“She’s sick again? Oh, man.” Blaine winced as he talked to his partner.

“I’m taking her to the hospital. She needs to go on an IV drip to replace all the fluids she’s puking out. I don’t want her to be there alone. Her mom’s staying to look after Andy.”

“Hey, I’m really sorry she’s not doing great.”

“I just feel bad that I’m bailing on another shift. Has Kellan found a replacement for me?”

“No, I told him not to. I’ll be fine, and thankfully Matt’s off duty today so I won’t get lumped with him.”

Ollie laughed. “Hope it’s a quiet, boring shift.”

Blaine grinned and nearly told Ollie that he hoped it wasn’t. He hadn’t been able to stop glancing out the front since arriving at the station. All he could hope was that Rosie would show up before he was forced to go and see her again. He didn’t want to pressure her, but they couldn’t just drop this. Nate had to know about her ex-boyfriend and the possible link.

“Okay, gotta go.”

“Keep me posted on Cherry. I hope she feels better after the IV.”

“Will do.” Ollie said goodbye and hung up.

Blaine grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. He felt so bad for Ollie and his wife, but a small part of him was kind of glad that Ollie wouldn’t be around. If Rosie popped in and Ollie was there, he’d have to fess up about lying for her the day before.

It was better this way.

Less dramatic…and less guilt-inducing.

“Officer Hartford,” Michelle called from the front desk. “There’s someone here to see you.”

His heart jerked into his throat and stuck there as he whipped around the desk and clipped out to the front.

A relieved breath punched out of him the second he saw Rosie, chewing her lip and hugging a backpack to her chest. Her eyes rounded with hope when she spotted him, a tendon in her neck straining as she sucked in a breath.

Oh yeah, she was nervous.

Blaine forced a smile. “You made it.”

Her head bobbed erratically.

“Come on around.” He indicated with a flick of his hand.

After a nod from Blaine, Michelle buzzed her in to the main hub of the station.

He held the door for Rosie, then placed his hand on her lower back and past the row of desks. He thought about leading her to the interview room, but he didn’t want her to feel like a criminal. She was on edge enough as it was, and even though she was a criminal, making her feel that way might freeze her tongue.

“Uh, let’s go in here.” He steered her left into the break room and pulled out a chair at the round table.

She glanced around before tentatively taking a seat.

“Do you want a coffee?”

The question surprised her, but she nodded. “Thanks.”

He poured her a cup, mixing in sugar and milk, just like he had the night before. He walked it to her and set it down on the table before taking a seat across from her.

She ignored the coffee. With trembling fingers, she unzipped her bag and pulled out the box. It scraped on the table as she pushed it to the center. The noise made her wince and her eyes glassed over.

“Here you go.”

He stared at it for a long moment. “You didn’t open it.”

She shrugged. “It’s not mine to open.”

“So, what’s your story going to be, then?” he asked, leaning back in his chair. “Did you find the box or…?”

“Well, uh… I…” She licked her lips and was about to tell him when Nate bustled into the room.

He gave Rosie a curious glance as he walked to the coffee pot. “What’s up?” The question was directed at his brother, but his eyes never left Rosie.

Blaine clenched his jaw before pasting on a smile. “Nate, this is Rosie Sweet. We went to high school together. Rosie, this is my brother, Nate. He’s a detective here.”

Rosie flinched at the word “detective” and could only muster a small smile.

Nate returned the coffee pot and studied her with narrowed eyes. “Rosie Sweet?”

“Yes.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and forced a smile. “You may have gone to school with my older sister. Angelica?”

“Oh yeah, I do recognize that name. Is she really smart?”

Rosie’s smile dimmed. “Yes.”

Nate snickered and leaned against the counter, analyzing her the way he did everyone. He’d read her in a heartbeat: she was basically pulsing with a combination of guilt and fear.

He spotted the box on the table, caught Blaine’s eye, then took a slow sip of his black coffee.

Blaine glanced at the floor, guilt tugging his chin down. Nate was standing there figuring it all out, putting together the fact that a black box was stolen from Mr. Griffin’s house the day before. And that Blaine had let the perp get away.

Possibly on purpose?

That was the question running through Nate’s mind. Blaine could tell by the hard look in his eyes.

Clearing his throat, Blaine shifted in his seat, ready to blurt out whatever story he could come up with on the fly.

“Rosie was just here to deliver this.” Blaine placed his hand on the box.

“Right.” Nate’s eyebrows rose, and for a second he looked like he was fighting a smile. “So, you found this box, Rosie?”

She glanced at Blaine, her hazel eyes flashing with uncertainty before closing.

With a soft huff, she opened them again and looked straight at Nate. “No, I stole it. My ex-boyfriend is a drug dealer, and his boss is going to kill us both if we don’t come up with some serious cash…or drugs. I got rid of the drugs, so I have to somehow source a lot of money that I don’t have.”

