Page 4 of Chasing Forever

One corner of Hayes’s mouth kicked up in a smirk. “You got me shakin’ in my boots, Sue Ellen,” he deadpanned. “Now do us all a favor and see your way out.”

I waited until she cleared the bullpen before letting my smile loose and turning back to Hayes. “Appreciate you comin’ down here to assist, Cap.”

“Not a day I’ll turn down the chance to put that one in her place, but that isn’t why I’m down here. Got a case for you two,” he said, pointing between me and Harrison. “Got an OD down at the hospital. Same cocktail as the ones you worked in the fall.”

“Shit,” I hissed, reaching up to massage the back of my neck. Hope Valley was a good place, a safe place for the most part, but that didn’t mean we were immune to the bad shit that was out there. Drugs had been an issue on and off for our county for a long time now, but it was only recently that we started seeing overdoses with this particular mix of heroin and fentanyl. It was only a handful, and in every case, the person hadn’t made it.

“That’s what?” Harrison turned to look at me. “Number six? Hard to figure out who’s selling this shit when every one of ’em ends up in the morgue.”

“Not this time,” our captain said. “This time the guy lived. You guys might just have a shot at figuring out who’s behind this after all.

The two of us started out of the bullpen when the captain called out, “Guy had a kid in the house with him. That’s why medical responders were able to get to him so fast. The boy saw his father go down, so keep that in mind, yeah? CPS is already on their way.”

I nodded, understanding what Hayes was saying without using the actual words. There was a reason he’d assigned this case to Harrison and me. I’d only been twelve when my own father’s issues with drugs marked me. If there was anyone in this department who might understand what this kid was going through, it was me.

Chapter Three

Merritt

My stomach churned as I pressed harder on the accelerator, urging my car to go faster. My fingers clenched the steering wheel so tight the leather creaked beneath my grip. My eyes darted to my ring finger as I turned the wheel, caught off guard once again by how light my left hand felt without the piece of jewelry that had been more of an albatross than a symbol of love. It had been two months since I took that ring off, and as much as I loved being free of the shackles it represented, I was still getting used to it.

I pushed away thoughts of the obnoxiously large diamond I’d never really liked and focused on the here and now. I’d been in a state of panic since getting the call that my brother was in the hospital due to a drug overdose.

It broke my heart that Ozzy had slipped... again, but it would have been a lie to say I wasn’t surprised. Because of his drug abuse, my brother and I hadn’t been very close in quite some time. The only reason I hadn’t cut him out of my life for good was because of his son, Levi. As much as I might have wanted to write Ozzy off completely, it would have meant losing the connection with my little guy, and that wasn’t possible.

Levi was only seven years old, and he deserved so much better than what he’d been born into. That little boy had become the most important person in my whole world the moment he was born, and leaving him behind when Rhodes and his team at Alpha Omega helped me get away from Warren was the hardest thing I’d ever done. Most days it felt like someone had reached inside my chest and ripped my heart right out. There wasn’t a second that passed where I didn’t miss Levi like I would a limb, but I had to get out. That had been my only shot, and as badly as I’d wanted to take Levi with me, there was no way Ozzy would have let that happen. His own son was nothing more to him than a pawn he could use against me whenever he needed money.

And I’d been the sucker who enabled him every single time. All to keep that contact with Levi.

As much as it pained me to admit, I wouldn’t have gone back to Hope Valley for Ozzy—but for Levi... well, I’d walk right back into the lion’s den for him.

And that was exactly what I was doing. As soon as the voice on the other end of the phone told me that my nephew would be placed in foster care if I didn’t come to take temporary guardianship as his only other living relative, I walked out of the coffee shop in Baltimore, where I’d been working as a barista, packed up what little I had in the small studio apartment I’d been living in since Rhodes helped me relocate, and made the three and a half hour drive back to the town I had hoped never to return to. But there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Levi.

Between bouts of panic, I’d used the long drive to call Blythe Fanning, the first person to ever offer to help me and the only real friend I’d had in far too long. She must have heard the panic in my voice, because she didn’t hesitate to jump in and help as soon as I finished telling her what was going on.

A tremor worked its way down my spine as I passed the sign welcoming me to Hope Valley, but I pushed the fear down and kept going. Levi needed me.

By the time I pulled up in front of Hope House, the local children’s home where they were keeping Levi until I could get to him, Blythe was already there. As soon as I parked, she was at my door, pulling it open and wrapping me in a tight embrace the moment my feet hit the ground.

The action took me by surprise, and it took a few seconds for my limbs to unfreeze. As sad as it was to admit, even to myself, I wasn’t used to being hugged. At least in a way that wasn’t followed by violence or manipulation. The last person to hug me with any real kindness was Levi. I could still feel the steel grip his arms had formed around my neck as I cradled him to me, tears leaking from both our eyes. As much as it hurt at the time, I hadn’t been able to leave town without telling him goodbye.

That had been the worst moment of my life. Far beyond any of the pain or sadness Warren ever inflicted. I’d done my best to explain why I was leaving without going into all the ugly details he was too young to hear, and once I finished, my little guy lifted his chin and told me he hated the thought of me being sad, and if going away made me happy, that was what he wanted. That was a memory I’d held tight to over the past couple of months, one that hurt as much as it healed every time I recalled it.

I finally got myself together enough to return Blythe’s embrace.

“Are you okay?” she asked once she pulled back, taking hold of my arms. Her eyes sparked with concern, and seeing that someone actually cared about me made mine begin to sting with tears I was trying desperately to keep a hold on.

I sniffled, shaking off the wave of emotion. I couldn’t imagine what Levi had gone through, being the only one there when his father overdosed on heroin. Having to be the one to call the police... atseven. It broke my heart and made me so angry I wanted to track Ozzy down and beat him senseless for doing that to his son.

I couldn’t understand, and I sure as hell wasn’t okay. I wouldn’t be until my nephew was in my arms. “I just want to see Levi. I need to get to him.”

She nodded, understanding written all over her face. She had two kids of her own, after all. If there was anyone who understood, it was her. “Then let’s go get him.”

I turned toward the building and froze after only two steps, tipping my head back to stare up at the sign. My throat suddenly felt too tight as the reality of everything that had happened over the past several hours finally sank in fully.

“It’s okay,” Blythe assured me, giving my back a sympathetic pat. “I know there are all kinds of horror stories about group homes, but this place isn’t like that, I swear. Levi’s safe in there. I know the people in charge of this place. The director and the couple who founded it are close family friends. This is a nice, clean, safe place. Levi’s okay.”

“I never should have left him,” I said, my quiet statement breaking in the middle of the sentence as guilt crashed into me. The hold I had on my emotions snapped and tears started to trail silently down my face.

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