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“Nothing,” he replied coolly.
Had my father faked a heart attack as a means of distraction? To get my attention and get me away from Pepper?
“What. Did. You. Do?” The pounding in my chest felt dangerous.
Pepper.
I had to get to her. I had to see that she was okay.
Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.
I nearly collapsed in the chair when her name flashed across the screen.
“Are you okay?” I asked gruffly as I moved to the windows, away from my father’s listening ears.
“I’m fine. Why?”
I could picture her tilted head, a loose strand of hair from her ponytail hanging in her face.
“Just be careful.”
I didn’t want to scare her, but I didn’t want her to be careless either.
“What happened?” What sounded like a metal bowl being set on the counter came through the line.
“He’s awake.”
“Oh.”
Bark. Bark. Bark.
I checked the time. It was six. Dinnertime.
“Can I call you back? You know she won’t be quiet until she’s fed,” Pepper said over the noise.
“Yeah.”
All of my energy rushed out in relief. She was safe. I was overreacting because I’d been so on edge for weeks. My nerve endings were like live wires.
The phone buzzed again.Did Pepper forget to tell me something?I answered without looking at the screen.
“Hey.”
“This was the easiest case I ever took.” Zegas’s cocky tone blasted in my ear.
“What are you talking about?” I’d forgotten about the lawsuit. With everything else happening, it had been the least relevant.
“I sent a letter to Chief Jones. He thought you’d resigned.”
I leaned against the windowsill. “Resigned?” The word was foreign on my tongue.
“Yep. Resigned. When I explained how you’d been wrongfully relieved of duty, he reinstated you,” Zegas finished triumphantly. “How am I supposed to charge Elliott triple time when he handed me a slam dunk like this?”
I snorted. The man was half insane but damn good at what he did. “So I’m back on?”
“He said to tell my client to get his ass to the station tomorrow night for duty.” Now, that sounded exactly like Chief Jones.Cranky bastard.
My father watched me carefully as I tried to control my reaction.
