Page 111 of Lost Truth
“You’re right. Time to look at the positive. I’ll soon be rid of this thorn in my side for good.” Mina scrubbed her hands together as if she were washing something repulsive out of her life. “I promise you one thing. I’ll dig as deep as I need to find every one of your roles in this organization and make sure you’re charged with them all.”
Detective Lyons strode through the door, her expression grim.
Mina faced her lieutenant. “Get him out of here before I say or do something stupid.”
“Gladly.” El’s forceful tone was a verbal assault for the sergeant. “I can’t wait to slam the doors behind him.”
Hayden helped El get Abell to his feet. Abell pierced Mina with an icy stare. “I look forward to seeing your name dragged through the mud.”
El marched him out the door. Surprisingly, he didn’t fight her.
Abby stretched shoulder to shoulder with Mina in support of the sheriff. “Don’t pay him any attention. He’s a bitter man and a sore loser.”
“Plus, someone who can’t take responsibility for his own actions,” Hayden said. “But even if he doesn’t, I have no doubt a jury will find him guilty, and he’ll go away for a long time.”
Abby frowned. “I may not like what he did, and he deserves to serve time, but prison isn’t a great place for a police officer.”
“He should’ve thought of that before he got involved with Ivers.” Mina straightened her shoulders. “I’ll arrange for Sierra and her team to process this scene after they finish their current assignments. Hopefully, Abe’s prints and DNA are all over all of them.”
“Let us know if you need our help,” Hayden said.
“I’ll walk to the car with you,” Abby said, probably to give Mina a sheriff-to-sheriff pep talk.
Cady grabbed Hayden’s hand and led him out to the porch. “When I heard about you and Abby breaching the building the way you did…” She paused and shook her head to tame the acid burning in her gut. “You could’ve been seriously hurt.”
“But I wasn’t,” he said. “We made a very calculated move—something we’ve done before and will do again. I hope that doesn’t scare you off of being with me.”
She bit her lip. “I can’t pretend it isn’t upsetting, but this is where trust in God comes into play, right?”
“Right.”
“Still, I want to hug you right now. I don’t suppose that’s very professional, and you don’t want it to happen in front of everyone here.”
“That proves something.” He searched her gaze.
“What’s that?”
“You still don’t fully know me.” He smiled at her. “As long as I’m not doing anything wrong, I don’t care what other people think. Hugging you is far from wrong and sounds like the best thing that could happen right now.”
She lifted her arms gently around his neck, and he wrapped his around her waist, drawing her in until there was no space left between them. Her gaze held his, steady and full of feeling.
“Along with trusting God,” she said softly, “I think this might be the perfect prescription for any worry I have about your safety.”
He chuckled, the sound low and affectionate. “Good thing this prescription comes with unlimited refills. I have a feeling I’ll need it often. And not just in the difficult moments?—”
“But in the moments we create together,” she finished for him, then leaned in to press her lips to his—gentle, lingering, and full of promise.
