this opportunity.”
“Adelaide,” he rubbed over his arm. His index tracing distracted circles on a large scar below his elbow. “We’ll mess the case up if we work impulsively.”
A pointed chin. “I thought this through.”
“Your plan is to go alone without anyone knowing and get the files and then press the button.”
“If your issue is not having backup then bring more police officers.” He was being stubborn. “I know you have a warrant to enter the house too. Don’t bring that up as an excuse either.”
