Page 79 of Abandoned

The light was on in her room like she’d left it. She let out a tense breath.

Light or not, she cleared the apartment before holstering her gun back in her purse.

She checked her phone. No reply from Will. Why on earth hadn’t he at least replied? It really wasn’t like him. Was he mad that she’d upset Logan so much?

Spotting the ring on her finger, her heart constricted. She pulled it off and considered it. How had they gone from talking about replacing it with a real ring to this?

Her jaw quivered. She shoved the ring into the pocket of her shorts. She needed to not overreact, but she felt like she’d been trapped in a closet all over again. Disregarded and forgotten.

Fighting tears, she got ready for bed and crawled under the covers. God, what is happening? Help me, please.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Wednesday morning came too soon. Will had played basketball with Logan for entirely too long the night before, considering their day shift started at six in the morning. Apparently being over thirty meant he couldn’t play as hard as he used to.

He laughed at himself and pulled his pickup into the police station parking lot. He was excited to finally see Zara. He felt bad their evening hadn’t ended up the way they had imagined. Hopefully, she’d had a chance to connect with the other women.

He parked close to Zara’s car. Maybe he could make it up to her this evening.

Once inside, he kept an eye out for Zara. He turned down the hall toward the locker rooms, and there she was.

His heart zinged at the sight of her in her shorts and T-shirt. If they weren’t at work, he’d pull her into his arms and kiss her like he’d never kissed her before, full dip, sweep-her-off-her-feet kind of kiss.

She was talking to Jenna and Megan but looked in his direction.

He smiled.

Their gazes caught. Her eyes widened, and she looked away, lips tight.

His excitement to see her crashed to the floor. He approached her.

But she walked away.

“Zara.”

She kept walking and shook her head. She disappeared into the women’s locker room.

He smacked the wall beside the door with his palm. Was she mad because he hadn’t texted back right away last night? He would have, but he didn’t see the message until midnight because he’d left his phone in his truck. It had fallen out of his pocket and slipped between the seats.

Had they really not gotten to the point that she would give him the benefit of the doubt?

He changed into his uniform and gear as fast as possible and stood outside the women’s locker room. Another female officer came out. He asked, “Is Zara still in there?”

The woman nodded.

Good. Maybe they could get this straightened out before their shift began. He leaned against the wall opposite the door. God, did I screw up? Haven’t I made it clear enough how I feel that she can trust I’ll be there for her?

The locker room door opened, and Zara exited in full uniform, hair pulled back in a tight ponytail.

He pushed off the wall.

“Not now, Will.” She walked toward the briefing room.

He followed. “At least tell me what’s wrong.”

She stopped and spun toward him, her brow tight and jaw locked. “The fact that you have to ask is ridiculous.” She shook her head. “I’m not having this conversation now. We have to work.” She turned and strode off.

A wave of hurt crashed into him, making it impossible to follow for a moment.