Page 136 of Whispers of You
Oh, shit.
Holt winced. “Fiancé make the move with her?”
The muscle that twitched beneath Nash’s eye became a full-on tic. “I don’t know.”
The words were a growl, and I glanced up at Holt in confusion. He gave a small shake of his head and gripped Nash’s shoulder. “Why don’t you talk to her before you go getting all pissed off?”
Nash’s jaw worked back and forth, but he nodded. “I’m going to talk to her now.”
“Good. Tell her I said hi.”
“Me, too,” I added.
Maddie had always been a good friend when she lived in Cedar Ridge. She and Nash had been attached at the hip for as long as I could remember. Nash was different with her than anyone else. Gentler somehow. More serious.
I glanced up at Holt as Nash strode toward the parking lot. “Is he okay?”
“I’m not sure.”
The door opened again, and this time it was Abel. “How’s my girl?”
I grinned, letting go of Holt’s hand and striding toward my mentor. “I’m good.”
He wrapped me in a gentle hug. “It’s damn good to see you up and about.”
“It feels good to be up and about.” Even if my ribs were tender and I looked like I’d gone a few rounds with a heavyweight boxer, the fresh air and getting out of the tiny cabin felt amazing.
“Lawson’s waiting for you in his office,” Abel informed us.
Holt reached out a hand to Abel. “How’ve you been?”
Abel harrumphed. “Missing this one like a limb.” He leaned closer to Holt conspiratorially. “She’s the best dispatcher I got. The other ones are too damn chatty.”
I choked on a laugh. “It’s called being friendly.”
“It’s called not being able to shut up,” Abel said.
“I heard that,” Lucille called from dispatch.
“I wanted you to,” Abel shot back.
I sent her a sympathetic look. “I’ll be back in a week or two.”
She lifted her hands to the heavens. “Praise the good Lord above.”
“Oh, shut it, you two,” Abel griped.
Holt grinned but gave my hand a gentle tug. “We should go.”
He led me through the sea of desks. Officers all stopped what they were doing to say hello and ask how I was doing. I couldn’t help that my gaze traveled to the two empty desks. My throat tightened as I took in Amber’s space. It had been cleared of all her belongings as if she’d never existed at all.
Holt squeezed my hand, reading me like a book as always. “This is the hardest it’ll be. The first time back.”
I nodded. “Have you heard how Clint’s doing?”
“He asked Law for a week off. I think he’s struggling to come to terms with everything that happened.”
“I need to go see him.”
