Sleeping the night before had been nearly impossible. He couldn’t stop dreaming about Rosie as he tossed and turned beside Erin. Because he’d gotten back to his apartment so late, she’d decided to stay the night, something she expressed regret over in the morning.

“You were so restless. I should’ve just gone back to my brother’s place.” She rolled her eyes. Erin’s brother owned a huge house on the north side of town, and had converted the downstairs into a little apartment that Erin could use when she was back in Aspen Falls.

“Sorry,” Blaine mumbled, staring into his cereal bowl, distracted by the memory of Rosie’s voice as she called herself a loser.

It was hard to hear. He’d always held her in such high esteem, but she’d obviously gone through some tough stuff since high school.

He was desperate to know what it was.

“Are you even listening to me?” Erin waved her hand in front of his face.

“Huh?”

“Great. You’re doing that thing again. Where your mind has already left for work before your body has. You know, I specifically asked to work from Aspen Falls this week so I could see you. I have to be back in Minneapolis on Friday. Are you going to be acting this way tomorrow too? When you’re supposed to be off duty?”

He glanced at the clock on the wall, not sure what she wanted him to say.

“Blaine, you seriously need to switch off when you’re not at work.”

He paused, his lips twitching with a smile before he started laughing. “Are you lecturing me about not switching off? You work all the time. You bring work with you wherever you go. You are always thinking about work.”

“I’m a criminal defense attorney. That is very different. I don’t have shifts. I’m on call twenty-four-seven, okay? I’m just trying to look out for you and make sure you switch off sometimes. You and I are very different. You need to be able to step back and unwind. I have the ability to just keep going.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, his skeptical expression making her eyes roll yet again.

“Okay, fine, I know I need rest too. I get that.”

Blaine gazed across the table with a smirk.

Red bloomed over her pale cheeks as she snickered at herself and then leaned forward to kiss him. Holding his chin, she gazed into his eyes and whispered, “I like arguing with you over breakfast. We should move in together. We can find you the perfect job in Minneapolis. They’d love you down there.”

His stomach rebelled as the same old conversation reared its ugly head.

He eased away from her with a kind smile. “Are we really doing this again? You know I’m not ready to leave Aspen Falls.”

“Why not? There’s no room for growth here. A job in the city would be so much more exciting for you.”

He grimaced. “Aspen Falls needs me.”

“No, they don’t. This place basically runs itself.”

He let her comment slide and muttered, “I’m not sure I want to be a city cop.”

She clicked her tongue and frowned. “You won’t know until you’ve tried it. Honestly, Blaine, why are you being so narrow-minded about this? All I’m asking for is a shot. If it doesn’t work out, we can reassess things then.”

He took his half-eaten cereal bowl and walked to the sink, hoping his lack of response would end the discussion.

He couldn’t put his finger on why he was so hesitant to move to Minneapolis with Erin. He could probably be a city cop no problem, and she was a good woman. She worked hard. She cared about him. But something was holding him back, and after driving Rosie home, he couldn’t help but wonder if that love-struck teenager he’d tried to forget about was actually coming to life again.

Was he an idiot?

He’d loved Rosie from afar. That was completely different to being with someone for real.

And he wasn’t going to dump his girlfriend just so he could be with someone else. It seemed wrong.

Erin’s phone buzzed, and a few minutes later she was setting up her computer to attend an online meeting with her boss. She was a driven woman, determined to move up the ranks and increase her chances of making partner with the firm. Her boss took advantage of this, often piling on work to see just how much she could handle.

Maybe that was it, Blaine thought.

The idea of living with Erin while she constantly worked around him was exhausting. He’d never be able to relax.

To be fair, she was asking a lot of him. He’d have to leave all his friends in Aspen Falls, and move to a big city where he only knew a few people—all of them Erin’s friends. He’d visited a few times and liked it, but it would take a long time to feel like home.

Turning his back on the sink, he gazed over Erin’s head and into his tiny living space. He couldn’t help picturing Rosie on his couch, nestled up against him while they watched some inane TV show. She’d giggle in that sweet way of hers, tucking a curl behind her ear, her nose wrinkling as she watched the screen.

He’d kiss her cheek, curl his arm around her body and keep her warm. As the night sky became dark, he’d carry her to bed and…

“Do you mind?” Erin tapped her watch and flicked her hand at the door. “My meeting’s about to start.”

Great. She was kicking him out of his own apartment.

He walked into his room and looked at the neatly made bed, images of tousled sheets and naked limbs stirring his blood. Rosie’s auburn hair spread across his pillowcase, her body draped over his as they fell asleep against each other.

It was thrilling yet comfortable. It felt like home.

The watch on his wrist started beeping. Glancing at the time, he turned off the alarm and gathered his stuff for work. He was looking forward to the shift. He needed the distraction.

* * *

Wednesday, February 21st

7:00am

“I’m what?” Blaine frowned at Kellan and then looked back at the assignment board.

“Higgs is out for the day, and Matt needs a training partner.” Kellan fought a smile as he patted Blaine on the back. “You can do this.”

“What about Ollie?” he called to Kellan’s back.

“Check the board.”

Blaine glanced to his right and saw that Ollie was with Jessica.

“Lucky bastard,” he mumbled before taking a sip of his coffee.

He made a face and quickly abandoned the bitter drink. It was time for a new pot.

Walking to the kitchen, he started brewing a new one before the morning briefing.

He didn’t finish before he was interrupted by Nate.

“We’ve got another one.”

“Another OD?” Blaine stopped what he was doing to face his brother.

“No, another link to Riley. Her name’s Bianca Whitman. Apparently they were seen together the night Riley OD’d. When we questioned Riley’s best friend the other day, he didn’t mention her, but I still think that guy was covering.” Nate held out the information slip. “I’m going to question her this morning. Find out if she knows this Billy guy or if she’s seen any blue pills floating around.”

“Jarrett’s newspaper article has probably sent them underground.” Blaine shoved the note in his pocket.

Nate’s expression turned black. “Don’t talk to me about that blabbermouth.”

“He was just trying to warn people.” Blaine watched the coffeemaker, wishing it would brew faster.

“He should never have gone and questioned that Prianka girl. I can’t believe she talked to him.”

“She probably thought she was being helpful. At least the picture he printed was just generic blue pills.” Blaine grabbed two mugs and poured them both a cup.

They took it black, no sugar. It was the way it had always been in the Hartford house.

“Has the toxicology report come back?” Blaine asked after he’d swallowed a mouthful of coffee.

Nate took a sip before answering. “Fentanyl-laced ecstasy. Technically, Riley should be dead. If her friends hadn’t been right there and rushed her to the hospital…” Nate shook his head with a grim frown.

“Is that what killed Rebecca too?”

Nate nodded, then looked confused for a second. “But it didn’t match the two pills we found in her apartment. That was just straight ecstasy.”

“So that probably means both the girls were using and then decided to look for a stronger hit.”

“Maybe.” Nate shrugged. “Or maybe they thought they were buying what they always had and were given something they didn’t see coming.”

“Contaminated drugs,” Blaine muttered. “You think the supplier knew? If so, that could be classed as first-degree murder.”

“Yeah, it would be.” Nate looked drained by the weight of it all. “I’m going to get what I can from this Bianca girl. Press her if I have to. There’s got to be a link between Riley and Rebecca,” he muttered, storming out of the kitchen and back to his office.

Blaine slumped against the counter and sipped his coffee while he waited for the briefing to start. Matt would have no doubt read the board and be eagerly waiting for him.

He internally cringed.

The shift was going to be a long one.