Chapter 5 5

Chapter Five

Sutton – Present Day

The hum of the station never stopped-not even late at night.

I stood at the whiteboard in the conference room, arms crossed, eyes scanning the notes we'd pulled from the latest financial case. Fraud, laundering, and shell corporations stacked like dominos across state lines. And somehow... it all led back to a name I hadn't heard in over a decade.

Mercer.

I hadn't said it out loud yet. I wasn't ready. My gut told me to keep things tight until I had something solid.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket.

Kingston:

What's for dinner?

I smiled despite myself.

Me:

I'm working late. There's money for pizza on the counter. Keep it reasonable.

Kingston:

Define "reasonable."

Me:

Not four pizzas.

Kingston:

So three?

I shook my head, smirking. That boy.

I closed the message and slid the phone into my pocket, grounding myself again in the case. We were getting close-too close. My captain already warned me to tread carefully. Big names were involved. Powerful ones. Names that could erase people like me.

But I wasn't afraid of them.

Not anymore.

Because fifteen years ago, I was told I wasn't strong enough. I was told I didn't belong in this world. And now, I was standing in the middle of a case that had teeth-and I wasn't blinking.

A knock came on the doorframe. Ruby leaned in, still in her school scrubs.

"You coming home tonight or should I set Kingston up with a second pizza?"

"I'll be home in twenty," I said. "You heading out?"

"Yeah. He's been good. A little distracted tonight. Quiet. But I think it's just the assignment he's been working on."

I nodded and grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. "Thanks for staying."

"I like being the cool aunt. Besides, he practically begged me to bake a cake with him, then abandoned me halfway through to play online with his friends."

I chuckled and flicked off the lights. "That sounds like him."

By the time I pulled into the driveway, the lights in the kitchen were still on. The front door was unlocked-because he was fourteen and still forgot to check it half the time.

Inside, the smell of chocolate and something burnt clung to the air.

I stepped into the kitchen and paused.

There was flour on the floor. A mixing bowl in the sink. A half-eaten, lopsided cake on the counter. The boys had clearly been here.

Voices drifted from the living room. Kingston and his friends, Wes and Jace, were gathered around the TV, controllers in hand, arguing about something in the game.

Wes was half-asleep on the couch, Jace raiding the fridge like it was his own.

I leaned against the doorframe, taking them in.

This was our life. Messy. Loud. Real.

And peaceful.

For now.

"Hey, Mum," Kingston called out without looking up. "We saved you a piece. It's ugly, but it tastes good."

"Great. That's exactly what I look for in dessert," I teased.

They laughed, and Jace held up the cake like it was a masterpiece.

I walked into the kitchen, rinsed off a fork, and grabbed a bite. It was a little dry, definitely overmixed, but it was sweet-and full of effort.

"You boys staying the night?" I asked.

"If it's okay," Kingston said, glancing at me.

I nodded. "Just clean up your mess."

He grinned, looking so much like Jaxon in that second that my breath caught. That same crooked smirk. That spark in his eye.

I turned away before the ache could catch up.

Because tomorrow was another day.

And I had no idea how fast the past was racing toward us.