And maybe that would be enough.
TWENTY
brooks
The plane toucheddown in Austin at two in the afternoon.
Brooks had been gone five weeks. It felt like years.
He collected his rental car and drove through familiar streets that no longer felt like home. The humidity pressed down, the traffic moved too fast, and everything was too loud after Westerly Cove.
His first stop was the Austin Police Department headquarters. Captain Rodriguez had agreed to meet him, though Brooks suspected the captain would rather have avoided this conversation.
The building looked exactly as he’d left it. Same security checkpoint. Same fluorescent lights. Same smell of burnt coffee and industrial cleaner. But Brooks walked through it differently now—not as someone who belonged, but as a visitor.
Rodriguez waited in his office. More gray in his hair. Deeper lines around his eyes.
“Harrington.” The captain stood, offering his hand. “Good to see you.”
“You too, sir.” They shook, then sat. “Thanks for making time.”
“Your email said you wanted to discuss your resignation formally. I figured I owed you a face-to-face.” Rodriguez leaned back. “How’s Rhode Island treating you?”
“Better than expected. The temporary position turned permanent. Small department, quiet town. It’s a good fit.”
“And the case you mentioned? Missing person?”
“Solved. Turned into something bigger—artifact smuggling operation that had been running for over a century. FBI’s handling the prosecution now.”
Rodriguez’s eyebrows rose. “That’s what you’ve been doing in a town of five thousand people?”
“Turns out small towns have deep secrets.” Brooks pulled a folder from his bag. “I brought my official resignation letter. Effective immediately, if that works for the department.”
The captain accepted the folder but didn’t open it. “You know you don’t have to do this. I could extend your leave, give you more time to think.”
“I’ve thought about it for five weeks. This is the right call.”
“Because of Traci.”
Brooks met his gaze. “Partly. But also because I’ve found something in Westerly Cove that I didn’t expect to find. Purpose. A reason to get up in the morning.”
Rodriguez was quiet for a moment. “You’ve changed. I can hear it in your voice.”
“The case changed me. Working with someone who sees things differently changed me.” Brooks paused. “She’s a local historian. Cultural expert. She reads evidence the way I never learned to.”
“And she helped you solve a century-old smuggling operation.”
“Among other things.” Brooks thought about Vivienne’s abilities, about the connection they’d forged. Rodriguez wouldn’t understand—hell, Brooks barely understood it himself.“Working with her reminded me why I became a cop. Not just to follow procedure, but to find truth. Whatever form that takes.”
“Sounds like she made an impression.”
“She did.”
Rodriguez opened the folder, scanned the resignation letter. “I’ll process it through HR by end of week.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I need to ask—are you running from what happened with Traci, or running toward something better?”
