Haunting Lies

As the doors to Captain Westbrook’s office opened, the two detectives who’d been eagerly waiting to see if they were getting a new member to their department looked up from their paperwork.

As Captain Westbrook led Miranda out of his office, she strapped on her new badge and gun.

“Kayser, Barnes, this is Detective Miranda Hastings from D.C. She will be joining our precinct as of today.”

“Hi.” The woman waved.

“Congratulations,” Kayser said.

“Thanks.”

“Where in the hell is McDowell? I’m about to introduce him to his new partner.” The captain shook his head and fisted his hands on his hips.

Right on cue, the elevator doors opened. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart started thumping so loud she could hear the blood pounding in her ears.

He looked as good as the day she met him. He stood over six-feet tall, with light, short-cropped hair, olive skin, and mesmerizing blue eyes.

Ryan McDowell.

The man she once loved. The father of her deceased daughter, Mia.

Oh no...~oh no.~

He stopped abruptly. When he lowered his bright blue eyes to hers, they were wide with conflicting emotions, and the overriding one seemed to be apprehension...of her reaction, perhaps?

But her overwhelming response to this man was fear.

She turned back to face Captain Westbrook. She removed her gun and badge and placed them into his hand.

“Thank you so much for the offer of the detective position. I appreciate you taking the time to consider me.

“As flattered as I am to receive an offer to join your team, I will unfortunately have to decline. Again, thank you for your time and support, and I wish you all the best.”

And with that, she turned and walked toward the elevator, her shaking index finger pressing the button.

The doors opened, and she hurried in, desperate to escape. I really need to get out of here.

When she turned to look at him, he looked utterly broken, a man in agonizing pain, reflecting how she felt inside.

She tore her gaze away from him, unable to stomach that look on his face. The same look he gave her over a decade ago.

And mercifully, the doors closed.

***

Ryan watched Miranda leave through the elevator doors. God, she was even more beautiful than he remembered.

It had been over a decade since she turned away from him, her back stiff with anger and contempt. However, it had served merely to strengthen the purity of her features.

The long line of her body was lovely and provocative as ever, and as he stared, he was engulfed in the old sensation of being drawn helplessly into the depths of her incredible eyes.

He’d always thought that so many women should be possessed of brown eyes, but none of such a compelling shade of gold.

Her expressive depths could range from sparkling mischief to melting warmth to freezing disdain.

Fuck! He chastised himself harshly. He had spent aching years in Manhattan ridding himself of her image.

He had thrown himself into his work with an almost demonic fury, and the results, emotionally, had been highly satisfactory.

And now look at him—he was a fucking mess all over again.

Kayser burst out laughing, tearing him away from his thoughts. “Dude, not even two minutes into the job and she already quit when she saw your face!”

Ryan turned to Kayser. “That was Miranda.”

Kayser’s eyes widened. “Wait, the same Miranda that dumped you all those years back? The one who made you cry?”

“I didn’t cry,” he scoffed, feigning offense.

“Sure, man, whatever you say.” He leaned back in his chair, a pen tucked behind his ear and a wicked smile on his face.

Ryan rolled his eyes and turned to Captain Westbrook. “What in the hell was Miranda doing here?”

“I assigned her as your new partner...or was your new partner until she quit.”

“You should have told me you were hiring someone,” Ryan said. His voice, his posture, everything, radiated anger.

He took a few steps toward him but stopped a few feet away from him. “You should have said something.”

“You would have said no,” he replied. “And besides, this wasn’t your decision to make.”

“And it was yours,” Ryan yelled.

Captain Westbrook frowned. “My office—now.”

Ryan nodded mutely, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning aloud. When they entered the office, he slammed the door behind them.

“You’ll have to bring her back, McDowell. I haven’t accepted her resignation yet. She’s the best one for the job and we can’t wait any longer. The position must be filled.”

Captain Westbrook closed a file and set his hand on top of it with a thud.

“Captain, you can’t really be serious about assigning her as my new partner, can you? She is overqualified for this type of position.

“With all due respect, I think it would be better to choose someone else.”

The blue-eyed man raised a gray eyebrow in silent admonishment.

He understood what he was getting at, for he too had felt the same way, but he had gone through the résumés time and time again and his conclusion had been the same.

There simply was no one else available to take this job. However, he was not expecting such a strong resistance from the man in front of him, even if she was his ex.

