I slept through the thunderstorm, replaying memories of Aurie in my arms at the Supernatural nightclub and Mys at the bar flashing smiles that gave away more than intended. Each vision culminated in the explosive sexual interlude afterward.

I tasted Aurie as surely as if she were present in my bed. Her elusive phantom scent filled my nostrils...but the smell of someone cooking breakfast intruded.

Tegan? My lips turned down at the corners. I tried to cling to the sultry dreams until my colleague nudged the partially open bedroom door and tiptoed in. When the mattress groaned from the weight of her climbing in next to me, I looked over my shoulder.

"What's up?" I groused.

"Should be you. It's almost ten. So, I brought you breakfast in bed."

I was expecting something like eggs and toast, but Tegan had raided my fridge to whip up shrimp and grits. Strong black coffee released steam from one corner of the breakfast tray she had dug out from somewhere. Though I wanted to stay annoyed, it was impossible. Tugging the comforter over my bare chest, I repositioned and found a drowsy smile for her.

"Thank you," I mumbled.

"My pleasure. Now, what made you text me at the ass-crack of dawn?" she asked with a grin.

Shrugging, I stared at my plate, wondering if I was reading too much into things. I had given my partner the guest room. She was even dressed in frumpy pajamas, and there wasn't a hint of seduction about her. On the other hand, she smelled like her perfume and my soap. It was oddly discomfiting.

When I met her gaze, tellingly, she ran a hand over my cheek. I ducked to shovel a spoonful of grits into my mouth. No, I wasn't reading too much into anything. She wanted more, but that didn't change the fact I needed someone at the station house I could trust. Tegan Stoney was my best option.

"I had a meeting with my mother last night," I said, chewing.

She took a slow sip of coffee. "Oh, yeah? That's why you called me over?"

"Mum told me I should probably learn to trust you." When Tegan gave me a hopeful glance, I clarified, "With the case, by letting you into my world the way you asked."

"Are you ready to do that?" Her voice was velvet as she leaned toward me.

Nodding, I struggled for a way to talk about Overlay City without sounding like the nutcase people thought me to be. A lifetime of keeping my mouth shut made that difficult, however. I was saved by Tegan's phone ringing in the other room. "You want to catch that first?" I asked. She heaved a sigh and hopped from my bed.

As she disappeared out the door, I went to the en suite. A shower would buy me time to figure out what my partner needed to know and didn't. Plus, I wanted to put something more substantial than boxer briefs between us.

Moments later Tegan asked from the bathroom door, "Hey, is your phone powered off?"

"I doubt it. Why?" I shouted over the spray of water.

"Mayfield says he's been trying to reach you all morning. Grab this."

I peeked around the shower curtain to find her covering her eyes and shaking her phone at me. Frowning, I prayed our superior didn't hear the bathroom echo and put two-and-two together. It sent the wrong message. I turned off the showerhead.

"This is Ravani," I answered.

"For fuck's sake, I don't know what to say to you," the captain snarled.

"How about you start by telling me who pissed in your cornflakes?" I joked.

I wrapped a towel around my hips. Tegan had already retreated by the time I stepped into my bedroom. I crossed to the nightstand to check my cellphone. The ringer was silenced. I tried my voicemail, tripping on a loafer in the process, so I gave up multitasking.

"Things are not remotely okay," said Captain Mayfield. "I'm not gonna ask why you're inaccessible. I'm not even gonna ask why Detective Stoney is within yelling distance on a day off. Just get to my office, pronto."

The call ended, and I stared at the device as Tegan returned to the bedroom. "Have we been summoned? We can continue our talk on the drive," she suggested. I grunted something noncommittal. If someone on the job was trying to sabotage me, this weekend call-in probably meant the chat about having someone to watch my back was already past-due.

"Know what this is?" Captain Mayfield slammed the door and plunked a Sunday paper in front of me. Ignoring my combative inner wolf, I leaned forward in my chair for a better view. Paul Jameson's old mugshot stared back in greyscale with a headline listing him a fugitive.

"Looks like my reputation restored. As per your request, we used the violation of his R.O. to charge him. I don't see the problem," I said.

"Oh, yeah? Then why is this a thing?" A folder smacked the woodgrain next to the newspaper. I rubbed my eyes, bristling. "Go ahead. Look at it," he demanded.

The hulking man braced chestnut knuckles on the desk, standing over me in what I considered a confrontational manner. I suppressed a growl, and I pulled the new folder close. When I opened it, my mouth went dry.

"Mayfield, I don't think—" I started.

