Page 95 of Blood Money

The expectant light in Alex’s eyes quickly faded. “Thank you, detective.” Then she went out the door.

He continued to watch through the open doorway as she was escorted from the squad room, no doubt by the same uniformed officer who would seize her department ID, access cards, and keys.

When she disappeared around a corner and out of his line of sight, his brain hammered inside his skull, reassuring himself it was the right thing to let her go. But the big muscle inside his chest slamming against his rib cage told him he was a fool.

Worse, his gut—that thing he would never, ever trust again—kept shouting that he’d just lost out on the best damn thing that could have happened to him.

Chapter Twenty-One

Two weeks had passed since the debriefing, and Alex hadn’t heard a word from anyone in the department. Not Gray, Dom, or Lt. Frye.

True to Gray’s word, a marked police car guarded the front door of her building for a week. Now the car was gone, and Alex had never felt more alone. Nicky’s bubbly presence was the only thing keeping her sane.

Immediately following the debriefing, an officer drove her to Hopewell Springs to bring Nicky home. It was all she could do to pry her son away from Raven, who was now his new BFF—best furry friend. Luckily, Cassie’s husband was working when Alex arrived, so she didn’t have to deal with his deep scrutiny. Cassie was civil but disappointed, her words still resonating.

I understand what you did. Protecting Nicky came first. But Gray loved you, and you should have been straight with him from the beginning. About everything. You broke his heart, something no woman has ever done. That tells me the depths of his feelings, and the depths of his pain.

Alex hadn’t thought her heart could hurt worse than it already did, but at hearing Gray’s sister use the past tense, loved, it shattered into a thousand more pieces. She had something wonderful within her grasp and now it was gone.

Focus on Nicky.

Her son was back in school and doing well, the trauma of what happened in the subway and during the car chase having faded to a distant memory. Nicky was, however, beginning to get unexpectedly tired at the end of the day. He was starting to sprout, leaving Alex wondering if he needed a different dosage to accommodate his body’s changes. His next treatment wasn’t for another five days, but a call to Dr. Maxwell was in order. At least the department would make good on their promise to pay for Nicky’s treatments for a while. Soon even that would end, bringing her to the next thing on her to-do list.

Finding a new job.

A week ago, she received two letters. The first was a declination letter from the DA’s office, notifying her charges wouldn’t be filed. The second was a formal letter stating that she was suspended, pending termination proceedings. Staying out of a jail was a relief, but the suspension letter hurt more than she’d anticipated. She really had loved her job, and without it money would soon be a problem, and obtaining any job requiring a recommendation from her previous employer wasn’t happening. With great sadness, she resolved to make a change for the better.

With Nicky back at school during the day, she resumed studying for her interior design license. She had nearly all the required credits with only one class to go but still didn’t have enough spare money to pay for the license.

If she focused on life’s necessities, maybe one day she would stop thinking about Gray. For now, it was impossible.

Every time she heard a siren wail, Alex thought of him. Every time the news broadcast a story involving the police, she couldn’t help but worry about him. For the last two weeks, just before she fell asleep, it was his face that came to her. Kissing her deeply, holding her tightly as he made exquisite love to her.

Alex cursed herself at how weak she was to still yearn for him. Cassie said Gray loved her, but how could she really know? Not that it mattered. The only thing she could be certain of was how much she loved him.

Shaking her head to clear it, she cued up the last online exam necessary to complete her curriculum, when a knock sounded at the door. Peering through the peephole, she smiled. Daisy. Perched in the crook of her arms was a bouquet of red tulips, and under her other arm was a paper bag.

“Let me in, these flowers are wilting and our lunch is getting cold.”

Alex slid the security chain out of its slot and twisted the deadbolt open. Daisy burst inside, sporting a full-length purple leather coat, bright yellow V-neck sweater, and a colorful orange and red silk scarf around her neck. Large gold hoops dangled at her ears. Alex wished she could carry off an outfit the way Daisy did. Flamboyance suited her friend, and she made it look so easy.

She shut the door and relocked it, something she was even more prone to do lately.

“So, girlfriend.” Daisy breezed into the kitchen and set the bag onto the counter. She went straight for the cabinet housing the one crystal vase Alex owned and began filling it with water from the sink. “We haven’t had the time to catch up in person, so I thought we could use some one-on-one. One of my new girls is covering the shop for a couple hours, so let’s make the most of it.”

“I’ve missed you.” Alex hugged her friend from behind.

Daisy set the vase on the counter and turned to give Alex an equally emphatic and much-needed hug. “I know. Me, too.”

Alex’s shoulders shook and the tears began to flow freely. In seconds, she was clinging to Daisy, crying out all the pain, fear, and anguish of the last few weeks.

“Oh, girlfriend.” Daisy held her tightly, stroking her hair. “Let it out. I knew there was so much more going on than you told me.”

Eventually, when Alex had no more tears to shed, she gave Daisy a squeeze, grateful her best friend had come by at the right moment. She hadn’t even realized until now how much she’d been holding inside.

“Here.” Daisy plucked several tissues from a box on the counter. “You sit while I get lunch on the table, then we can talk. And this time you will tell me everything. No holding back. Okay?” Alex nodded then blew her nose into a tissue. “First, we eat. Domenico’s eggplant lasagna can always bring a smile to a girl’s face.”

Alex laughed mid-sniffle. “Thanks, I needed that.”