Becca sipped her coffee. She told herself that was true, but what Becca wanted now was justice. She wanted reassurances that Ash’s attackers would pay for what they did, and that they wouldn’t hurt anyone else. She clocked Nina’s knees bouncing up and down, nervous energy fueling her. “There’s something else. What is it?” Nina hesitated. “Come on. We never bullshit each other. Don’t start now.”

Nina sighed. “I wanted you to hear this from me. Wishard reported you going down to Skid Row by yourself. The brass wasn’t happy. Not after everything that happened yesterday.”

“Nina, I didn’t know these were the people we were looking for. Can you imagine if I was wrong? I swear I was careful…”

Nina raised her eyebrows. “Careful? Your definition of ‘careful’ is going to Skid Row by yourself and confronting potentially dangerous individuals about their extracurricular murdering and kidnapping activities?” Nina asked.

Becca took a sip of her coffee. It didn’t sound great when Nina phrased it that way. “Okay, so you’re here to tell me what? That I’m in deep shit at work,” Becca asked.

“Trust me, everyone is sympathetic. They all understand the pressure you’ve been under the last few days. There are people in the LAPD and Department of Mental Health who have expressed serious concern for your well-being and state of mind. They believe a temporary leave of absence might be the best course of action. Just until everything blows over.”

“Blows over? What does that mean exactly? Ash dies? Or she gets well? And then what? What exactly is their definition of ‘blow over’?”

“Becca.” Nina grabbed Becca’s hand. She jerked free, pushing herself back in the chair. She couldn’t believe Nina was springing this on her now.

“This is why you came here? To tell me this?”

“No. I wanted to check on you and make sure you were doing okay. I also didn’t want you to hear about this from someone else.”

“How kind of you. Tell me, Nina, what did you say when the department asked you for your assessment? I know they must have asked what you thought about my mental health status.”

Nina didn’t hesitate. “I told them I didn’t think you were in the right frame of mind at this point to properly do your job. I said that you needed time off to process all the trauma you’ve been through.”

It was like being punched in the gut. “You’re really telling me if one of the twins went missing, if they were out there in the city, you wouldn’t break every goddamn law in order to find them.”

“I don’t know, Becca. All I know is you’re my friend and I’m worried. I want to make sure you’re okay.”