"No, you don't think, and you don't listen!" He flumped to his chair. "Those are surveillance frames of your mother shaking down staff at Century Luxe, asking embarrassing questions about Mr. Cyprian. You made this personal, which is exactly what I told you not to do. Now, his lawyers have filed an official complaint of harassment."

I shook my head. I noticed the placard Mum was showing concierge in the photographs. It was covered in magical sigils. It must've been the sign Aurie mentioned seeing outside the penthouse suite the night of that event. But if my mother had been 'shaking down staff,' Cyprian was just trying to neutralize the threat we posed to him. It was a minor hiccup.

"Obviously, there's been some misunderstanding. What can we do to make amends?" I asked. I'd kiss up to whoever needed it. Too much was at stake.

Mayfield's brow wrinkled in disbelief. "You don't get it. Clearly, your mother isn't authorized to play a role in the investigation. I could stick you with obstruction for this."

"I have no idea why Mum is at that hotel. As you know, we don't talk. Furthermore," I said as I raised a hand in my defense, "Cyprian's history justifies investigating him. No harassment there. In fact, why are we submitting to his demands instead of letting the legal system work the way it was intended?"

"Let the system—? Darcy Cyprian isn't some no-count represented by public defenders!" Mayfield sputtered. "The Ashivant sisters and the rest of his legal team will declare prejudicial evidence so fast, your head will spin! You're off of this. I should've removed you sooner, but I didn't think you could screw up a simple case of leaving the scene."

"You've gotta be shittin' me," I whispered.

Proving his seriousness, Captain Mayfield held out his hand and beckoned. "You're on paid leave pending an internal investigation. Don't be surprised if you're slapped with libel from Mr. Cyprian, as well. With one of your older cases already under scrutiny, that's the last thing you need, but I can't help you any further, son. I think your career here is done."

My eyes smarted. A muscle ticked in my jaw from how hard I clenched my teeth, but I removed my piece and plunked it on the desk, along with my badge. I thought of Mys and that initial flare of respect in their eyes upon seeing my I.D. the first day we met. How would Mys see me without the shield? More importantly, how would I tell Aurie and Mys I was no longer on the case?

"Mayfield, we both know there are rape kits collecting dust while he finds new victims," I unleashed the truth with a fury I couldn't check.

The captain shoved to his feet again. "No, we know your sister dated him and took the break-up hard. She didn't claim he abused her until after he started seeing other girls, alright? I'm sorry, kid, but it's time to let that go! Yalina Ravani had zero credibility."

"What did you say?" I asked with cold calm. My chair clattered to the floor behind me, and I was on my feet, too, a fraction of a second from attacking Captain Roosevelt S. Mayfield.

The older man retracted warily. "What's g-going on with your eyes?" He pointed.

A knock at the door returned me to my senses enough to realize I was mid-shift. The fabric of my shirt strained from bulging muscles, and my claws were out. I retracted them as Tegan popped her head into the room.

"Everything okay in here?" she asked.

I blew out a breath and backed away. Thank you. Thank you for sensing trouble.

"Everything is fine. Detective Ravani was on his way out." Mayfield hardened his voice. I turned to leave, but he wasn't done. "For the record, I blame myself for permitting you to remain too long on this."

"Well, don't. I never needed your permission," I muttered, exiting his office.

I wouldn't need his permission to keep investigating, either. Granted, it would be harder. As I climbed in my truck, staring at the rainy day beyond the windshield, I wondered how to navigate this new obstacle. Tegan hopped into the passenger seat and placed cool fingers on my forearm. I withdrew.

"You okay?" she asked. "It'll probably take your mind off things to tell me what you wanted to say earlier."

"It's no longer an issue." I started the truck.

"Fine, I have something to tell you. I know you thought I rushed over at five a.m. out of sheer desperation." Giggling softly, she reached in her handbag and removed a thickly-packed brown envelope. "I came before dawn because I couldn't wait to show you this. The case files on Darcy Cyprian."

My heart skipped a beat. Had fate closed a door to open a window? I reached for the packet reverently. Gazing at what was inside, I couldn't contain my enthusiasm. "Dhanwaadji! Thank you! Tegan, how on earth did you find this?"

She smiled, pleased with herself. "Someone buried them in the cold case storage room. Don't get too excited, though. No one will believe us when they see how far back these reports go."

"How far?" I asked, curious.

Tegan fidgeted. "I don't want to say. You'll think I'm crazy, but from what I can tell, they go back fifty years."

And there was my opening to tell her about my world.