Safe Place to Hide || Chenford / The Rookie

Chapter 19

Tim's mouth is covering hers almost before she has the door shut behind him. She kisses him back fiercely, the combination of her anticipation of this moment all day in conjunction with her elation at Jayce's arrest sending all thoughts of the latest note flying right out her head.

She laughs in surprise as he boosts her up onto the island.

"You're short," he offers in explanation, as he steps in between her thighs.

"You're rude," she barely manages to mumble as his lips find hers again, and she wonders how on earth she'll ever want to go back to doing literally anything that is not this.

She's not entirely sure how much time passes before they are finally breaking apart to catch their breath, and she doesn't really care. There is nothing in the world that she'd rather be doing at this moment.

She smiles up at him, "Hi."

He smiles back, squeezing her thigh before tipping his forehead down to meet hers, "Hi."

"How was your day?"

"Not as exciting as yours," he pulls back, and he's practically beaming at her. "Angela told me they got Jayce for the shooting. I'm so proud of you, Lucy. You trusted your instincts about Scott and the girls, and you led the team right to him."

And there are really no words to describe how much his words fill her up, so she instead throws her arms around him, and he hugs her tightly, pressing a kiss against her temple.

"I went to see Tamara," Lucy offers as Tim gently pulls back from her.

"How's she doing?"

"Good — really good. The doctors keep saying she should wake up any day now. She looks like herself again, too...except for the coma part, obviously."

Tim nods and waits, seeming to sense that she has more to say.

"It was really nice. To finally be able to tell her we caught the guy that did this to her. It just — I don't know. It's sad in a way. She risked her life to protect Marissa and Jenna, and they couldn't even be bothered to tell the whole truth."

Lucy shakes her head, "It's upsetting, and I feel like I should be angrier at them. They knew that Jayce knew she had threatened to go to the police. They had the motive the whole time and skirted around telling me. And I don't why. Were they protecting Jayce? Or just themselves? I thought we were actually starting to connect there for a bit."

Tim squeezes her knee reassuringly, "I'm sure you were, Lucy. And I'm sorry. I know you're disappointed. But even with Tamara — it takes time to build that kind of trust."

Lucy sighs, "You're right. And I was basically threatening them into helping me, so I shouldn't be surprised they were covering their own asses. It makes me sad more than anything. Either one of those girls could be Tamara. I just wish I could have done more. Jenna is so desperate for money and to fit into this world she's forced to be a part of, and Marissa is still grieving her brother's suicide, and god, Tim, you should have heard her talking about it — it's so clear that it's still so raw for her, and she's probably so lost. To think that these people took advantage of that... it just —"

Tim pulls her back into his arms as her voice breaks. "I know..." he says softly into her hair. "Lucy, you have the biggest heart. And it may not feel like it, but even just getting to know you — sure, yeah, those girls were a little wary of the fact that you're a cop — but they also got to see that there are genuinely good people like you out in the world that actually do care about them, and that matters."

Lucy pulls back to give him a watery smile before pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, "Thank you, for saying that."

He nods, pushing her hair back from her face before venturing, "So, I talked to Grey."