51. Harlan - Lifeline
HARLAN - LIFELINE
It had been five days since the shit show.
A tension had settled so tight it felt as if anyone spoke too loudly, the walls might finally give in.
The failed transfer had blown a crater into our operational stability.
I’d never seen something like it in my life.
The press. The crowd. Jack Callahan, a city prosecutor-turned-defence, stood on the precinct steps like he was staging a revolution.
Erin was unravelling by the hour. Officers were asking questions in hushed voices.
And now, the State Bureau had sent an internal oversight team breathing down our necks.
They weren’t just watching.
They were hunting.
Erin didn’t know it yet, but the timer on her implosion had already started ticking.
Remi Carter was still in holding.
Not because she belonged there, but because no one could figure out how to move her without triggering another media firestorm. She’d become a symbol, and symbols were dangerous things. They didn’t break easily. They could just as easily infect people or inspire them.
And I was the one who cuffed her.
Who failed her.
I turned the corner expecting her to be in her cell, maybe pacing, maybe curled on that shitty cot pretending to sleep. What I didn’t expect was this.
Remi was in the interview room, sitting sideways in the metal chair like she owned it. Jumpsuit still rolled at the sleeves, waves of dark hair falling wild around her bruised face like a lioness who hadn’t decided whether she was going to maul you or not.
Gray sat across from her.
And he was smiling.
Fucking smiling...
A real smile, slight, but there.
Reid leaned in the doorway, arms crossed, grinning like a damn schoolboy who just watched his idol make a touchdown.
Remi said something under her breath I couldn’t hear, but it made Gray chuckle, and that was rare. And terrifying. Gray didn’t chuckle. Gray didn’t even exist to most people until they were looking down the wrong end of a scope.
I stepped into the room and cleared my throat.
Remi’s gaze lifted to mine and turned to stone.
Reid straightened and offered me a tired nod. “We were just keeping her company, Chief.”
“Everything okay?” I asked, trying to read between the lines.
Gray didn’t answer right away. He turned to me and said flatly, “We’re good.”
Remi raised an eyebrow, expression unreadable. “Careful, Chief. Might want to check with your babysitter first.”
I tried not to react, but it was getting harder and harder by the day.
“You alright?” I asked her, eyes dipping to the bruises.
She looked at me like I was an idiot. “You’re the one with the cameras, right? Or are those just for decoration?”
Reid winced.
Fuck, I deserved that.
Gray stood. He moved with that unnerving stillness, the kind that made him feel like a ghost even when you were looking right at him.
Remi tilted her head. “You ever gonna give me your name, or do they just call you Shadow?”
Gray’s mouth twitched. Just slightly. Then he said, “Grayson. But they call me Gray.”
She looked amused. “Because of the eyes?”
Gray’s voice was low. “Because when I shoot, all you see is gray matter.”
Reid sounded like he was choking on something.
Gray looked like he threw a grenade to see if Remi would catch it.
Remi didn’t blink. She cocked her head to the side and gave a grin I felt like I hadn't seen in a lifetime. “I like you.”
Gray gave the faintest shrug, like he couldn’t care less whether anyone liked him, but I could tell he didn’t hate it and that the feeling was mutual.
“Anything I should know?” I asked him once Reid had stepped out with him.
Gray paused at the doorway. “She’s smart. She’s watching everything. And she doesn’t trust you.”
Then he looked over his shoulder and added, “She shouldn’t. Not yet.”
And then he was gone.
I turned back to Remi.
She didn’t speak. Didn’t blink.
“Remi…” I started.
“Save it.”
“I came to check on you.”
“You came to check your conscience,” she corrected. “Big difference.”
I didn’t argue. I sat in the chair across from her. “I never did anything with Erin,” I said.
Remi blinked once. No reaction.
“I swear to you,” I continued, “I’ve made a thousand mistakes in the months.
.. fuck maybe years... but that wasn’t one of them.
I would never do that to her. I love her, Remi.
I have no idea why Erin was leaving my building or how she got a picture of me in the precinct shower without me knowing.
.. and honestly, there's been so much going on that I haven't looked into it. .. But I didn't betray Ava like that.”
She didn’t nod. Didn’t soften.
So, I kept going. “It feels like I’m drowning, kiddo. Like I’ve got too many balls in the air, and I’ve been juggling the wrong ones. I thought I was protecting people. I thought I was focusing on what mattered.”
“And the people who actually mattered got hurt,” she said.
That landed. Hard.
I nodded.
“I’m not asking you to forgive me,” I said. “I’m asking you to let me earn your trust back. One step at a time.”
She studied me for a long moment, then tilted her head like she was trying to decide whether to believe me.
“You’re not the only one who feels like they are drowning, Chief,” she said finally. “The difference is some of us have been treading water our whole lives.”
“Tell me what to do to fix this, Remi.”
Silence stretched between us.
She looked me up and down. “You’re trying to fix things. Good. Because you broke a lot.”
I closed my eyes. Just for a second. Then I whispered, “I am so sorry.”
When I opened them, Remi was studying me, her wide, expressive hazel eyes were lighter, and her jaw wasn't clenched as tightly as it was when I walked in.
"You brought Grayson in because you trust him, someone from the outside?"
I gave a small nod. Eyes still locked on hers. "I'm going to make it right!" I promised.
We sat there watching each other. I knew whatever Remi decided from this conversation could help fix things or set them on fire.
She looked to her left and took a deep breath, and when she looked back at me, I wasn't sure what I saw in her eyes.
"You hear anything… about Dane?”
Oh shit.
Was she throwing me a lifeline in the form of a test?
So, I shrugged, "I heard he went missing, rumours are that he left town."
“Missing?"
My pulse jumped.
Careful, I have to be careful with this.
I leaned back in my chair and folded my hands in front of me. “Maybe some problems don’t go through the system, maybe they resolve themselves.”
She tilted her head. “That so?”
“Sometimes you don’t need the right lawyer or judge. Sometimes you just need the right tool for the job.”
A flicker of something crossed her face. Not a smile, not quite. “A tool? Like a wrench?”
I gave her the smallest smile. “Not a wrench.”
She raised a brow. “Then what?”
“A hammer.”
Remi didn’t say anything. Just gave the barest nod, like that was the right answer.
I stood up and stretched, "I am going to go get a coffee and something to eat. I will grab you something too. But I want to move you back to holding for now, while I'm gone, it's safer."
Remi nodded and followed me out.
We moved through the hall side by side, and it felt like something had shifted... like maybe just maybe I was inching back over to her side of the line.
“Oh, and by the way,” she added as we reached the cell, “your sniper likes me better than you.”
I blinked. “Gray?”
She grinned.
I laughed, the first laugh in a long time. "Kiddo, I am not surprised. I am pretty sure everyone likes you better than me."
I got her settled in the cell, ensuring she was safe, and as I walked away, I let myself believe… maybe I hadn’t lost everything yet.