Chapter 22
Just because I loved you at one point doesn’t mean I will always love you. Or whatever Whitney Houston said.
— Text from Auden to Atlas
AUDEN
Work was surprisingly great.
The change of pace from DPD to SPD was like going from the night shift to the day shift.
The crazy just wasn’t the same.
It was like going from the oppressive heat of Texas to the clean mountain air of Montana .
One place you were sweating your soul out, and the other you were finding out how it feels to breathe again.
I hadn’t realized how bad my attitude was every day when I went to work for Dallas PD . I hadn’t realized just how exhausting it was to be one hundred percent sick of people at the end of a shift. I hadn’t realized just how fucking nuts the people of Dallas were.
Until now.
“ How did you like your first day?” my trainer—who had less on the job experience than me—asked.
Cable McMahon was a thirty-something-year-old, five-year veteran of the Sunnyvale Police Department . He’d been born and raised here, though he’d taken a ten-year stint in the Navy before settling back down again.
I liked him a lot, and I would definitely count him as a man to be respected.
“ Other than the phone call saying my girl was heading to the police station, it went great,” I admitted.
“ She’s in good hands there. Brooks is one of the best men I know,” he offered. “ And he said he wouldn’t leave her side.”
He had said that.
That was four hours ago, and he’d given me regular updates on the situation.
I nodded, his words not making me feel much better.
When we arrived back at the station and made it inside, my gaze went straight to the conference room where Athena , my mom, Dad , Garrett , Chief Brooks , and the special agent, Jefferson Evador , were located.
The moment I saw Maven , my heart felt like it loosened in my chest.
I knew this day was going to be tough for her. I semi-hated myself for taking her advice and going to work. She’d assured me that she would be fine, but the paleness of her face, and the way her eyes were rimmed with red, let me know she was anything but.
I walked into the room, not sparing anyone a glance, and went straight to Maven .
She shot out of her chair upon seeing me, throwing her arms around my shoulders.
I picked her up and walked right out of the room with her.
Since I didn’t know the ins and outs of the station yet, I took her into the next room over, which also happened to be a conference room, though on a much larger scale.
I kicked the door closed with a foot, then slid down to the floor with her still in my arms.
Her silent tears started to leak down the length of my neck, under my shirt, and into my body armor.
I didn’t care.
“ Shhh ,” I whispered. “ You’re okay.”
She sniffled against my neck and whispered, “ They never stopped searching for me. That’s why they died. They were in a different country because they were following leads that their private investigator fed them.”
I squeezed her tighter and said, “ You were loved, baby.”
She shivered. “ I don’t even know who they are.”
I reached down and smoothed her hair back from her face, urging her to look at me.
She did, her eyes watery with tears.
Just the sight sent a pang of anger into my heart.
Goddamn Brock Austin .
I hoped he rotted in hell for what he’d done.
“ You have siblings,” I whispered.
She sniffled. “ I do.”
“ And you have Dorsey ,” I continued. “ And Athena . And me.”
She shuddered.
“ I don’t want to condone what he did to you. I fucking hate him for it. I’d take away this part of your life if I could. But I can’t regret getting you in the end.”
Her lips wobbled. “ Will you come with me to meet them?”
I was already nodding. “ Of course I will.”
“ They’re on a plane now with Dorsey ,” she whispered. “ I messaged Dorsey , and she went over there and broke the news to my family about me. Dorsey also told me that she’s moving there. How unreal is that? She met a guy and she really likes him, and since she has nothing left here, she’s going to stay.”
I flashed her a grin. “ Looks like you two move fast. I kept you, too.”
She let out a watery laugh. “ I am moving into my apartment this weekend, remember? You can only keep me for a few more days.”
“ We’ll see,” I teased. “ We’ll see.”
She threw herself back into my arms, squeezing my neck tight.
After a few long minutes she said, “ You’re kind of uncomfortable with all the equipment on.”
My lips turned up at the edges. “ I guess I could’ve taken everything off. But I was a little bit desperate to get to you.”
She pressed a kiss to my neck, and I had to fight the need that swelled inside my body at the chaste move.
“ They sent a couple of FBI agents to DPD today,” she whispered. “ They were supposed to be there about forty-minutes ago.”
That was news to me.
But it might’ve explained the hundreds of texts I could feel coming in on my phone while I’d been assisting with that last traffic stop.
Since none of them had been Maven or my parents, I hadn’t checked them afterward.
Now I kind of wished I had.
“ Hold on,” I said as I pulled my phone out. “ I got a ton of messages a while ago.”
Keying up the first few texts, I saw that a lot of videos had started coming my way.
A couple from SWAT team members. Even more from people I’d worked with and formed a relationship with over the years.
The one I clicked on, though, was the one from Assman .
The video showed him right outside the chief’s office.
“ What’s the meaning of this?” Chief Austin bellowed.
“ You are being arrested for the kidnapping of Marina Semyonov ,” one of the FBI agents said. “ Or , better known to you now as Maven Brumfield .”
