“Sometimes justice doesn’t come from law enforcement,” Cole said. “Sometimes it comes from the people who survived it.”
I looked at him. Really looked.
“Hey,” I asked. “You got any pigs on that ranch?”
Cole raised an eyebrow. “Thinking of starting a farm?”
“Nah. Just wondering if you’ve got anything... hungry.”
Cole’s smirk sharpened. "You got a specific piece of trash that needs to be taken care of?"
"Maybe," I said. "I've got something well past a year over its expiration date."
“You let me know when you need to feed the animals, Chief.”
We shook hands.
And as he walked away, I looked back toward the hospital doors, where Remi Carter had disappeared minutes ago.
That girl wasn’t just holding the line.
She was the goddamn line.
And I knew I would be working in the grey so I could be there with her, not to lead her, not to fix her.
But to stand beside her.
Because if justice wasn’t going to come clean, maybe we’d make our own.
CHAPTER 38
AVA - I TRUSTED HIM
It had been almost three weeks since I’d seen Harlan.
Since he’d touched me like I was fragile and held me like I wasn’t. Since he whispered,I love youin the space between sex and sleep, his voice rough and real against my skin.
Three weeks since I saw Erin Voss strutting out of his building at eight in the morning, same clothes as the day before, damp hair, no makeup. That smug little smirk carved into her face like she’d already won a game I didn’t know I was playing.
What the fuck was she doing there?
I knew for a fact she didn’t live in his building. None of his staff did. He’d told me that. Said he kept personal and professional separate.
Apparently, he lied.
The weeks after blurred, heavy with excuses.
Working late. Chasing leads. Helping a friend with hunting. Feeding the damn pigs.
That was the last one. A vague mention of a ranch and a favour he’d owe someone I’d never met. No follow-up. No invite. Nowish you were here. Just absence, wrapped in apology-shaped words that didn’t land.
I hadn’t pushed. Not at first.
Because I trusted him.
Because I believed in what we had.
Because this was the man who made coffee the way I liked it, who learned my silences, who held me like I wasn’t broken and loved me like maybe, just maybe, I was worth staying for.
