Chapter 47
HARLAN - WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN
The station didn’t feel like mine anymore.
Every corner reeked of betrayal, and I could no longer ignore it. Every officer who passed me in the hall looked too long or not at all. Loyalty wasn’t silent anymore; it was gone.
And she was sitting at Erin’s desk, staring straight at me like she could see every lie I hadn’t even spoken yet.
Remi Carter.
Wrist-deep in the booking process. No handcuffs now, not since I’d taken them off myself, but still a prisoner in every way that mattered.
Her cardigan was gone, her belt too. Shoes in a tray beside her.
Hair tied back with something too small to be comfortable.
And a plain, gray jumpsuit folded in her lap that she hadn’t changed into yet.
She hadn’t said a single word since we walked through the precinct doors.
Not to the intake officer.
Not to the sergeant who barked questions about her belongings.
Not even to me.
She just sat there, elbows on Erin’s desk like she fucking owned it, chin raised, eyes hollow.
And she glared at me.
Like she knew exactly what I’d given up when I cuffed her.
Like she knew it broke me.
Like she didn’t care anymore.
Erin leaned back in her chair beside her, sipping from a stainless-steel travel mug like this was just another fucking Thursday.
“Well, well,” she said with a shit-eating grin. “That look right there. With the texts and that little threat she made to you back at the clinic… We can tack on a few more charges for that, Chief. Threatening an officer? Obstruction? How creative do we want to get?”
Remi didn’t react. She didn’t speak.
She just tilted her head and raised one eyebrow like you showed her our texts? You showed her my warnings? This is the side you chose? Okay then. Fucker.
My jaw clenched so tight I felt something crack.
Before I could respond, the front entrance buzzed open, and the air shifted.
Gray stepped through the door.
Not Kane. Not the devil I was used to.
But a ghost.
He moved like silence had shaped him. Lean frame, black shirt, black boots.
A streak of gray at his temple was the only hint that time had touched him at all.
His eyes scanned the room like he was memorizing every face, every threat, every angle of exit.
The kind of man you sent when you didn’t want someone to come back.
And right now, he was mine.
“Detective Grayson Vance,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear. “From a neighbouring precinct. He’ll be working with us for the next few weeks for audit purposes. Full clearance.”
Erin turned just slightly. “Didn’t know we were sharing jurisdiction now.”
“We are,” I said, already tired of her voice.
Gray gave her a nod so slight it was almost disrespectful.
He didn’t speak.
Didn’t have to.
He walked the perimeter of the bullpen like he was measuring its pulse. He passed Remi without a word, but I saw it. The flick of his eyes. The tiniest hesitation.
He saw her.
He registered everything.
And he kept moving.
A moment later, the front doors buzzed again, this time louder.
Jack.
He stepped in like he owned the place. Looking slightly dishevelled but no less impressive. The moment his eyes found Remi, they changed. Cold. Calculated. Dangerous.
Ava was with him.
She didn’t look at me.
Not once.
Not when she stepped inside.
Not when her eyes landed on Remi sitting behind Erin’s desk like she was being mounted on a fucking wall.
Not even when her hands curled into fists at her sides.
Erin stood, and Ava glared.
“Oh,” she said, syrupy. “Look what the cat dragged in. Jack fucking Callahan. You’re not DA here anymore, sweetheart.
And last I checked, you’re not Remi Carter’s defence attorney either.
So, unless you’re here to file a complaint, you don’t have standing.
And Sinclair…” she smiled like she saw blood in the water.
“You’re lucky you’re not being charged alongside her. ”
Ava’s jaw clicked shut. Her spine straightened. But still, she wouldn’t look at me.
And that made me nauseous.
I needed to say something. Anything. Needed to explain.
But when I moved toward her, she walked right past me and stepped outside like the sight of me was too much.
Jack stayed.
He looked at me like we were the only two people in the room.
“This is what we’re doing now?” he asked. “Really?”
“I’m doing my job,” I said. My voice didn’t crack. But something inside me did.
He laughed, but he wasn’t amused. “Yeah. Sure, you are. I’ll be back tomorrow. With names, files, and a storm, you won’t be able to hold off with a badge and a smile.”
Erin stepped in. “Great. You want to be here for the perp walk to county? Bring the press. Let’s make it a show.”
Jack didn’t rise to the bait.
He just looked at Remi.
Then at me.
And shook his head.
He turned like he was done, like the whole place disgusted him.
And Remi.
She was still watching me.
Not afraid.
Not angry.
Just done.
And it made me want to tear the whole fucking building down.
I turned on my heel, walked to my office, and shut the door.
Then I slid to the floor, leaned my back against the wall, and closed my eyes.
Gray entered a few minutes later.
Said nothing.
Just stood over me.
I didn’t ask for comfort.
Didn’t deserve it.
But eventually, I muttered, “They hate me.”
Gray didn’t respond.
I looked up at him.
“You ever cuff someone you should’ve protected?”
He tilted his head. Thought for a long moment. Then, in a voice like gravel and wind, he said: “Yes.”
And that was the end of it.
The end of the day.
The end of whatever part of me still believed what we were doing was right.