Page 47 of Soul of Discretion

Steph stood there frozen, and before she had the chance to snap out of it Inspector McKenzie walked in. “Cooper, my office.”

Nick’s shoulders dropped and he turned to Steph to say good-bye. “Take care of yourself and that lucky husband of yours.” He grabbed his ripped plastic bag and headed for what could be his last duty as Sergeant Nick Cooper.

****

Nick stood in the elevator in his civilian clothing; he knew he wouldn’t be wearing his uniform for a while. In that moment, it struck him that he’d been wearing a uniform of one sort or another for most of his life and he almost felt naked without it. In his hands, he carried the file that marked his suspension and the accusations levelled against him. The elevator dinged when it reached the tenth floor and Nick stepped out. Ben stood outside the suite; he had stayed to watch over Simon while Nick was gone.

“Hey, buddy, what’s up?” Ben asked as he approached. “Did they miss getting Augustus Baronne?”

“No, they have him in custody.” That was still a bright spot of the day no matter what else had happened. A man who dealt in pain and misery was behind bars, where he’d hopefully rot.

“Then what is it?” Ben asked. “I haven’t seen your face this red in a while. Not since the last time Jeffries pissed you off.” Ben watched Nick as he ground his jaw. “Okay, what’d he do?”

“I’ve been suspended,” Nick stated as he waved the white file around like a flag of surrender. All he wanted right now was Simon and a beer.

“Holy shit, for what? You damn well solved that case.”

Nick wasn’t up to rehashing the last couple of hours. “Not now, man, I need some peace. We’ll talk later. In the meantime, Steph can fill you in.”

“Okay, but if you need me, or her, we’re here for you.”

“I know I can always count on you guys,” Nick muttered, his voice sounding as if the life had been sucked right out of him.

He turned and used his key card to open the door to their suite. The moment he saw Simon working at the conference table, some of the stress left his body. He would miss this like a mofo when Simon was gone.

“You’re back. Did you round them all up?” Simon asked as he placed his sleek, silver pen on the dark wooden table and smiled wide.

He was wearing the jeans and t-shirt that he’d had on this morning when Nick left for the raids. Simon quickly realized something was wrong and walked over to join Nick, who had already sunk into the couch. He needed some time to relax and calm the fuck down.

“Dammit, this is why women and men are afraid to come forward because there are people out there making false claims causing everyone to be suspect. He should know better than to pull that bullshit.” Nick railed against the insanity of everything.

Simon knelt down in front of Nick and cupped his face. Nick couldn’t help but push his cheek harder into Simon’s touch. The smallest hints of betrayal began to fester. “You’re going to have to tell me more, Nick. I don’t understand.”

“I’ve spent my entire life protecting others,” he ground out as the sense of betrayal grew.

“I know this, what’s wrong? You’re beginning to worry me.”

Nick took a deep breath and asked, “Would you grab me a beer? You might as well get yourself a bourbon, you’ll need one.”

Simon slowly stood and gave Nick a stern look. “First, you tell me what’s going on. Then I’ll get the drinks.”

“Fine. I’ve been suspended,” Nick snapped as he stood up and headed for the bar. “I’ll get my own damn beer.” Nick wasn’t mad at Simon; he was pissed the hell off, period.

“Suspended? Why?” Simon asked as he reached out and took hold of Nick’s arm.

“For having a relationship with you and not Jeffries,” Nick answered with a sarcastic laugh. “Apparently, I breached the code of conduct by sleeping with you, a person involved in the case, and Officer Jeffries has claimed I sexually harassed him. Now, for the love of God, can I have a beer?”

Simon released him, and Nick reached into the fridge, grabbed a beer, and then cracked the top off his Molson Canadian. He drank down half the bottle in one pull before turning from the bar to see Simon rifling through the file Inspector McKenzie had given Nick. He’d been able to see the regret on his boss’s face when he’d handed the pages to Nick.

“It’s not as if we weren’t expecting an investigation. Though, I thought it would have something to do with the way in which we attained information, or even Anthony’s death, not my sex life,” Nick huffed out in frustration before he slumped back down on the couch.

“Those blithering bloody idiots,” Simon seethed. “You broke the case and saved my life and countless others who would have died from the Baronne’s poison.” Simon continued to scan the pages. “Anyone who has spent time with Jeffries can easily tell he’s homophobic, there’s no way you’d hit on him. He’s too fucking ugly for starters.”

“I’d sooner hit him,” Nick replied with a tip of his bottle toward Simon. “Looks like I’m headed for an early retirement if I’m not fired outright.”

“To hell with that. We’ll prepare your defence,” Simon stated with a strong bite to his voice. “I’m not letting them do this to you.”

“Defence?” Nick asked as he began massaging the stiff muscles in his neck. It had been a long, long, stressful day. “It’s my word against his, and the other breach is true: I am, and have been sleeping with you. I don’t know where we go from there.”