Rogue Alliance

THIRTY-FIVE



Knowing that Shawn and Jason were standing a few feet back as she knocked on Victor’s door didn’t ease her anxiety. It was creeping in and causing her to rethink the decision to personally follow through with his arrest. She was resistant to the idea of looking into his face again, but it was inevitable.

The large oak door swung open. Brennan stared down at her. Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered their kiss.

There was a look in his eye that she’d not seen before. Respect? She wasn’t sure.

“Hello, Shyla.”

A flash of color in the background shifted her focus. Victor stepped forward, nudging Brennan to the side. The crazed maniac that she’d witnessed the Friday before was gone, replaced by his cool, charming veneer.

He broke into a wide, mocking grin.

“Well hello, Gorgeous,” he drawled, “I’ve been waiting for you all morning. I see you brought your friends.”

He jutted out his hands, locking his wrists together.

“Well, come on then, let’s get this show on the road. I’ve already called my lawyer. I want to be home within the next few days. I’ve got stuff to do.”

His cavalier, pompous attitude grated on her nerves. It was difficult not to put a hand to her throat in response to his voice. She could still feel the way the scarf had bit into her flesh and cut off her airway. She’d thought she’d die that night. Thanks to Brennan, she lived to see this day.

“I see you’re on your best behavior today, Victor. That’s fine. It makes my job a lot easier. I have a warrant here for your arrest. You have the right to remain silent…”



*



“I hear you arrested Victor today.”

Shyla detected the underlying frustration in Eli Straton’s tone. She’d heard it many times in the past when she’d stretched boundaries and avoided authority. She closed the door to Hal’s office where he’d said she could make the call.

“Yep. The warrant was issued and I made the arrest within the hour. I know you’re mad because I didn’t call you first, but I had my reasons.”

“I don’t have a problem with you making the arrest, Shyla. Hal made that call, and from what I’ve learned over the last few minutes from my conversation with him, it was more than valid.

“My problem lies with all of the other subordinate activities you’ve pulled lately. Let’s see, I believe it starts with you going into that warehouse, unarmed and alone. Then when Hal and I established that your cover was no longer stable and we pulled you from the case, you decided to go through with an under-cover rendezvous anyway, without surveillance, or protection, or any notification to anyone on the inside for that matter, to ensure your safety.

“As a result, you were nearly strangled to death, except by some miracle, Victor’s body guard shows up and saves your life. Does any of this ring a goddamn bell, Shyla? Cause by all means, correct me if I’m wrong.”

Shyla gritted her teeth. She hated being chastised, especially by someone she respected and looked up to.

“I’m not going to waste your time trying to explain why I went out to Victor’s that night,” she said, “all I can say is that I made a bad decision. I can’t really say that I regret it, because we now have even more evidence against him to build our case on.”

“Jesus, Shyla, do you even hear yourself right now? You’re doing what you always do; you’re trying to demonstrate how your recalcitrant behavior should actually be rewarded because there may possibly be a positive result despite all the risks you took and rules you broke. Well knock it off. I’ve had it. I’ve put up with your antics for long enough because underneath all that mess, you’re a dang good detective and I like you. But when I get photos of you on my scanner that show you black and blue with strangulation marks around your neck, I reach my limits. You should have obeyed orders.”

“Yes, Sir.”

There was a moment of heavy silence. She waited.

“When are you coming home?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, her brow furrowed.

“I pulled you off the case last week. When are you coming home?”

Shyla plopped down into the office chair.

“I had assumed that since my cover was no longer an issue, I would return to duty. On this case. I should still be on the case. There’s a lot more work to be done here, Sir.”

“Yes, there is, Shyla, but not by you. You’re on suspension. I want you to get your stuff together, make whatever arrangements need to be made, and come back to LA.”

It felt like the breath had been knocked out of her. Suspension? How could he do that to her? This case was nowhere near finished and she had no intention of walking away until it was. She was already too emotionally invested.

“No, Sir, I can’t do that.”

“You can, and you will.”

“No, I can’t, because…I quit. I’ll turn my badge over to Hal today.”

Not waiting for his response, she hung up the phone. She sat staring at the worn wood of Hal’s work desk, feeling…she didn’t really know what she was feeling.

There was a soft knock at the door. Hal poked his head in.

“Victor’s all settled in. I doubt his arraignment will be before Thursday, maybe Friday. Hey, are you okay?”

She stood up and rounded his desk. Pulling her badge out, she slowly set it down. “Actually, I think I am. I just resigned.”