Page 89 of Under the Radar

“I’d like to talk to him.” He held up his hand. “Off the record, as you requested.”

I worried at my lip. “I’ll ask him to come in.”

“You do that. Until then, I’ll stay quiet unless Dan steps out of line again.” He frowned as he tapped a pen on his desk. “Obviously, I can’t do anything about the truck unless there were witnesses.”

“I don’t think Chase wants to press charges of any kind. He just wants Dan to stop harassing him.” I paused. “I heard maybe this isn’t the first time Dan has overstepped.”

Henry sat back, contemplating me. “Sometimes being a small station, you inherit problems from larger ones,” he said slowly, neither confirming nor denying my statement.

“Like me.”

He shook his head. “You were not a problem, then or now. You have an exemplary record. I consider you very brave, Hannah. Many officers, even seasoned ones, would not have returned after experiencing what you went through.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded and stood, indicating the meeting was over. “I will wait for you to talk to Chase. I’ll be keeping an eye on Dan. And you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I left his office, rounding the corner. Deep in my thoughts, I bumped into someone and stepped back, automatically apologizing. “I’m sorry, I…” I trailed off when I saw it was Dan. He looked at me, then glanced over my shoulder toward the chief’s office. He narrowed his eyes.

“Telling tales, Hannah?”

“Nope. Meeting about schedules.”

He obviously didn’t believe me, but I met his gaze, keeping mine open and steady. He brushed past me roughly, pushing me out of the way, muttering under his breath. My shoulder hit the wall, and I gasped at the sudden sharp pain. The chief came out of his office.

“Officer Meyers!”

Dan stopped, glowering at me. The chief looked between us. “Although I’m certain you didn’t mean to run into her, I believe you owe Officer Gallagher an apology for doing so.”

“Sorry, Gallagher,” Dan almost spat. “I didn’t see you.”

“Of course.” I smiled at him. “I accept your sincere apology.”

He turned and stormed off. The chief met my eyes.

“Watch yourself. And get Chase to call me.”

I nodded and headed to my desk. I had a feeling Chase wasn’t going to like the message.

* * *

CHASE

Hannah was jumpy all evening. She barely picked at her dinner, making an excuse of a big lunch, which made me laugh. It had been my turn to pack lunches, and I knew exactly what had been in her container. A sandwich, some carrots, and an apple were hardly a large meal. But I let it go, wanting her to tell me what was going on. After dinner, she was on the move, changing things around, swapping out knickknacks from one place to another, only to change them back. I heard her go into her old room and shut the door, calling her mother, I assumed. She looked resigned when she came out, sitting beside me on the sofa. I offered her some popcorn, and she took a handful, staring at the screen.

“The rest of the composite is arriving on Thursday. Dom and Stefano are going to come on Saturday, and we’ll do the deck. His friends are going to come too, so it should go fast. One measuring, one cutting, two installing. We should get it done in a day,” I informed her.

She nodded. “Okay. Good.”

“As long as we don’t have any surprise inspectors,” I teased.

She looked at me, her eyes wide with anxiety.

“Hey.” I leaned closer and brushed my knuckles down her cheek. “I was joking. We’re all good.”

“I did something you aren’t going to like,” she burst out.