it. However, his bullying got so bad, it became hard for me to do my job effectively. That’s when I decided to transfer elsewhere.”
Drew didn’t say anything for a minute, then asked, “But why here?”
“A lateral transfer was nearly impossible—at least one where I wouldn’t have to start over as a beat cop for at least a year. Joy tried getting me in on her team in Charlottesville, but there’s a freeze on hiring. The city is still operating in the red after that Murphy Erickson case. I’m sure you remember that.”
Murphy Erickson, the infamous mobster had put a hit out on everyone who’d been in the courtroom the day his sentence had been read. Ten people had been killed before his reign of terror ended.
Drew nodded as he took a sip of tea. “How can I not remember? Striker’s wife Margo was one of the jurors. He was assigned to her as a bodyguard, or protector, as he prefers to be called. Anyway, I can understand why the city would be in the red. Cops were working overtime. It was crazy.”
She was quiet as the waitress delivered their food. Drew had ordered a huge hamburger and fries, and it looked delicious. When the waitress walked away, Toni said, “Lucky for me, Chief LaNeer is a friend of my chief in Miami. So, I guess you can say I got the job through connections.”
“I hope you’re not feeling bad about that. You’re not the only one. I told you how I got my job, through Sheppard Granger’s connection to the governor. All the governor had to do was place a call to the police commissioner in Alexandria, and suddenly I have a job.”
She recalled him telling her about that...and other things. They’d been together for about six months before he’d told her his history—how he’d spent nearly five years in jail. She knew he’d been worried about how she’d handle the news, but all she could do was admire his dedication to become the man he was—a model citizen who worked for the law, not against it.
“My chief talked to Chief LaNeer and knew he needed a detective to fill a vacancy,” she said. “Chief LaNeer was impressed with my resume, and hired me within the hour. We even did the interview via Zoom. However, I had no idea that I would become Norm’s replacement.”
She took a sip of her own drink, and then continued, “I figured there was a chance we would run into each other, but since we were both adults—and our affair had ended years ago—that we’d be able to handle seeing each other again. Although…”
He lifted a brow. “Although what?”
“You did act rather distant when you saw me at Joy’s wedding.”
She knew he wouldn’t like what she had said, but it had been the truth. And, just like having her as a partner, he was just going to have to deal with it.
• • •
Andrew didn’t say anything, because what Toni said was true. He had intentionally kept his distance at the wedding, and had only come in contact with her when he’d had to—like when there had been group pictures.
After biting into his hamburger and taking another sip of his iced tea, he said, “Don’t expect me to apologize, Toni. The last time we’d spoken, you’d ended things without giving me what I considered as a valid reason.”
“But we agreed, in the beginning, that we didn’t have to. We said that our affair would last until one of us felt it was time to end it, and that we wouldn’t owe the other an explanation.”
“But that was when we thought it would last only a couple of months, Toni. We were together almost a year. I think I deserved more than that ‘goodbye, I no longer want to have an affair with you’ phone call.”
“Maybe. But there was no reason we couldn’t remain friends.”
“We were lovers, not friends. If you recall, Toni, it was you who defined our relationship. It was you who made it very clear we could not be friends and were nothing more than sex-buddies. That’s all you wanted and claimed that’s all you needed.”
He could tell from the look on her face that she would rather not be reminded of that. Too bad. “If the rules had changed, I wasn’t told.”
She shook her head. “No, the rules didn’t change.”
“Then at what point was I supposed to assume we’d become friends? I don’t make love to my friends. I was never one