I was through the front door and halfway down the porch steps before I realized there was a police car drawn up to the curb. My throat closed, and my heart stuttered and thudded so hard against my chest that I worried it could be seen through my shirt. I was too busy staring at the beautiful young cop in the driver’s seat to notice Harris pulling himself from the passenger side and walking around the front of the car toward me. The young officer stared straight ahead, wouldn’t even turn around to face me, her profile stiff and flawless.

I guessed this was his way of telling me he’d moved on. I had been thoroughly replaced. I bet they just drove from the same secret spot he always took me—odds were her mouth was still full of him.

“Just got called in by the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity liaison. Had an interview about some situation you brought to their attention. Complaints like that stay with Captains. Did you know that? But they stay with petty, disgruntled, rejected officers too.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, protecting my fiercely drumming heart, and said nothing; too afraid my voice would betray me.

“How’s it going to look Brooke? Like you were chasing after a married man,” he laughed darkly. We stared at each other for a long, drawn-out moment, and then he smirked. “All your texts about how much you were starting to fall in love with me.” He sauntered toward me, the tone of his voice mocking and venomous. “Come over, I made dinner. Come over, I need you. Inside me.” He walked passed me, circling me menacingly, his dark eyes assessing and vicious. I turned slowly as he stalked around me, carefully watching him. “Everyone will know you’re nothing more than a whore who begged to sleep with her Captain to see how far up the ladder she could get.”

And suddenly it hit me.

I never did anything wrong. I didn’t have to stand here and take his bullshit—because that’s all it was—bullshit.

The only thing I did was fall for the lies that this man told me. It was all on him. They could transfer me to the worst areas, put me on the worst possible hours, hell, they could fire my ass, and I would fight them with everything I had and I would win. Because I did nothing wrong, but fall in love with someone who was a liar. I did nothing wrong, but have poor taste in men.

“No one is going to believe that,” Ryan’s voice called out from behind me. I felt a wave of nausea swell and roll in the pit of my stomach with his words. I had forgotten he was there, being an audience to my humiliation.

Harris laughed, nodding in Ryan’s direction. “Well, look at this. Can’t say I’m surprised.”

Ryan’s boots hit the steps and scraped across the walk toward us. I heard the sounds of his movements, but was too frozen with shame to turn around and see the way he’d look at me differently.

Harris leaned forward, and his smiled widened, contorting into a sneer. “You’re fucking him now?” He rubbed his hands over a laugh, his shoulders shrugging up and down as if he was having trouble controlling his amusement, “Whoa, Brooke. I didn’t know you were that desperate for dick.”

Ryan’s movement flashed beside me, at the same time I sputtered out, “No! We’re just friends.” I couldn’t have Harris bringing him into this. I couldn’t have other people thinking badly about me Ryan. I couldn’t.

Next to me, Ryan flinched back. “Are you serious right now?”

My stomach dropped when I realized Ryan’s words were directed right at me.

“No way, Brooke,” Ryan roared, stepping between Harris and me. “I’m not going to let you stand here in front of that asshole and let you say we’re just friends. I’m not ashamed of you. I’m not going to hide you like he did.” He turned to look directly in Harris’s eyes. “I wouldn’t hide one minute of being with her. She’s not a dirty, little secret. And you’re nothing more than a predator.”

Then, I felt myself flying back and landing hard on my back, my elbows screaming in pain. There was a sharp pressure in my chest where Harris slammed his hands against me and now those hands were around Ryan’s throat.

“No! Stop!” I croaked, trying to catch my breath and climb to my feet. “Harris, don’t—” But by the time I got up, Harris was on the ground, Ryan wrapped in some crazy grappling maneuver around him. “You fucking touch her again, and I’ll kill you,” Ryan was grunting, his expression dark and serious.

Holding my chest, I stumbled over to them screaming. “Stop! Just stop!”

At the curb, the pretty young cop finally opened the door and rushed out, eyes wide with confusion, her radio up to her mouth.

“Don’t!” I yelled, pointing my finger at her. “Harris, tell her not to. Tell her not to call it in!” Through the nausea and dizziness of getting the wind knocked out of me, I tried hard to focus on them.

Ryan let Harris go with a shove that sent him reeling back. “Brooke?” Ryan asked confused.

Three pairs of eyes watch me.

I held up my palm, calmly, and took a deep, long breath in. When the black spots ceased dancing in the corners of my vision, I straightened up and swallowed hard. “You,” I said to Harris, through clenched teeth. “If you ever lay a hand on me again, I will kill you. My complaint is not going anywhere, so get used to it.” I took a step closer to him, and for the first time, finally felt nothing for the pathetic person he was. “I did nothing malicious or wrong with you. You and I both know the truth. I know it’ll come out, and I’ll come out of this with my head held high. You, you’re nothing more than an adulterous pig.”

My eyes focused on Ryan, breathing hard, waiting for me to say something that I had no words for. “I’m still processing,” I said, softly.

I spun around and smiled at the pretty cop who was still holding the radio up to her mouth in shock. I leaned close to her and smiled the kindest smile I could muster. “Captain Harris Anderson is married. He’ll make you drive him around and promise you the most romantic things, but believe me it’ll never amount to anything more than sneaking around and giving you a quick, unsatisfying fuck behind the locked door of his office or in the back of a radio car.” I took another deep breath and looked back at Harris, sprawled out on the grass. “Besides, he’s got a really small dick, and he punches like a girl. And when I’m through with him, the only place you’ll find him is on the unemployment line.”

I stepped past them all and gathered my stuff together to go pick up Cameron from school, rubbing at the painful bruise blooming across my chest.