Page 87 of Cops and Robbers

At least she didn’t use bubblegum. He peered at the note through his fingers. A smile stole his features. Even after everything, he couldn’t help that he’d missed her. But there was so much clouding his judgment of the situation of whether he could allow himself back into her web.

He’d trusted her, and Caige had gotten injured. He’d trusted her to help him destroy everything attached to Lucifer’s Bell, and the person who was supposed to help them was gone. He’d trusted her with his heart and now he just felt—

He rubbed his hand over his face as the hollowness threatened to consume him. As he prepared for work, he wasn’t sure how he felt about Kate’s note, but he found himself tucking it safely into his wallet before he headed out.

Raz parked in the field office’s parking lot. The media were out in full force. He’d hoped they’d be tired of news about the Bubblegum Bandit, but it didn’t seem like they wanted him to forget her.

Reporters yelled questions at Raz as he headed inside, but their voices went in one ear and out the other. Raz flashed his badge at the woman in uniform in front, and the officer opened the door. His feet dragged across the floor.

“There you are,” Regan said from behind him on her way to her office. “Come in. I need to talk to you.”

A weight settled on his shoulders. He’d disappointed not only his team but also Regan. She strode behind her desk, wearing her business casual suit. She’d styled her black hair into dreadlocks.

“I like the new look,” he said.

“Trying to kiss ass?”

“No.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But now that you mention it. I am sorry the contact lost trust in me.”

“Sit down,” she said. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

He swallowed and sat across from her. His dragon didn’t even have the heart to bristle at the demand in her tone. He and his dragon knew they fucked up.

“There’s something I should have shared with you a while ago. Years ago, when I was fresh into command, I led an op that should’ve gone clean. We had intel, a plan. But one of my officers made a mistake—hesitated a second too long—and things went sideways. We lost someone. I spent weeks replaying every choice, every order. I told myself, if I’d given clearer instructions, if I had trained them better, if I had seen that hesitation coming… it was my fault.” She exhaled slowly, shaking her head at the memory.

“Then my old captain sat me down. He told me something I’ll never forget: ‘You’re responsible for your decisions, not the weight of the world.’ You can guide people, be there for them when they need it, lead them—but at the end of the day, they make their own choices. You don’t get to carry everyone’s burden, just your own.”

Her voice softened. “I see how hard you hold this force together. You care more than most. But if you take responsibility for every mistake, you’ll never move forward in your career or in life. Do you hear what I’m saying?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He swallowed the lump in his throat as Caige’s similar words rang through his head. He hadn’t wanted to listen to his friend take responsibility for his actions when his injuries felt like a guilt bomb in his chest, but hearing them come from this woman who didn’t have to share this story with him struck deep. No matter how much he wanted to blame himself for trusting Kate and getting his crew involved with her, the truth was—they had decided together.

In the end, Kate had gotten him Lucifer’s Bell—the burden that had been on his chest for ages. Without her, he would have just been waiting for the next attack. The questions he had for her had piled into a seemingly insurmountable mountain, but the note in his pocket was the first step. He didn’t know what would be on the other side, but he’d be damned if he didn’t try to climb over it.

“With that out of the way, we got a break. Traffic cameras and police reports picked up an erratic driver who matches the Bandit’s description. We tracked her down to a bar in Chicago called the Dusted Tuck. We think she has connections there.”

His stomach hit the floor as heat gathered at the back of his neck. Fuck. That was their sanctuary. Lewis’s livelihood. One of the few places Caige felt safe enough to take a break from his Illusion and show his true face. And a place that if the authorities paid attention long enough, would implicate Raz in everything. His involvement with Kate had risked everyone.

“You good?” Regan asked. “I thought you’d be thrilled.”

“No. I am. It just seems weird that she’d have connections in Chicago of all places.”

“Perhaps, but it’s a lead we’re going to—“

An insistent knock came at the door. “Sorry to interrupt.” Raz turned to the officer who was catching his breath as if he had run across the building.

“What is it?” Regan asked.

“Kate Bandit just turned herself in.”

His heart stopped in his chest. She did what?

He met Regan’s wide eyes, and the three of them raced from the room, Regan setting out a game plan. Raz didn’t know what to expect, but at the first opportunity he shot Lewis a text. Dusted Tuck linked to Kate. Expect company.

Kate being here might buy them some time, but if Regan believed there were accomplices, they needed to plan for the worst. And despite the fear clogging the back of his throat over that situation, anticipation lightened his steps. The last time he’d seen Kate was when she’d shown up at the bar and apologized. Her words had bounced off his numb exterior, but slowly they had burrowed their way into him, creating an ache that only hearing her out would assuage. When they reached the interrogation room’s observation side, Raz’s breath lodged in his throat.

Kate sat in the room alone. She wore workout clothes, forehead glistening with sweat as if she had decided to turn herself in midjog. As she leaned back, the light redness from his bite mark appeared above her tank top. His mouth dried, dragon claws clenching with desire to have her closer. By his thudding heart, he’d missed her more than he’d wanted to admit.

“She requested Starbucks and her lawyer,” the agent waiting in the observation room said.