A former officer usually took orders without question, trusting his superiors to make the correct choices for the good of the precinct.

Considering McDowell’s history with Lady Luck, it figured he would pick today of all days to talk back.

“I understand that you’re worried, McDowell, but I believe you are singling her out.” He folded his hands and set them on the desk, evenly meeting the gaze of his blue-eyed detective.

“There was a time when the two of you shared a past, but that time has come and gone.

She hasn’t been in your life for a while now, and I have seen her work history that her previous employer submitted, and she’s grown by leaps and bounds.

“Her experience in this field will undoubtedly make your job a little less difficult.”

“Experience?” Ryan scoffed. “Experience is putting it mildly. The woman is practically a walking weapon.

“She spent night after night studying until she fell asleep and spent every morning training her body. She could take down the baddest of the bad.

“Still, since you request that I have a new partner, I would feel much more comfortable with a different candidate.”

Westbrook sighed irritably, fighting to keep his cool. McDowell was being abnormally averse to the whole situation, and he hated to be made to repeat himself.

He didn’t like the situation any better than Ryan did considering the woman he had chosen just lost her daughter six months ago.

He couldn’t help but feel he was sending her straight into the lion’s den.

Earlier that morning he had received a phone call from the mayor’s frantic wife. Their nine-year-old daughter had vanished while walking to a bus stop.

Technically, the 17th Precinct handled homicide, and it was very seldom they accepted cases in another jurisdiction.

However, a successful case with their precinct could possibly lead to more funding for the department, a fact that was too tempting for Westbrook to pass up.

“McDowell, you have made your concern very clear, but my decision remains the same. All other eligible candidates have already been sent home.

“The only other available person fitting the position is Officer Lewis, and I think you will agree with me that Miranda is definitely the better pick between the two of them.”

Ryan, who had been standing abnormally straight during this battle of wills with the captain, slumped a little.

No one could deny that he indeed had a point.

If you were to even mention such a thing as blood or brain matter around young Officer Lewis, she no doubt turned a startling shade of green before promptly passing out.

Westbrook saw Ryan deflate and sighed in relief, hoping his return to his normally abominable posture signaled he had conceded.

“You are an excellent detective, Ryan, and a master in many fields, and that’s why I’m assigning you with Miranda,” Westbrook continued, his voice taking on a gentler tone.

“I’m well aware of the endless possibilities for awkward situations your partnership might produce. But you know her better than most people and can help keep her grounded.”

“Yes, Captain,” Ryan replied, his voice strained.

“Thank you, McDowell. You are free to go. You can find her at the Lotte New York Palace.”

He replied with a silent nod of his golden head. He was almost out the door before Westbrook stopped him.

“Oh, and one more thing. If you fail to bring her back, you’ll find yourself on desk duty for three months.”

Slowly, Ryan turned around to face the captain as though not quite sure he actually heard him right.

Westbrook smiled at his obvious dumbfounded reaction. He knew Ryan hated doing paperwork. In fact, he despised it. Because of this, he trusted him to do it all the more.

“You are to meet back here so I can brief the two of you on this new assignment and go over the details.”

Ryan nodded mutely before turning and walking out of the room.

***

Her heart was pounding. The elevator arrived on the first floor, and she scrambled out as soon as the door slid open, stumbling once but fortunately not sprawling on the floor.

She raced for the glass side doors, and suddenly she was free in the bracing, crisp air with the smoky smell of roasted chestnuts coming from corner vendors.

She started the car, and the tires squealed as she raced to the entrance and waited eleven agonizing seconds for the traffic to pass. The instant it was clear, she drove out.

She let out her long-held breath. Seeing Ryan after all these years had thrown her, and all she could think of at the time was to run; to get as far away from him as possible.

He was unaware of her pregnancy and that he was the father.

She glanced in the rearview mirror, nervously anticipating the sight of a police unit with its flashing lights bursting forth from the garage, but as she drove away, there was no sign of Ryan.

When she arrived back at the hotel, Taylor was there. His gaze was glued to his computer screen. He stood and came closer when he saw her.

“Miss Hastings, how was your interview?”

“Great. I quit.”

Confusion swept his features.

“If anyone comes looking for me, I’m not here,” she said quickly as she passed by him, leaving before he could say anything more.