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He got off the phone to check flights, and I finally got out of the car to join my fellow officers It turned out that so the scene had let the at so open He was breathing heavily as he turned back to get in his car So must have shown on my face, because he said, “Looks like your personal phone call didn’t go well”
r />“My personal business is none of yours”
“No need to snap atout of hand”
I stepped up to hi the hell out of his personal space He was so er than me it probably looked ridiculous, but I didn’t care “Fine, I was trying to be nice, but if you don’t want nice, we can do it the other way I was calling another un pointed at uns on our side”
I was sorry I’d said the words as soon as they left my mouth I didn’t even have to see the pain in Leduc’s eyes to be sorry The cold, dead stare that replaced the pain was chilling, like soet for all his rage and fear—me So stupid, so avoidable, so my own damn fault
9
WHEN WE ALL got back in our respective cars, Newry with me, but he was upset and couldn’t hide it I finally saved hile and said, “I behaved badly back there, and I’m sorry”
Newht as he tried to keep his voice even “Aren’t you the one who told me, ‘Don’t be sorry Do better’?”
“One of the reasons I’m more patient with other people’s rookiea temper that made my mouth run aith the rest of me was one of them”
“We had things calmed doith Duke,” he said as he eased between the now-open gates and followed the sheriff up the driveway
“I know, and I aain” Some sense of ates ease shut
“I called you in to help e on either side of the gravel driveway Again I got the sense that the estate had been here long enough to become one with the forest around us
“I’etting irritated with the fact that he was harping on it
My teo, but I will always have it bubbling close to the surface One of the things I’d learned in therapy is that fixing your issues isn’t the sas that no longer serve you, but soet rid of the who you are and how you function as a person My temper was one of those, but ression was how I did my job and protected the ones I loved, how I succeeded ressive wo a bitch is the only way to survive I’ll take survival over being Miss Congeniality any day
“You were visibly upset when you got off the phone You can’t bla that”