“Goodbye, sir,” I said as I opened the door.
I should have expected to find my partner,former partner, standing on the other side of the door, arms crossed, with a scowl on her face and toes tapping.
“Well?” she demanded as I walked past her. “Spill it, Aiden. What the hell is going on with you?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her reach for me so I quickly stopped and spun to face her. The last thing I needed was for her to grab hold of me and pull or yank me. There’d be no hiding the sharp sting of skin pulling against the stitches if she got her hands on me.
“Vict—” I started, but she cut me off before I could even finish her name.
“Don’t you dareVictoriame, Aiden Cooper! What the hell isgoing on?” She poked a finger at my chest with each word, and while it wasn’t ideal, it was definitely better than her trying to manhandle me and pulling on my stitches.
I held up my hands in surrender and sighed. There had been a calculated risk in talking to Victoria first versus after it was already done, and I couldn’t help but think maybe I had bet on the wrong horse in this scenario.
“I just gave Chief Vasquez my letter of resignation.”
She pulled back, her mouth slack as she tried to process my words. The hurt was clear on her face and my heart plummeted. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her.
“Resignation? What? Why?” With a frown, she glared up at me and I would have taken a step back if the action hadn’t been like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
“This is abouthim, isn’t it? Is he making you quit? Trying to control you? I told you?—”
“Stop.” My tone held no room for argument. I knew Vic was worried about me with Nate and I regretted ever telling her about his diagnosis. Especially in light of the new development of finding out that he was a serial killer.
Her eyes hardened as she stared at me. “So, it’s true. You’re leaving. Moving away?”
Shocked, I took a step back. “How? Alyssa, did she tell you that? Why the hell are you suddenly all buddy-buddy with my sister?”
It didn’t make sense. We had been friends for a long time, but she had never shown an interest in being friends with my sister before. Not until Nate came into my life.
“He’s manipulating you, Aiden, and you can’t even see it. Isolating you from your family by convincing you to quit your job, move away from your family and friends. This isn’t you.”
I shook my head. “I had decided to quit on my own. That wasn’t his decision to make, Vic. You need to leave me, my family, and my boyfriend alone.”
Her eyes blazed as she got in my face, hissing. “He’s a fucking psychopath.”
“Thought that word wasn’t used anymore, Victoria? You’re a fucking hypocrite.” I tried to push past her, but she blocked my path, drawing the eyes of the other cops around us.
“Get out of my way, Vic.” The last thing I wanted was to start something in the middle of the precinct, but I also wasn’t going to let her bully me.
“Is there a problem here?” Ramirez asked as he stood from his desk and made his way over.
Victoria glanced back and forth between us for a moment and put her hands up in surrender as she took a step back. “Nope. You know how it is.”
“I’m sorry, Vic. You’re my friend, my best friend, and I love you. But Nate, he’s off-limits to whatever bullshit this is.” I waved my hand in her direction.
The fact that she’d never met him and never tried to give him a chance stung.
“I love him and that’s all that matters.”
I left her sputtering as I walked away. A part of my heart ached for pushing her away, but I knew it was necessary. Not just to protect Nate, but to protect Victoria as well.
36
NATHAN
Ipaced back and forth as I waited for Aiden to return from the police station. Everything in me told me I could trust him, but that small voice in the back of my head that told me to trust no one, still hadn’t learned to shut the fuck up.
When I spotted his car pulling up the driveway, I let out a sigh of relief and went to meet him at the door. I hated any moment I didn’t have eyes on him. Anything could happen and I wouldn’t be held responsible for my actions if I ever lost him.
