Melody turned on her heel and strode out of the room. Oddly, Riley remained. He stood at the end of the table, a safe four feet or so away.
Whatever.
She didn’t need him.
Erin pulled the top of the box off and stared down at pages all twisted up and mangled. Her heart lodged in her throat at the sight of what was in the middle of that mess. What’d stopped the bullet. She reached in and grabbed the photo albums she’d tossed in as an afterthought.
The files she’d taken care and stacked neatly in their folders, working from one end to the other. Only, there wasn’t enough to fill the box. She’d put the various drives and discs on the other side, and her odds and ends got tossed into the middle of it all. The bullet must have hit the box, tore through the files before the photo albums stopped the slug from reaching Riley.
She could even tell where the bullet had eventually been stopped, lodged inside a cheap album she’d used because she was too busy to find something else that summer. She thumbed through the ruined albums. Some pages were melted together from the heat created by the bullet’s passing. Bits of paper puffed up in a cloud.
To think, if they’d done one thing differently, they might not both be there.
She glanced at Riley, staring at the albums. His wide eyes and raised brows said it all. Even he hadn’t realized just how close they’d come.
They’d gotten lucky. Real lucky. The kind of luck that didn’t happen every day, and it’d struck twice for them.
Erin wanted to hug him, to squeeze him so she was positive he was still alive, but she didn’t. She covered her mouth and closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer. This went into the stack of things she’d never tell her parents. Maybe not anyone.
They were alive. That was what mattered. And now she was going to get to the bottom of why. Why had this happened? Why her? What had she done or knew that was worth all this?
The pictures could be replaced. She’d backed everything up a week ago. The files were another matter. She didn’t know what they were, so it was hard to figure out how to ask for copies.
“The drives all look okay.” Riley leaned over her shoulder and reached into the box. He rummaged around in the other side, picking up discs and drives.
The broken pieces of her mug clinked together. Another keepsake gone.
She glared up at him, more for her own sake. She needed to remember he wasn’t there for her. He was there because that was what he was paid to do. And he was an ass. The longer she held onto the hurt and anger, the more time she had to escape this before she fell apart.
“It could have been a lot worse. I need a bag or something I can put what isn’t damaged in, please.” She blew out a breath, her side throbbing.
Right, she couldn’t do deep breaths. Not for a while.
“I can do that,” he said.
“Do you know if anyone got my laptop?” she asked.
“Yeah, Melody said she had a lot of stuff packed up for you.”
“I’m going to want that for the plane.” Erin could spend the twelve plus hours traveling going over the drives. They still might have something useful in them.
Riley didn’t respond. She still felt a wall of cold coming off him.
An hour ago, she was telling herself to ease up, don’t dive too deep. They barely knew each other. And now he was treating her like a stranger. The rejection of a man she’d known for single digit days should not hurt this bad. She squeezed her eyes shut and willed the prickling to stop. She would not cry over someone like this.
She sucked down another big breath and the stab of pain caused her to hiss. She blinked several times, grateful for a reason that wasn’t her dumb emotions to blame her almost tears on.
“If Melody comes back by, tell her I’m in the bathroom.” Erin didn’t wait for Riley to say anything. She scooped up the clothes from the table and walked out across the bullpen where the officers were working toward the bathrooms.
Erin could do with a few moments to herself and a quick wash. Her frilly white top was dirty and shredded in the back where the bullet had hit her vest. The bright pink pants were torn from where she’d crawled around on glass. Some water on her face, a minute to herself, and she’d be fine. Once they were in the air, she could order a round of something strong to help deaden the pain both inside and out, but for now she’d have to soldier through.
She’d called Erbil home for so long that it felt strange to want to leave. A few years ago, she’d assumed this was where she’d live out her life, doing something that mattered. Eventually she’d find someone. Probably a foreigner. Someone who didn’t have archaic ideals about a woman’s place. With any luck, they’d have a happy life. But now all of that was reduced to shredded paper and misplaced wishes. She’d had a dream and a vision for herself before this, something that didn’t involve death. But it’d found her, nonetheless.
Erin retreated into the bathroom. She bent to check the stalls, ensuring she was by herself. Satisfied she was alone, she dumped her clothes on the vanity and covered her face with her hands.
It was easier to be hurt and pissed off at Riley. She understood what was going on with him. Everything else was so much bigger and scarier than what she could handle on her own. All she’d ever tried to do was her job. This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.
The bathroom door opened.
Erin turned and twisted the handle on the tap.
Melody took a few steps into the bathroom, hands clasped in front of her. Like every
