The world tilted.
“She was supposed to cross the border,” Claire continued. “She never made it. No body. No investigation. Nothing.”
My chest tightened.
“I’m here because this town knows something,” she said. “And no one ever talked.”
“This isn’t your fight,” I said harshly.
“It is,” she shot back. “It’s always been.”
I ran a hand through my hair, anger warring with something dangerously close to fear.
“This place chews people up,” I said. “Especially the ones who think they’re smarter than it.”
She met my gaze. “I don’t think I’m smarter. I just think I deserve answers.”
I believed her. That was the problem.
“You’re not safe,” I said quietly.
“I know,” she replied. “But I’m not leaving.”
I looked at her—really looked. At the resolve in her eyes. At the grief she carried like armor. At the way she stood her ground even when she was shaking. She was setting off every warning I had. And I had the sinking feeling that no matter what I did next she was already too deep into what brought her here. It was her mention of her best friend disappearing that told me I’d lost. Not the argument, but the illusion that I could scare her off. I’d seen that look before. On my brothers faces after mom left and didn’t look back. On victims’ families. On people who’d already made peace with the worst outcome and were still standing anyway. You couldn’t threaten someone like that into leaving.You couldn’t reason them out of it either. You could only try to keep them alive.
I exhaled slowly, the night air sharp in my lungs.
“Firing you won’t fix this,” I conceded.
She didn’t say anything. Just watched me, guarded, waiting.
“And it won’t stop you,” I continued. “You’ll stay in town. You’ll just do it without anyone watching your back.”
Her chin lifted. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“I’m not offering,” I said flatly. “I’m setting terms.”
That caught her attention. “You run everything by me,” I said. “Every place you go. Every question you ask. Every name you hear.”
Her mouth tightened. “You don’t get to control?—”
“I get to keep my employees breathing,” I cut in. “And I get to make sure you don’t walk into something you can’t walk out of.”
Silence stretched between us. “Look, Claire, I grew up in this town. My father is the director of police and my brother is a cop, but I’m guessing you knew that already.”
The skeptical look she gave me told me I was spot on.
“This is about your safety,” I said.
“Why do you care?” she asked.
“Don’t play that angel. I know what has gone down in this town. There isn’t much that my family doesn’t know.”
Finally, she nodded. “Fine.”
The word wasn’t happy. It wasn’t grateful. But it was honest.
“I’ll tell you what I’m doing,” she said. “Not because you scare me. Because I don’t want to be stupid.”