Chapter 74
Seventy-Four
Bryant looked to the door for the hundredth time since he and Stacey had returned to the station.
He’d seen his own car pull into the car park, and he knew exactly where the guv had gone first. He could also guess at the consequences of her actions.
His teammates remained blissfully unaware.
Penn was tapping away at something, and Stacey had been understandably quiet since their return.
She was probably picturing Ava being handed over to the Chance family, but he knew better, had known better the minute the guv asked him for his car keys.
He had known she wanted to be alone when she broke the rules. She would never take anyone down with her. There was no safety in numbers when it came to her pig-headedness, and she wouldn’t accept others being punished for her actions.
A fresh pang of guilt surged through him.
He had known what she intended to do. Not because she’d done anything to give herself away but purely because he knew what she was like.
To have handed Ava back to social services would have been to concede defeat, and his boss wouldn’t do that.
She would always try and work within the rules, but when the well-being of a child was in question, she would step outside of those boundaries if she had to.
He had known and he’d said nothing because a part of him wanted her to do it. He had wanted Ava to be protected from the horrors of the Chances, of Hollytree and the new future that was being written for her. He had wanted the guv to solve the problem. And she had.
But at what cost to herself?
He didn’t fool himself that she would have listened if he’d tried to talk her out of it. She was far too obstinate for that. Once her mind was made up, there was no budging her. But he had known, and he hadn’t even tried to stop her.
‘Damn,’ he said, banging his fist on the desk.
His colleagues looked at him questioningly.
He pushed himself up and headed for the kitchen, picturing what was going on up on the third floor.
He knew the guv would offer no apology for her actions.
She never did when she knew she was right.
There was just no way she could do what she’d done without consequences.
This wasn’t something Woody could sweep under the carpet because she was a brilliant detective.
Other agencies were involved. There would be a disciplinary, maybe a suspension, possibly even dismissal; he couldn’t bear the thought of it.
He took a moment to appreciate the irony of the situation.
Just days ago, they’d all attended an awards ceremony to honour her bravery in saving dozens of boys. Now she was likely to lose her job for saving one girl, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Or was there? he wondered as a sudden thought occurred to him.
He took out his phone and scrolled to a number he had very rarely used.
His contact answered with a question in her voice.
‘Frost, it’s Bryant, and I really need your help.’