Page 3 of Fortune's Ashes
‘Crazy, right?’ She raised her eyebrows meaningfully. ‘If that idiotic werewolf and I can get it together, then you can do the same with Lord Horvath.’
I wasn’t so sure about that. ‘Congratulations. He’s a lucky man.’ A very lucky man.
‘He certainly is.’ She winked at me, but I could see that her delight at her own good fortune didn’t erase her worry or discomfort.
‘Lukas will be fine,’ I said firmly. ‘We both will.’ I hesitated, then added for my own benefit as well as hers, ‘Sometimes things simply aren’t meant to be.’
ChapterTwo
It wasn’t easy to put my conversation with Scarlett out of my mind. She’d understood as soon as I’d explained the situation to her, but I guessed part of me had been hoping she’d tell me I was being stupid and Lukas wouldn’t give a flying fuck that I could glimpse the future. The fact that she hadn’t argued suggested that she agreed with me – leaving him was the best course of action, no matter how much it hurt. Or made me physically sick.
I rubbed a hand across my eyes and passed through the main doors of New Scotland Yard, waiting for a second or two at the metal detectors while I tried to focus on my job and not my messy personal life. Coming here was good, I told myself. I needed the distraction.
Barnes wasn’t in her office but a woman passing by told me she was conducting an interview on the third floor. Vaguely irritated, I headed up there and announced myself to a young man sitting at a desk by the lift. He looked more relieved than surprised when I told him my name. Huh. So Barnes really did want to speak to me in person, then.
I cooled my heels for several minutes. First I sat down on one of the uncomfortable chairs along the wall, then I stood up and paced around. Nausea was continuing to plague my poor stomach in such a way that I wasn’t convinced Scarlett’s unexpected chat was the cause. I tried to remember when I’d last eaten. I was certain I’d had breakfast, if not today then yesterday.
Just as I was debating the practicalities of finding the nearest loo and heading in there to stick my finger down my throat to make myself throw up, I heard DSI Barnes’ shoes squeaking along the shiny corridor. I turned around and raised a hand in greeting. She smiled at me but it didn’t reach her eyes. Hmm. Something was definitely up.
‘Emma,’ she said. ‘Thank you for coming.’
I bowed with more of a sarcastic flourish than I’d intended. ‘Far be it from me to gainsay an order from you, ma’am,’ I said.
Barnes raised an eyebrow. ‘Did you get out of the wrong side of bed this morning?’ she enquired. ‘Or is your recent break-up with Lord Horvath causing you problems?’
I shouldn’t have been surprised that she’d heard that Lukas and I were no longer living together. I knew she kept tabs on both Supe Squad and the supes themselves.
She peered at me more closely. ‘While you have my sympathy,’ she continued, ‘it’s important that you don’t allow your personal problems to affect your professional life. It’s fine between the two of us, and I’m always here if you need someone to talk to, but I am the exception. You need to leave your home life at the door.’
‘I’m not on shift yet,’ I said. Barnes looked at me. My shoulders slumped an inch. ‘I’ll do better,’ I mumbled.
Her expression wasn’t judgmental. ‘I often find that immersing oneself in work can help. Are there any interesting developments at Supe Squad? Any cases to help focus your thoughts?’
I was certain she already knew the answer to that. ‘Not really.’
‘Hmm. Well, I’m sure something will come up soon enough,’ she said. ‘Not that I’m wishing for any crimes to be committed just to keep you busy, you understand.’
I nodded then I lifted my chin. ‘I couldn’t catch much on the phone – you kept breaking up. Why did you ask me to come in?’
She pursed her lips. ‘We’ve received a complaint.’
Uh-oh. ‘Against Supe Squad?’
Barnes met my eyes. ‘Against you.’
My stomach lurched with even greater force. Bugger. Although I was well aware that my attitude in recent weeks hadn’t been perfect, I didn’t think I’d done anything to warrant a formal complaint. I’d certainly not done anything that justified a summons like this. ‘Okay,’ I said warily. ‘What have I done?’
‘It’s notwhatyou’ve done that’s the problem, Emma,’ Barnes told me. ‘It’s who you are.’
* * *
DSI Barnes ledme into an empty room and gestured at a chair beside the table. Exhaling loudly, I sat down; the strong smell of disinfectant in the room wasn’t doing me any favours. I spotted the water cooler in the corner and stood up, grabbed a cup of water and gulped it down.
Barnes was watching me. ‘Are you alright? You look a bit ill – and rather tired.’
In other words, I looked like shit. I pasted on a smile. ‘I’m fine,’ I told her.
‘You don’t look fine. You look as if you’re about to throw up.’
