His brows drew together as if he was about to protest. Then he relaxed and nodded. “I suppose I do. But this suspension has nothing to do with that. You were blatantly insubordinate. You went dark. Unauthorized. With a civilian. And not just any civilian. A damn famous actress, for God’s sake.” Mize slammed his fist on the desk. “I got my ass chewed for that, Harper. If anything had happened to her, we’d probably both be looking for new jobs.”

I miss you. Do you miss me?

“Do you have anything to say? Do you want to meet with your rep? You want to appeal? This isn’t set in stone. You have options, Harper.”

Do you miss me?

Yeah…I miss you. A lot.

She stood up. “I don’t think I’m going to be suspended, Lieutenant.”

“I know you feel like you did the right thing, Harper. In hindsight, yeah, it probably was. But it was unorthodox, for one thing. You broke every damn rule in the book. You’ve got to be accountable.”

“No.”

“No?”

She pulled her weapon from the holster at her waist and laid it on his desk. She did the same with her shield.

“There’s no need to suspend me. I’m resigning.”

His eyes widened in disbelief? “What? Harper, if this is some ploy to reduce your suspension, it’s not going to work. I talked them into two months. I think that’s fair. They’re not going to give a rat’s ass if you threaten to resign.”

“I quit. I’ve had enough.”

“Are you serious?” He walked around his desk and stood in front of her. “You can’t just quit, Harper.”

“Why not?”

“You’re a damn good cop, that’s why. We need good cops.”

She met his gaze. “You ever call Tucson? Pull my file?”

He shook his head. “Never had the need to. Why?”

“It might explain a few things. If you’re interested.” She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.” She took a step away. “I need a break, Lieutenant. More than two months.”

He stared at her. “You’re really serious.”

“I am.”

He walked back around his desk, standing behind his chair. “Harper, I’m not going to accept your resignation. You take the two months. You see how you feel. Then we’ll talk.”

“Lieutenant—”

“Two months. Give me two months.”

She stared at him and him at her…neither blinking. She finally nodded. “Okay.”

“Good. Take a break. Relax. I’ll see you in a couple of months.”

She got up to leave, then paused. “The guy…do we know who he was?”

“Yeah. He was a damn FBI agent who got dismissed a couple of years ago. Not sure why he was fixated on Danielle Stevens, though. I guess we won’t ever know.” He shook his head. “It’s one of their guys, so they’re not divulging much.”