Chapter 74
“Long night,” Whelan said as they crept into Traci’s kitchen at two in the morning. Lola, asleep in her bed beneath the kitchen table, picked up her head, wagged her tail, and promptly went back to sleep.
“The longest,” she agreed.
He picked up the car keys he’d left on the counter, brushing a chaste kiss on her forehead before heading for the front door.
“You’re leaving?” She caught his hand with hers.
He stood very still. “You want me to stay?”
“Yeah. I, uh, I do.”
He pointed to the hall and the guest bedroom. “What about Felice? And the very clear, completely unambiguous company policy about romantic interactions between supervisors and employees?”
“I think maybe I had a moment of clarity tonight.”
“Really? When did that happen? In between rushing to save Felice from a gun-wielding assailant and watching your sister-in-law get handcuffed and shoved into the back of a police cruiser?”
“I can’t pinpoint the exact moment. But hiding out in that tiny little bathroom with you, and then walking back here with you, it struck me that things could have gone sideways a couple of times tonight. What if we hadn’t gotten that gun away from Garrett? What if the bullet from Madelyn’s gun—I don’t know, what if it had ricocheted, and hit one of us? I don’t want to watch you drive away tonight, Whelan, and wonder what if? What you said earlier, about wanting to be with me, and wanting more? You were right. I do want more. I deserve more. And I don’t want to waste any more time thinking about the what-ifs.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. “Well, since you put it like that, I don’t think the company policy is going to be a problem anymore. Because I quit.”
Traci frowned. “You can’t quit.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re fired. I’ll file the paperwork first thing in the morning.”
“Me? Why?”
She started to unbuckle his belt, but thought better of it. Instead, she took his hand in hers and began to lead him in the direction of her bedroom.
“Sexual harassment,” she said.
He stopped and pulled her toward him. “Sounds promising.”