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She stared at me for a long moment, and I could feel the weight of her gaze even through the masks. She was searching for any sign that I might change my mind, but I couldn’t do it.
I had a duty to uphold, and I couldn’t betray that, not even for her.
“Your actions have consequences too, ya know,” she bit out. “What if this is the thing that makes him turn to the dark side, and I can’t ever get him back?”
A big part of me ached to pull her into my arms and tell her everything would work out. I wanted to tell her that with a sister like her, the kid would find his way back from whatever darkness came near him. But not only would that further muddy the waters, I also had no idea if any of it was true. I wasn’t a fortune teller, and I didn’t know her brother. For all I knew, he was destined for a life of crime no matter what she did—no matter what I did.
When I didn’t speak, her spine straightened and her chin lifted. “You’re not gonna give him a break, are you?”
“I can’t.”
“You won’t.”
I looked away. Same thing, right?
“Look,” I began, trying to keep my voice steady and firm. “I’m not here to play judge and jury. As a cop, it’s my duty to uphold the law, no matter how much the situation sucks. It’s black and white, right and wrong. Once again, I’m sorry.”
Her face fell, disappointment and anger flashing across her features—what I could see of them, anyway. “Well, I definitely won’t be callin’ you, that’s for sure.”
“Good to know,” I replied, trying to keep the hurt from showing on my face, “but I wasn’t really expectin’ you to.”
Her head snapped back as if my words had slapped her, and I winced as I turned back toward her brother.
“Let’s go, Tyler,” I said as I motioned for him to follow me.
The kid hesitated for a moment, glancing at his sister as she stood against the railing, arms crossed and tears streaming down her face.
“I’ll get out of here as soon as I can, and I’ll be with you every step of the way,” she promised him.
Swallowing hard, he finally nodded and fell into step beside me. There was no way I’d take him through the house to make a show of detaining him for the local police. We’d walk far enough away from the house, and once we were there, I’d let Laney in on my plan before calling it in.
Tyler and I walked across the long patio in silence, the sound of our footsteps echoing through the cool night air. It was moments like these that made my job feel like a burden rather than the calling I’d always believed it to be. But I couldn’t let myself waver now; I had to stay strong and do what was right, even if it felt like I was tearing my own heart out in the process.
But why? How did that woman whose name I still didn’t know have such a hold over me?
I could ask Tyler for her name… But at this point, just like removing the mask, something told me that would only make this whole thing feel worse.
As we rounded the corner of the house, Tyler looked over his shoulder one last time, his eyes filled with a mix of fear and sadness. I knew he was thinking about the consequences of what he’d done, how they’d affect not just him but his sister too—and the guilt weighed heavy on my chest.
“Listen, Tyler,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. “I’m sorry it has to be this way. Truly, I am.”
He didn’t say anything, just gave me a small, resigned nod. And as we continued walking, I couldn’t help but wonder if there’d been another way.
One where everyone could’ve walked away from this unscathed, and the bright future I’d imagined with the woman I knew felt the same sparks I did? Maybe there would’ve been a chance for us, too.
But, nope.
I couldn’t think of a single thing that didn’t involve me backing down on what I believed in, and for the first time since I’d followed my lifelong dream to become a cop, I wished I’d stuck with Little League.
17/
paisley
“Okay, show me the goods,” Hope said, clapping her hands from her console.
I spun in my chair, pulling out my phone with a smile as wide as hers. I’d gotten only three hours of sleep last night due to staying late at the hospital to wait for Carter Judd Wilson to make his grand arrival. But it was so worth it.
“He’s the cutest baby I’ve seen since the last Wilson baby was born,” I said with a laugh, swiping through the photos on my phone as I scooted by chair toward hers.
