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She looks at me quizzically.
It feels so good to tell someone. It’s been years since I’ve been one hundred percent myself. I’ve been living as Griffin Perez for the past four years, not Griffin Reyes. Granted, I got to keep my given name purely because I’m shit at responding to anything else. But I like the relief that comes with unfolding the truth for this woman.
“I’m a cop, and I’ve been here a while trying to help the department build a case against Arrick Mathieson. The guy whose office you were in.” I pause, hoping for a reaction. Some kind of indication of how she’s feeling as I reveal everything to her, but she gives none.
“I left today to go talk with my handler. Another cop I keep in touch with. He’s a decent guy. A friend.” This clearly gets her attention. “People are looking for you, Jules. Someone reported you missing, and a detective is working on your case. Evidently, the friend who reported you missing is very pushy.”
“Jay.” She sighs, and it seems like she’s happy about it.
I momentarily tense at her reaction to the mention of another man who has such a strong reaction to her disappearance. The larger part of me is grateful to him. He will keep her safe if I can’t.
“Yeah, well evidently, he’s been making a lot of noise and won’t go away. So the detective and my handler are going to talk with the lieutenant about putting together an operation to move both cases forward.”
The look on her face is riddled with questions.
“We’re working on getting you out of here.”
She bolts upright with a groan and turns to me fully. She sways a little, so I sit up and put my hands on her shoulders to steady her.
When she’s steady, she speaks. “You want to let me leave?”
“Of course.”
“I thought…” She pauses, and I wait for her to finish. “I thought I was supposed to stay? I thought you were supposed to keep me. I thought you were going to keep me.”
I didn’t realize that’s how she sees me, as her captor. Or maybe her protector. It squeezes at my heart that she thinks I would force her to stay. That I would force her to do anything.
“No, I need you away from here. I need you away from Arrick. I asked my friend to work on a plan to get you out.”
She sits frozen for a moment, and then her hands move to cup my face. She studies me for a moment, and I feel the warmth of her soft lips press to mine.
