I turned back to face them, the weight of it all hanging in the room.
“I’ll talk to her… but we'll move her today. Quietly. Before Erin burns this whole place down, and everything they’ve been working for disappears along with it.”
CHAPTER 57
HARLAN - I AM TERRIFIED
When I walked by, Remi was seated in the corner of the observation room, her arms crossed tightly, as if they were the only things keeping her upright.
She looked better than yesterday, worse than this morning. Like the gravity of it all kept shifting, and she was stuck inside it.
I didn’t expect her to trust me.
Which was why I knew I needed Ava on board.
When I had approached her, all I wanted to do was pull her in my arms, let her ground me... let me believe if only for a moment that my whole world wasn't burning up in front of me.
But that wasn't what she needed, so I stopped short and took her in before her ocean eyes locked onto mine, and the fear and pain in her eyes nearly did me in.
I couldn't hold myself back then, because maybe she did need me as much as I needed her.
I sat beside her on the bench and watched a single tear track down her cheek. "I am so sorry, baby."
Ava turned her face from the rest of the precinct and wiped her tears.
"Can I hug you... hold you?" I asked.
Her eyes shot back to mine, and so much lived in their depths. "Aren't you worried about what everyone will think? The review board is in your office."
I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in tight beside me. She stilled for a moment and then let go of the tension, the fear... the distance between us.
"I know you said now is not the time, but it needs to be saidanyway. I love you. I love you, Ava, and I am sorry that I didn't do a better job at showing you. I am sorry I didn't tell you the truth, give you what you needed. But since I have met you, there has only been you, and even if you decide I am not worth it in the end, there will only ever be you. I can explain and I will... when you are ready, when we have time. But I just needed you to know."
Her lip trembled, and I knew she was trying to be strong, so I changed the subject. "We want to move Remi somewhere safe."
Ava sighed and nuzzled into me a little more. "She's not safe here anymore, is she?"
I shook my head. Erin's departure had cleared out the worst of them, but internal affairs and outside agencies were digging deeper into her background. So was Gray.
“She’s not going to listen to me,” I said quietly. “If we’re going to get her out of here without a fight, I need you to help her see the bigger picture.”
Ava nodded once, lips drawn thin.
“She’s already losing herself, Harlan. If we make her feel caged again...”
“She won’t be caged,” I said. “She’ll be protected. Hidden. Alive.”
"Okay, Harlan, I trust you with her."
God, did she know what that meant to me? That simple statement.
I guided Ava to the observation room and opened the door.
Remi didn’t look up.
Not at first.
Then, slow and sure, she lifted her eyes and stared at me like I was interrupting something... anything, as if she wasn't sitting by herself in a cold, sterile room.
