Chapter Twenty-Eight. "Give me a break, Hunter," Casey said

"Give me a break, Hunter," Casey said. "On what goddamn charges?" She flicked her glance at Leslie, rolling her eyes. "He hasn't done anything wrong. We found him, we talked to him, end of story." She frowned. "Because we goddamn believe him, that's why."

Leslie watched her, having learned how Casey and Tori spoke to one another when they appeared to be upset. Which, in reality, they weren't really upset with each other. It was just Tori's way of venting, and Casey let her. To a degree.

"Yeah, yeah. Love to Sam." She closed her phone. "She drives me insane. I swear, I think she does it on purpose. Anyway, Malone's trying to get approval for a twenty-four hour tag detail, hoping John can lead us to Patrick. I'll get with Hunter sometime this weekend and go over what all John told us."

"Well, at least we know more than we did. I'm glad we can call it an early night for once." As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to take them back.

"Yeah. Short night." Casey forced a smile. "And a Friday. I guess you and Michael have big plans?"

Leslie bit her lip. Casey hadn't mentioned Michael's name all week. "No, Casey, that's not what I meant. I just...it's been a long week. That's all."

"Yeah, it has." Casey glanced at her quickly. "I'm sorry. So, I have laundry planned for the weekend. And I promised Mr. Gunter I'd mow his yard for him." She took a deep breath. "What do you guys have going on? Anything fun?"

"Stop it."

Casey put her blinker on, waiting for a car to pass before turning into the parking lot. "I'm sorry," she said again. "You're right. It's been a long week. It's none of my business anyway."

"Casey?"

She looked at her and Leslie was shocked by the sadness she saw in her eyes. She reached a hand out, but Casey pulled away.

"Don't," she whispered.

"Casey? What are we doing here?"

"I don't guess we're doing anything. I'm sorry. I'm very tired. I know you are too." Casey stared out the windshield. "Have a good weekend. I'll see you on Monday."

As far as dismissals went, Leslie was sure she'd had colder ones. She just couldn't think of any at the moment. So she nodded, torn between trying to explain things to Casey and her need to get home to Michael. Because it was time. It was time she told him. She needed to get this over with. And she wanted to do it without Casey knowing. She didn't want her to feel guilty. She didn't want her to feel pressured. She didn't want the fact that she'd ended things with Michael to be a consideration when it came to their own relationship.

"Casey--"

"Goodnight, Leslie." She lowered her head. "Please," she whispered. "Just goodnight."

Leslie sighed. "Okay."

She got out, closing the door quietly behind her. Casey turned and their eyes met for a second, then Casey drove off, leaving her standing there, the memory of those haunted blue eyes etched in her brain.

She clenched her hands into fists, watching the red taillights of Casey's truck fade from view. "Oh, Casey," she whispered. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Michael will have to wait.

She simply couldn't leave things like they were with Casey. So she hurried to her car, speeding away down the street after Casey.

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