Page 42 of Cross the Line
Fresh leaves were starting to appear. The air smelled clean for once. Rain-scrubbed and warm. I let the sun hit my face as I rounded the final block to 51 Division, savoring it. Small pleasures. Take them when you can.
The station entrance squeaked open. Same rusty hinge nobody'd bothered to oil in what, a decade? Fluorescent buzz overhead. That sickly institutional glow washing out everyone's skin. But somehow the place didn't feel as oppressive as it had my first day here.
Maybe I was just getting used to purgatory.
"Good morning, Detective Carlson!"
Reid straightened from the reception desk like I'd activated him. Eager puppy energy radiating off him in waves. Kid was sweet, but transparent as glass.
"Morning, Reid." I flashed him the easy grin. The one that cost me nothing. "You're looking chipper."
"You're looking much better today, sir." He shifted his weight. Fingers drumming the desk. "The sunshine really suits you."
Subtle."Vitamin D works wonders. You should try it sometime instead of living in this fluorescent cave."
He laughed. Too loud. Too enthusiastic. "Actually, I was about to make a convenience store run. I could grab you one of those canned coffees? The vanilla one you liked yesterday?"
There it was. The flush creeping up his neck. The hopeful tilt of his head. I should shut this down. Workplace crushes were messy at best, career-ending at worst. But Reid was one of the few people here who didn't look at me like I was 52's radioactive leftovers.
"That'd be great, actually. Thanks."
His whole face lit up like I'd handed him a medal. "No problem! I'll bring it right over."
He practically bounced toward the exit. I watched him go. Guilt settled in my stomach like bad coffee. I'd need to have thelet's keep this professionaltalk soon. Before he got the wrong idea. BeforeIbecame the asshole who led him on.
Later. After I survived whatever fresh hell today had planned.
I headed toward the detective bullpen. Scanning automatically for a particular broad-shouldered silhouette. Almost a month since Inspector Murphy had shackled Hawley and me together. Against all odds, we hadn't killed each other yet.
Progress.
Hawley sat hunched over our shared desk. A study in concentration and regulation posture. He didn't look up when I approached. His shoulders shifted slightly. Recognition withoutacknowledgment. His half of the workspace was surgical-room pristine. Files aligned at perfect right angles. Pens color-coded. Notepad parallel to the keyboard.
My side looked like a paper tornado had gotten drunk and passed out there.
And yet, he hadn't touched any of it. Hadn't straightened a single rogue file or relocated a coffee-stained folder. Just... left my chaos exactly how I liked it.
Something about that made my chest feel weird.
"Morning," I said, dropping into my chair.
A grunt. Still laser-focused on whatever report he was dissecting.
I found myself studying his profile. The permanent furrow between his brows. The way his jaw clenched when he concentrated. I'd been cataloging his micro-expressions for weeks now. The slight crinkle at the corner of his eyes when something amused him. The barely-there upturn of his mouth when I said something particularly stupid. The way his shoulders loosened when we were alone in the apartment.
Why was I doing that? Why did Inoticethese things?
"Take a picture," Hawley muttered without looking up. "It'll last longer."
I snorted. "Just making sure you didn't turn into a statue overnight. You've barely moved since I walked in."
His jaw eased a fraction. Not quite a smile. Close enough to count as a win.
Before he could respond, something heavy and deliberate slammed into the back of my chair. Sent me lurching sideways.
"Oops." Sergeant Saunders's voice dripped false apology. "Didn't see you there, Poster Boy. Though with that hair, you'd think you'd be hard to miss."
I bit down on the urge to tell him exactly where he could shove his passive aggression. Saunders had been gunning for me sinceday one. His hostility had sharpened after the Min case. Like he took it personally that Hawley and I actually functioned as a team.
