Page 110 of The Woman Left Behind

“No. If I figure it out, I’ll tell you. But I get the feeling we’re just scratching the surface of something.”

“People have killed for far less than to cover up fraud, Rus,” Harry said, even though he felt the same thing.

“Maybe it’s that we’ve only sunk our teeth into two of those flagged files, and we’re already up to our necks,” Rus guessed.

Maybe.

Maybe that audit landed his entire department under a mountain of shit it was going to take effort, time and perseverance to dig out of. A great deal of all three.

Or maybe there was another shoe hovering, waiting to drop.

“I’ll be ready for the briefing,” Rus ended it. “All I added to Ballard’s file is on your desk. Of note, the ex-wife still hasn’t gotten back to me.”

“Thanks, brother,” Harry replied.

Rus jutted up his chin and turned back to his desk.

Harry went to his office and started his day.

TWENTY-SIX

Not Yet

Harry

“Maybe your deputy might want to step out,” Stormy said irately when Sean and Harry walked into his office at the tire store later that morning.

Harry took in Storm’s angry face, he looked to Sean, he guessed what this was about, then he said low, “Just for a few minutes.”

Sean’s alert eyes went between Harry and Stormy, and he replied, “Right outside the door.”

He then stepped out, closing the door behind him.

Stormy didn’t make him wait for it.

“If you’re going to finally pull your thumb out, dip your toe back in the pool and find yourself some, leave Lillian out of it.”

“Think you know me better than that, Stormy,” Harry said, with practiced patience, keeping his calm.

Storm looked out the grimy window behind his desk, and Harry took in a man who fucked up and only recently realized it.

“I know you know about me and Lillian, do you know about her parents?” Harry asked.

“Yeah,” Storm grunted. “Word’s all over town.”

“We got a problem here?” Harry kept at him, and Storm looked back his way. “Because I hope we don’t. Lillian told me you two were together. She understands it wasn’t the right time for you, and she doesn’t hold any ill will. But that’s then, this is now, things have changed, and she doesn’t need anyone giving her anything else to be upset about.”

Like her fucking ex-husband.

“I wouldn’t hurt Lillian,” Stormy asserted.

“Then we’re good.”

It took him a beat, then Harry watched the tension leak out of Stormy’s shoulders before he said, “I was happy to see you at Doc and Nadia’s the last few parties they threw, Harry. It’s good to see you out of uniform and having a life. And you’re right. I know the man you are. I just hope you know where your head is at and don’t set your sights on Lillian until after you’ve knocked off the dust and want to get serious, brother. And I say that also saying, if you do that and it works for you two like it didn’t work for us, honest to Christ, it’ll suck, because straight up, I still have feelings for her. Angelica did a number on me and Lillian paid for it. But I’ll back your play because you deserve a good woman, and she deserves a good man.”

“I’m not knocking off dust with Lillian, man,” Harry replied, focusing on that, instead of all the rest Storm said, and losing hold on his patience.

“I know that too, and that’s why this fuckin’ sucks. Because I’m happy for you, for her, and I fucked up. Now she knows what’s happened to her parents?—”

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