Since I was a kid, making it into the World Hockey League was the ultimate goal. No relationship could match my first love, and after my rough childhood, I wasn't putting my heart on the line.
When Bellerive makes a successful bid to move the Califo...
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At the police station, I sit outside with my driver, waiting for Sawyer to arrive. My manager has just sent confirmation that my biological grandparents are thrilled that I'm willing to meet. Since I don't know what will happen with the trade, my flight off the island is tonight. Tomorrow, we'll have a visit before I fly back here. There and back. Just enough time to asses them in person with no commitment for more from me in any way.
Part of me wants to tell Sawyer, take her with me, but another part of me is scared to get any closer, to let her in even more when the ticking clock counting down our time together is so loud that I can barely think of anything else.
Sawyer's pulls up next to me in her silver BMW i7, and she climbs out of the driver's seat with a worried expression on her face.
"Are you okay?" she asks when I get out to greet her. "When you said "meet me at the station" I was worried you'd been arrested."
"Not yet," I say with a slight smile.
"What's going on?" she asks as I lead the way toward the station.
"I have something to show you." I hold open the door for her, and the air conditioning hits us both at the same time, an immediate break from the rising humidity outside. She shivers, and I take her hand.
"At a police station?" She lets out a nervous laugh and squeezes my hand. "Seems ominous."
At the front desk, I hit the bell on the chest high counter, and peer toward the back where officers are milling around.
"Can I help you?" one of them approaches us.
"Looking for Alan Tusker. Celia Tucker gave me his name."
The officer in front of us raises his eyebrows, and Sawyer stiffens beside me, withdrawing her hand from mine. It's the reaction I expected, but it still makes my heart kick with a shot of unease. Having her mad at me might be practical, but it's the one of the last things I actually want.
"You talked to my mother," Sawyer whispers fiercely beside me. "When?"
"I'll grab Alan for you," the officer says, moving away from the counter and leaving Sawyer and I alone.
"This morning," I say, half turning toward her. "I had to." I meet her gaze, and I shutter mine. She's not going to make me feel guilty for protecting her. Of all the things I might regret, this won't be one of them.
"Sawyer?" a male voice says from across the counter.
"Yes," she says, the word tight.
The officer, portly and older, comes around the side of the counter and gestures for us to follow him. I go without hesitation, but it takes Sawyer a beat to follow us. God help me if this lead goes nowhere, and Celia has really just fucked me over. Given the stories I've heard at the family events I've attended with Sawyer, I think it's possible.