Nate could’ve been knocked over with a feather.

Blaine had to bite back his smile. He wasn’t used to seeing his brother being taken off guard like that.

“Right.” Nate blinked. “Right, okay.” He thumped his coffee mug down, black drops spilling over the edge and running onto the counter.

“I know I should’ve come to you earlier,” Rosie continued, her voice surprisingly calm. “I shouldn’t have tried to fix this problem on my own. I mean, when I saw that article in the paper. Those blue pills. I’ve seen ones just like them. It freaked me out and I didn’t know what to do.”

“You know those pills?” Nate yanked out the chair beside her and sat down. His keen blue gaze asked for everything and Rosie delivered. She repeated her story from the night before, adding in extra details as Nate pulled them out of her.

“Do you know the supplier?” he asked.

“No, but Damien will. I was thinking that maybe when he comes to collect the money, you guys could be there…follow him or something.”

“Yeah, that could work,” he whispered, obviously trying to run through it in his head.

Blaine looked past his brother, flashing Rosie a smile.

“We need to see a transaction, though. If we want a real bust, we need to get someone on the inside, get a recording, something that will stand up in court. This Damien guy is just a courier, really. I want the source.”

Rosie swallowed while Nate muttered to himself, and then she shocked the hell out of Blaine.

“I could do it.”

“What?” They both jerked to look at her.

“It’s the perfect opportunity, right? Damien’s boss wants the pills or the money. I can’t give him the drugs, but I can give him the money and then maybe get him to say something incriminating.”

Blaine shook his head. “We can’t ask you to do that.”

Nate, on the other hand, held up his finger. “It’s not the worst idea.”

“It’s a terrible idea!” Blaine argued. “You heard what they want to do to her.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Nate said. “We’ll be right there listening. All she has to do is hand over the cash and get the guy talking. If it doesn’t work, we’ll stick a tail on him and see where that takes us.”

“As soon as he leaves Aspen Falls he’s out of jurisdiction.”

“So we’ll get that detective who searched her apartment to help us.” Nate turned back to Rosie. “Do you remember his name?”

“Um, Monroe, I think. Yeah, I think that’s right.” She rubbed her forehead, looking stressed and worried.

“Monroe?” Nate’s gaze shot to Blaine. That was the detective who had hounded him about the missing woman.

Blaine’s eyebrows pinched together and he looked back to Rosie. If she chewed her lip any harder, it was going to bleed.

“You don’t have to do this, Rosie. We can find another way.” Blaine reached out to rub her arm but was stopped by a swift kick from Nate.

They shared a glare, silently arguing about it until Rosie interrupted them.

“I-I can do it. I need to.”

Blaine sighed, frustrated that she felt forced into this position. She had volunteered, but only out of a desperate need to redeem herself.

“We’ll have to get permission from Kellan,” Blaine muttered, a thought striking him as Nate launched into organization mode. He started talking about Cam and which officers he’d get to assist with the sting. “I think we should keep this quiet.”

Nate frowned at him. “What?”

Blaine glanced at Rosie. “Can you give us a sec?” Tugging Nate’s arm, he pulled him out of the break room and led him down the corridor, quickly whispering, “Remember how Bianca said she couldn’t trust the police?”

“Yeah…” Nate was still frowning.

“It’s been eating at me. I don’t know why, but I just can’t shake the feeling that we need to keep this on the down-low. This is the best chance we’ve had so far, and I don’t want to screw it up.”

“So just you, me and Kellan?”

“Maybe.” Blaine shrugged. “Am I being paranoid?”

“Probably. I trust every cop in this department.”

“Bullshit. You don’t trust anyone.”

Nate huffed. “I mean I don’t think we’ve got a dirty cop in the AFPD.”

“I don’t either, but… why can’t Bianca trust the police?”

Nate was quiet for a minute. “And who is this Detective Monroe, really?”

Blaine raised his eyebrows. “I knew that would be annoying you.”

Nate’s chin bunched as he thought, but then he nodded. “Okay. Maybe you’re right. I’ll go talk to Kellan. He’ll probably want it quiet anyway so he can avoid all the red tape and we can push this thing through tonight. Do you think your girl can deliver?”

“She’s not my girl.” Blaine shook his head, but he knew how unconvincing he sounded. “I mean, she…” He sighed. “Yeah, I hope so.”

Nate didn’t look convinced, but he nodded anyway. “We have to take this shot.”

“I know.” Blaine grimaced, still hating the idea of using Rosie as bait. But it was too good an opportunity to pass up. If this sting went according to plan, it could bust the case wide open.

“Give that black box to someone else to deal with and get Rosie out of here quietly. I’ll call you with the plan once I’ve spoken to Kellan.”