There were a ton of gasps from multiple people that could be heard, but not seen.
“ That’s preposterous!” Chief Austin snarled. “ I didn’t kidnap my own child!”
“ DNA tests have proven she’s not yours. She’s the little girl who went missing from Gatlinburg , Tennessee while on vacation with her family,” the other FBI agent said. “ You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and…”
I flicked the video off, and inwardly laughed at just how red the chief’s face had gotten.
“ Wow ,” she breathed. “ I don’t even know what to say.”
Another text came through on top of the others. This one from an unknown number.
Unknown Number :
you’re going to fucking die.
“ Ten bucks says that’s Scott ,” she grumbled.
I screenshotted the text and sent it to the group text with my family, then closed the phone down completely.
“ Come on,” I said. “ Let’s go finish up your talk with the FBI agent, and then we can grab something to eat.”
That’s exactly what we did.
We went to the new diner right beside Maven’s new bakery.
Both locations worked great next to each other because one was closed when the other was supposed to be open.
Though , just sayin’, Maven had issues getting to work on time, so she might encroach on the diner a bit.
When I met the owners, however, they were the nicest people in the world. Oh , and they didn’t have a single sweet thing on their entire menu. Not even biscuits.
“ John and I are diabetics,” the female owner, Cassidy , admitted. “ You got any sugar-free, gluten-free things over there?”
That was directed at Maven .
Maven snorted. “ No , but I’ll definitely start working on one. You can be my taste tester.”
Cassidy clapped. “ Deal !”
Unsurprisingly , everybody showed up, even Keene , Ande , and their children.
Tex walked over to me and climbed into Maven’s lap. “ You got any of that sweet stuff?”
Maven’s eyes glittered with laughter as she said, “ Um , no. I’m sorry, Tex . Everything’s proofing right now for tomorrow’s baking.”
“ That’s just awful.” Tex squirmed out of her lap.
“ I see what I’m good for,” Maven teased, aiming that comment at Keene , who’d taken up the seat across from us.
“ Boy thinks with his stomach, just like his mother,” Keene teased.
“ I heard that!” Ande said as she browsed the menu.
“ I didn’t try to hide it,” Keene countered.
“ Children ,” Mamasauce drawled. “ Let’s talk about how I just got offered the assistant chief position.”
“ What ?” everyone asked at once.
“ Your dad got offered the chief position.” Mom nodded.
“ What are you going to do?” Quincy asked. “ Because I just got offered my old job, as well as back pay, and a raise.”
“ Take it for a while so we can settle the department down,” Dad admitted. “ I love everyone there, and I’m not willing to throw anyone under the bus because of the poor decisions of another.”
Maven leaned forward. “ I think that’s a great idea.”
I squeezed her thigh.
Her day had been horrible. She’d learned some news about a man she’d called her father for nearly her entire life, and she was worried about other people right now.
Fuck , but I loved her.
I loved the hell out of her to a point where just the thought of her moving into an apartment five minutes away was devastating to me.
“ Fuck , I love you,” I told her.
The entire table stilled, but it was her reaction that had me leaning forward and kissing the gaping laugh off her face.
“ Well , now that five of the eight are whipped as hell,” Atlas said. “ Let’s order, because I’m starving.”
It was Maven’s narrowed eyes that had me leaning back in my seat, waiting for the fireworks that I knew were about to happen.
“ So ,” Maven said teasingly, “you’ll be happy to know that I took your brother up on the offer to move in with him. That leaves Pepper to stay in the apartment above the bakery. Great news is, you’ll see her all the time!”
Atlas’s eyes narrowed.
I leaned over and said, “ You took me up on my offer?”
Her eyes were apologetic as she whispered back, “ I didn’t like that smirk on his face.”
I raised my hand and squeezed the back of her neck. “ No takebacks now. I’ll start moving your stuff over on my next day off.”
She was already shaking her head. “ Auden …”
“ No takebacks, baby,” I said, then gestured for Cassidy with my fingers. “ Can we order, please, ma’am?”
“ Sock it to me!” she called out from beside the counter.
We yelled our orders over the length of the diner.
Then we talked about our next steps.
My parents offered up their home for Maven’s siblings if she—and they—were comfortable with it.
Maven took them up on the offer, and when we finally made it into my house later that night, we took less than a step inside before I had her plastered against my front door.
“ Well ?” I teased, letting my nose run along the length of her racing pulse.
“ Well what?” she gasped.
“ Do you have some words in return? Or should I be patient?” I asked.
She smoothed her hands up my back, her fingernails digging into my flesh, and she said, “ Show me how much you love me, and maybe I’ll feel the words.”
I did exactly that.
I took her against the front door of our home.
Then in the bed.
Followed by once more on the floor of the shower.
And when I was done, and we were lying in the bed, clean and exhausted, she said, “ I don’t know how you could ever think that I didn’t love you, Auden Carter .”
That made my belly warm. “ Good .”
I fell asleep that night with my woman at my side, and not a care in the world.
The only issue was that I should’ve had one care.
And that care was named Scott Austin .