“Excuse me, are you Sarah?” an unfamiliar masculine voice said from behind me. It was shortly after lunch, and the police station was buzzing with activity. People talked all around me, the low murmur of voices somehow becoming a calming sound to my strung-out nerves.

I turned on my heel, exhaustion taking over me and making my reflexes slower. Knowing that Vinnie was out there somewhere watching me didn’t exactly help me get a good night’s rest…and neither did having my only other ex under my roof. “Yes?”

“Delivery.” The messenger held out a handheld device. “Sign here, please?”

“Who from?” I asked, carefully examining the small envelope in his hand.

“It says…” He squinted. “Anonymous.”

Vinnie. My stomach fisted. “Do I have to accept it?”

“Well, no…”

I sensed who was behind me before he even spoke. “What’s this?” Ben asked, stopping just short of pressing his shoulder to mine.

“An anonymous delivery,” I said, not bothering to tell him to mind his own business. For now, he was all up in mine, and there was nothing I could do to change that.

This morning…with my mother…

He’d gotten past defenses I’d had in place for ten years now, and because he had, there was no way I was going to be able to put them back in place. He’d knocked down walls, and they weren’t going back up. If he hadn’t stopped that kiss this morning, nothing would have stopped me from bringing him in my room to find out if he was as good as I remembered or not.

Not even the threat of losing my job.

“Sign for it.”

Sighing, I did as he said, and took the envelope.

“Come on,” he said, heading for his father’s office.

I followed him silently, not wanting to see what was inside, yet knowing I had to. He held the door open for me, and I walked inside. He shut it behind both of us, and his father was there, waiting behind his desk. “Sir, Sarah got an anonymous delivery.”

The captain sat up straighter, picked up his phone, and called someone. “Hello, send Thomas in. I have something he needs to check.” He hung up and motioned us forward. “Forensics is on its way. Bring it here.”

Ben walked forward. I stayed where I was.

“Is it from him?”

I shrugged. “I haven’t opened it, sir.”

“Well, let’s do so.” He pulled a pair of latex gloves out of the box behind him, and opened it gingerly. I crept forward, my heart pounding hard. As he slid the single piece of paper out, I held my breath. “It says… ‘I’m coming.’”

“What?” I asked, letting out the breath.

“That’s it. ‘I’m coming.’”

Sounded like Vinnie. He liked to keep his threats low-key.

More effective that way.

Ben snarled. “Asshole.”

“We’ll dust it for fingerprints.” He carefully slid it back in the envelope, then set it down. “Any activity at the house last night?”

I avoided Ben’s eyes. “No, sir.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” Ben agreed. “Neither did the uniform outside the house.”

“Were you inside?” he asked.

“Yes.”

I added, “On the couch, sir.”

He eyed me. “I figured.”

“Just making sure. I’d hate to lose my job.”

“You’re aware of what would happen if you crossed that line.” He turned to his son. “You both are. I trust you to follow the rules, and not risk termination.”

“Sir—” Ben started stiffly.

“We’re not discussing the rules that you both agreed to when you accepted a job in this office. You signed the contract, and the rules stand.” He rested his hands on the top of his desk. “We are discussing Detective Lopez’s safety. Will you continue to sleep in the house, or is there a problem with that?”

“There’s no problem,” Ben gritted out.

“Then keep on as you have. We’ll dust this for fingerprints, but I’m sure he covered his tracks. He’s a cop, after all.”

Ben nodded and headed for the door.

“I have a question, sir,” I said quietly.

His father nodded. “All right. Go on.”

I glanced at Ben, who had stopped walking. “I’d like to ask it…alone.”

Ben’s shoulders stiffened.

“You’re dismissed, Detective,” Captain said.

Ben walked out, saying nothing.

As soon as the door shut, Captain frowned at me. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering if it might be possible for me to get reassigned to a new partner?”

He crossed his arms. “Has Detective Rollins done something wrong?”

“No, he’s a great partner.”

He cocked a brow. He looked so much like his son in that moment that it was almost freaky. “Then why get a new one?”

“You know why, sir.”

He snorted. “The pairing stays.”

“I understand you don’t like me, sir, and I'm not trying to change that, but—”

“But nothing. I paired the two of you up because the rookie cop you spoke of who needed an established detective to learn from. You did, too. It had nothing to do with whether I liked you or not.”

I stepped closer. “You’re setting us up for failure, sir.”

“If you fail, you have no one to blame but yourselves. You’re not children. You know the rules, and I expect you to follow them.”

I opened my mouth. “And if we don’t?”

“Then you’ll both be looking for a new job.”

He did this on purpose. Put us together so he didn’t have to worry about me catching his son in my grasp again. He knew it. Ben knew it. So did I. But there was no way to prove it, so unless I wanted to go to war with my new boss, there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I needed this job, and the medical insurance, so guess what? I kept my mouth shut.

I headed for the door. When my hand was on the knob, he called out, “Detective Lopez?”

“Yes, sir?” I asked without turning around.

“You’re right. I don’t like you very much. When you left my son behind, you broke him in ways I’ve never seen. I don’t trust you. I didn’t want to hire you.” He let out a breath. “But I did, and I am going to protect you. Play it safe, and don’t force me to do something I have no intention of doing. I happen to like your mother very much.”

I stiffened, facing him. “What does my mother have to do with this?”

“She’s a dependent on your paperwork. I’m aware you’re caring for her, and believe it or not, after you left town, we kept in touch. I’m fully aware of her medical condition, and it was the only reason I allowed the precinct to force you upon us.” He flexed his jaw. “Don’t jeopardize her care for a little bit of rebellion with my son for old time’s sake. It’s not worth it.”

I swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”

Without saying anything else, I left his office. As I stepped into the hallway, Ben was there, leaning against the wall with his ankles crossed as tightly as his arms. “Good?”

I nodded, not meeting his gaze. “Yep.”

“Let me guess. You asked for a new partner, and got denied.”

“Does it matter?” I shot back.

I walked past him, but he caught my arm, halting me.

“Kind of.” His grip on me shifted. “I thought we were getting along.”

“That’s precisely the problem, now isn’t it?” I locked gazes with him. “We’re getting along a little too well, and even though I keep telling myself to keep my distance, to not push my luck, I know, deep down that if you let me, I’d lose it all for you, and I can’t do that to my mother.”

He swallowed hard, his grip on me loosening. “Sarah…”

“Don’t. Just don’t.”

Letting go of me, he swallowed and stepped back. He’d put the distance between us that I didn’t have the strength to find. “I would never let you lose it all.”

“I know, because you’re that good of a guy, which only makes it worse. This would be so much easier if you were the asshole I spent these last ten years thinking you were.” I closed my eyes for a second, then added with brutal honesty, “I wish you’d cheated on me. I wish you were every inch the bastard I thought you were, because this would be so much easier.”

And with that?

I walked away.