Once we reached the office, some of his joviality dimmed but he remained friendly.
“Sit, sit,” he said, waving to the chair. He sat on the edge of the desk near me and sighed. “First, how’s Danny?”
“He’s good.” I smiled. “Ornery.”
“Excellent!” Eldritch slapped his knee. “One thing I’ll say for you Prosperos: You’re all fighters.”
I nodded to accept the backhanded compliment. “We got the casserole from Francine. Thank her for me.” I’d thrown it out in the garbage the day it arrived. Why did everyone send casseroles in times of crisis? Why didn’t anyone ever send brownies and Jack Daniel’s?
“Ah, it was nothing.” He chuffed out a breath. “Anything you two need, just call.”
I need to know if I have a job, I thought. “Thanks.”
An awkward pause followed. The kind that happens when the pleasantries are done with and it’s time to get to the uncomfortable business but no one wants to be the asshole.
Just when I was about to start squirming, the door opened and Gardner rushed in. “Sorry I’m late,” she panted. “Had to meet with Stone about the Bane case.”
I rounded to look at her. “H-hey.” Last I’d heard she was on her way to Detroit to give her regional director an update on the drama at the warehouse. “I didn’t know you were back in town.”
“Got in yesterday.” She waved a hand. “How’s the kid?”
“He’s good. What’s up with Bane?”
“Nothing you should worry over.” She shook her head and my heart sank. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing yet.”
She nodded and sighed. “Good. I didn’t want to miss seeing her reaction.”
My face contracted into a deep frown. “What?”
Eldritch crossed his arms. “Well, first, you’ve formally been cleared of the shooting incident.”
I nodded impatiently. Eldritch practically vibrated with excitement. Gardner was more subdued, but I sensed tension from her. Not bad tension, just … expectation, maybe.
“With everything going on with Danny, we’ve put through paperwork to retroactively pay you for the time you were suspended plus an extra two weeks of paid personal leave.”
My brows shot up. “Wow, that’s great.” Now maybe I wouldn’t go bankrupt paying off the hospital. Plus it gave me another five days to nurse Danny until I … did whatever came next. I looked at them both expectantly, waiting for them to fill in the blanks.
“Once that leave is up, you have a choice to make. You can either return to your old post at the BPD patrol division.” Eldritch glanced at Gardner and nodded.
She smiled. “Or you can represent the BPD on the MEA task force full-time.” My mouth fell open, but she held up a hand. “With a promotion to the rank of detective.”
All the blood rushed from my head. “Holy shit!”
Gardner cracked a smile. “Is that a yes?”
I shook my head.
Her face fell. “It’s a no?”
I sucked in a deep breath to collect my scattered thoughts. I’d walked in prepared to get fired and then move away to give Danny—and me—a more stable life. But the instant they’d mentioned a promotion, things suddenly didn’t seem too cut-and-dried. “I don’t know. I thought the mayor revoked permission for the task force to operate here.”
“He changed his mind after you brought down one of the city’s most dangerous coven leaders,” Eldritch said, all magnanimous.
“So the team is back in play for good?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say for good. But for the foreseeable future, yes. Captain Eldritch has also been generous enough to convince the chief to grant us a few additional officers for the team.”
“That’s great,” I said. “And you’re sure you want me on it?”
“What’s the problem, Prospero?” She tilted her head. “I thought you’d be thrilled.”
“Forgive me, but I expected to be reprimanded, not given a promotion.” After I’d admitted to going to see Volos without telling anyone, I’d been read the riot act.
Eldritch cleared his throat. “We all said a lot of things in the heat of this investigation that we didn’t mean. But the bottom line is you brought in the guy, and you deserve to be rewarded for all your hard work and sacrifice.” The words were nice, but they rang hollow. More likely, the promotion was to keep me happy so I never went to the media about the Hanson situation.
I looked Gardner in the eyes. “Are you being forced to take me?”
“Absolutely not.” She didn’t flinch or look away. “Has anything I’ve done given you the impression I’d let the mayor or anyone else force me to take a team member who didn’t have the chops?”
I snorted. “I guess not.”
“You’re dedicated to the job, more knowledgeable about the Cauldron than the rest of the team combined, and show the promise to be a great detective.”
My cheeks heated and I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from turning up at the praise.
“You’re also stubborn.” She shook her head. “And unpredictable. I thought you’d be jumping at this. Eldritch says you’ve been angling for detective for a couple of years.”
“I have.”
“So what’s the problem?” Eldritch’s tone was annoyed, as if he was worried he’d be forced to take me back on his staff.
“I just—” I swallowed. “I’ve just had a lot of shit going on. But you’re right. I thought this was everything I wanted—the promotion, the spot on the task force. But after Danny was hurt—” I paused and swallowed the unexpected emotion that suddenly clogged my throat. For a made-up excuse, my body was sure reacting to my words as if they were the truth. “After Danny got hurt, I started wondering if maybe I should be a cop at all.”
Eldritch made an awkward huffing sound, like he was completely unprepared to deal with this much emotion. Gardner, however, tilted her head. “That’s bullshit.”
I reared back in shock. “Excuse me?”
“I get that your brother’s situation was scary. It would be for any of us. But I saw you, Kate. You didn’t act like a woman who doubted whether she needed to be in the justice business.” She chuckled. “You didn’t hide from the pain. You turned into a pit bull. Maybe you’re telling yourself you long for a nice, safe, easy life, but I think you know you’ll never be happy with a civilian job.”