Shielded In The Shadows

“I was told someone from the department already made that call.”

The relief she felt, knowing that she didn’t have to put her work hat back on right then, was a bit startling. Emma was always ready to work. Was energized when she was needed.

Had to be the wine.

It most certainly could not be the man.

* * *

Refusing to be an animal that jumped the bones of his dinner companion without foreplay, finesse or tenderness, Jayden forced his libido to calm down and tried to focus on the food they were sharing. He liked to eat. He just didn’t bother to put forth the effort to eat well. Mostly he settled for canned stuff. Frozen stuff. Fast-food stuff.

When he saw his parents—at least once a month to keep them happy—he ate all weekend.

Emma had done his steak proud, though. She’d scraped right down to the bone with her knife. And devoured the baked potato and salad, too. He liked that she wasn’t so conscious of calories that she couldn’t eat a good meal.

And wondered where she put it all. She wasn’t skinny, but there was nothing extra on her, either.

He’d noticed. Again and again.

She’d finished her glass of wine. He hadn’t, but he’d enjoyed what he’d had. When he offered to pour her more, she’d declined, reminded him she was driving.

A sign that she wasn’t planning to stick around awhile.

And yet she didn’t get right up and leave, either.

They cleared the dishes and when he offered her an iced tea, she accepted. And followed him out as he closed the grill, sitting back down as though she was in no hurry to leave.

He was in no hurry to have her gone.

And was growing more and more increasingly bothered by her determination to see Bill Heber back in jail. They’d been talking about work on and off all evening. In between general discussions about their work lives.

Seriously, what else did either of them have to talk about? They were workaholics.

And not falling in love.

“What is it about this Heber case that has you so bothered?” he asked when she brought them back to the fact that he’d found no substantial evidence against Bill Heber that morning. He hadn’t yet mentioned that he’d found an ice cream shop not far from Bill’s house and that Bill had been there enough to be known to the owners.

He was keeping the information to himself at the moment for a very good reason. Bill’s visits didn’t coincide with the times Emma had given him. The man just liked his chocolate ice cream.

And Jayden had to figure out how to help Emma see that.

“I’m bothered by all my cases that feel like failures. In this instance, I’ve got a chance to make it right. I’m not going to blow it.”

“Is this the first case you’ve had that gave you the ability to right a wrong? Surely you’ve had someone reoffend and gotten another go at him or her.” She’d been at the job for eight years. Some failures happened.

“Of course I have, and no this isn’t the first time I’ve faced this situation.”

“So why is this one so bothersome to you?” The woman was clearly deflated, as though she’d hung everything on his location app nailing Heber. That was understandable. But he was far more bothered by the Luke Lincoln issue. Emma was bothered, too, clearly, but not as much as she was by Heber.

“They’re all bothersome to me.”

“Forgive me for overstepping...” She’d stayed, which invited the conversation as far as he was concerned. Plus, he just plain wanted to know. “But it seems... almost...personal.”

“Like you feel Bill’s right to have a second chance, you mean? That’s personal.”

Her jab hit its mark. “Probably.”

She held his gaze. “It’s the baby,” she finally said. “He killed his baby, while it was still in its mother’s womb. That’s heinous.”