Nate strode off while Blaine went to check on Rosie. She was sitting at the table, looking small and pale.

“You okay?” Even his soft voice made her flinch.

Putting on a brave face, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m doing okay. I’ll be fine. It’s going to be fine.”

He sat down beside her and gently covered her trembling hands. “You know you can back out and no one will think less of you.”

“I can’t.” She shook her head. “I can’t keep running. I have to end this or I’ll never get to start over.”

His heart pulled with affection and pride. “I’ll be right there with you.”

“I know.” She gave him a shaky smile. “That’s why I can do it.”

He could have so easily kissed her then, but he resisted the urge and took the black box instead. “I’m just going to pass this on to another officer to deal with. I’ll tell them it was returned anonymously.”

Rosie’s nose wrinkled. “Will they really believe that?”

“I’ll make them believe it.” He winked and left the room, quickly dropping off the box to Jessica and telling her it was discovered near the college. The person who dropped it off didn’t want to be identified. Jessica bought it, so excited the box had been returned that she offered to cover the paperwork and deliver it to Mr. Griffin herself.

“He’s such a sweet old man. I can’t wait to see his face when I hand it over to him.”

Blaine smiled at her enthusiasm, relieved she hadn’t pushed for more.

* * *

Leading Rosie out the back of the station, he hopped into his car and was directed with a text from Nate to drive to Kellan’s house. On the way, he reported in to dispatch, saying he’d been sent on an errand for Nate. Steph didn’t question it, and the rest of the journey passed in silence.

Blaine arrived at the same time as Nate did. They hurried into the house, and Rosie was introduced to the man Blaine had always looked up to—Kellan Marks.

He led them into his living room. It was simply furnished, the house too big for just one man. But it hadn’t always been that way. Kellan once had a daughter and wife, until a tragic vacation to Balsam Lake where his little girl went missing. After months of searching, to no avail, Kellan’s wife fell apart. She left him with an apology, and he chose not to chase her.

Instead, he’d dedicated his life to the force—to stopping criminals before they could do any more damage, to helping innocent victims in their fight for justice.

As they sat around discussing what things would go down, Kellan proved once again why he was the best. He was logical, unemotional, and able to plan things out with a speed that astounded Blaine. Everything about the guy screamed control and order.

Going through the details, they put together a solid plan.

“Do you think you can pull the money that fast?” Nate looked at his watch. “It is a Sunday.”

“I have a contact that can help me out. Don’t worry about that. You just focus on your list.”

He sent Nate to the kitchen to make the calls and arrange the gear they’d need.

Then he turned to Rosie.

“Time to make your phone call. You remember what you have to say?”

She pulled out her phone and nodded. “What if he says no?”

“If his boss wants the money as badly as we think he does, he’ll be flexible on the meet. Plus, Damien’s desperately trying to save his ass. He’ll do whatever it takes to get this over with.”

She swallowed and nodded again. Her fingers shook, making it a struggle to bring up Damien’s number, but Kellan quietly talked her through it and she was eventually poised to call him.

“You need to be determined,” Kellan coached her. “Stick to the story we’ve come up with. Don’t let him try to change your mind. Just keep repeating yourself if you have to. This is going your way or no way. Got it?”

She nodded, obviously trusting his calm, quiet manner.

The guy had never been different—always in control of his emotions. Nothing seemed to faze him.

Licking her lips, she pressed the green circle on her screen and closed her eyes.

“Yeah, hi… I know, but…I’ve changed my mind.” She winced as Damien screamed in her ear. Blaine couldn’t hear what the guy was saying, but he instantly hated him. “Because I don’t trust you. I’m not handing the money over to you just so you can take off with it… No… I’m not—… Shut up, Damien!” She scowled. “Now, I have the money, and if your boss wants it, he can come and collect it himself. Tell him to meet me at midnight, by the outdoor rink on Banner Street.” She closed her eyes and huffed. “What game could I possibly be playing? I want to save my life and move on… No, of course I haven’t gone to the cops. I’m not stupid.” Her voice wavered.

Blaine stepped into her line of sight, encouraging her with a silent look.

She caught his gaze and swallowed. “Look, Damien, I had to steal this money, okay? You think I want the cops on my back? As soon as it’s out of my hands, I’m gone.”

She bit her lip as he said something else, and then she gave Blaine a weak smile. “Okay.”

Ending the call, she threw the phone on the couch and slumped forward.

“You did good.” Kellan patted her back and then walked off to speak with Nate.

Blaine crossed the room and crouched in front of Rosie. Hidden beneath her curtain of hair, he smiled up at her and softly whispered, “You’re stronger than you think you are.”

She smiled back, and he knew without a doubt that he’d do anything to keep her safe.

Because he wanted to spend more time with Rosie Sweet…and under very different circumstances.