Explain Yourself

Explain Yourself
Sam's POV

I stood beside Alex in Captain James's office. I bowed my head low, biting very hard on my lips, berating myself for the umpteenth time for letting this fucking happen again.
Captain James grunted with all of his face as she looked up at both of us. I refused to meet his heated gaze, keeping my eyes buried on my feet instead, and choosing to just make sharp, quick glances at him instead. Even with that, a glance at the heat in his eyes almost scorched me to ashes.
He jabbed a finger in the air at Alex. “I thought I asked you to not do anything rash and let me take care of things.” He yelled.
“Captain, I was only…” Alex was saying.
“Shut the hell up, Detective Bernettt.” Captain James slapped the desk in a fit of rage, the frown on his face tightening. The table shivered at the wake of his slap. “Whenever I tell you to let me handle things, you let me do so. Is that clear?” He snapped.
Alex muttered a reluctant yes. Captain James slapped the table again, the noise tearing through the room like a gunshot. It tore through me with a much worse and sharper noise. I started in myself, my soul almost jumping from my body. Or perhaps it did, but it jumped back in when it realized we were together in this mess.
Captain James grunted as he demanded, staring directly at Alex. “Are we clear?” He yelled.
“Yes.” Alex answered firmly now, for the sake of all our nerves.
Captain James turned to me then, and surprisingly, his fat face settled in a dark, cruel grin instead. But I knew that to be much worse than his rage. That meant he was more than enraged at my own case.
While I would have hated him to slap the table and yell at me, even though my nerves can’t survive it, I would have preferred it more than the grin that now stained his lips. He ground his teeth as he pulled open the laptop on his desk. He turned it around to me, and he double-tapped on the laptop mouse to play the video.
“Look up and watch your little movie, Detective Cross.” He snapped, raising his voice now.
I snapped my head up then, staring at the screen. I watched quietly as Rowan and I kissed, then talked. Then the rest of the footage played till when Warden Karo walked past with Rebecca Griswold and when Lucy showed up in her bikini.
Alex growled behind my neck, his breath burning my nape. But the bastard was the last of my problems right now.
The footage continued until Rowan and I kissed passionately again, dragging ourselves into the room, while he took off my jacket, and thank God the video ended before he took off my shirt and bra.
Captain James leaned over to look at the laptop’s screen from my angle to make sure the video had ended, and then he turned the laptop back to himself.
He folded the laptop closed, and he folded his hands over it. “Whatever version of your story, Detective Cross, long or short, I want you to explain what happened in that footage.” He said. “And I want the truth. Anything but that, and there’ll be trouble.”
I wanted to go for the short version, but I thought back and decided on the long. He could get crazier if he were to discover I wasn't totally forthcoming with him.
I swallowed the massive lump that clogged my throat, waited some moments to get my senses in shape, and began my narration. I began with Cecilia Rosewood's call log, the killer's burner, and the discovery of Lucy Callaghan as the next victim or an accomplice. How I approached her and met her with Rowan. How she chased me away and acted suspicious. I continued until the time with Rowan and the killer passed me by, carrying Rebecca Griswold in his arms, how we found Lucy and Rebecca dead, and how the killer got away.
“You should have fucking told me Lucy was in trouble, and I would have known how to talk to her.” Alex growled behind me. I could feel his heated gaze ripping me apart from behind.
The bastard was the last thing I wanted to bother about. I turned to him, looking right into his glaring eyes. “Believe me, Alex, you wouldn't be able to talk to her either. With the little she referenced you when I talked to her, she seemed to hate your guts more than she hated mine.” I replied.
Alex’s face darkened, his jaw tightened hard. He stared me down, and when I refused to back down, he growled and swung his hand fast for my face.
Captain James sat up. “You will do no such thing, Alex.” He barked.
Alex's palm froze halfway to my face. He looked from me to Captain James, and he grunted even louder, throwing his hand back to his side and dropping back from me. He said nothing, but the look in his eyes was enough to tell me he hated me. I wished he knew the feeling was mutual.
Captain returned his gaze to me, narrowed on me, pinning me in place. “When you made your discovery that Miss Callaghan was either the next victim or an accomplice, why didn't you inform your partner about it?”
I went for the short-form answer. “Because he was being an asshole, sir.” I answered, though it was greatly unethical. I sighed, realizing that didn't even capture all my rage about the arrangements he made pairing me and Alex up, and I continued. “Alex isn't interested in catching this killer. He just wants to control this case and make things miserable for me so that I'll fall back into his arms.” I rambled.
He waited until I was done, and he reclined in his seat. His teeth were grinding noisily. “And why didn't you tell about it directly?” he asked.
“Because you will inform him, sir.”
“What about my warnings about staying away from the prime suspect in the case?”He asked again, sharp and curt as before.
I tried to move my lips to answer that, but I realized I had no answer, and my lips shut quietly by themselves. I went as quiet as a mute, biting down on my lips and dragging my eyes away from him to the floor again. I just couldn't meet his gaze again.
Silence festered on between us for longer, deafening. It almost tore down my eardrums. Eventually, his voice claimed the air again, slicing cleanly through the silence. He sat up, throwing his hands onto the desk. He cleared his throat loud, and that rang like a gavel through me.
“While you are one of the best in this department, and you have always shown so much dedication and discipline in your duties. But your recent actions have shown that you are currently unfit to handle this case, and there is a potential risk of your personal life clashing with your job, so upon careful deliberation, I am taking you off this case completely.” He said, putting it low and formal, making it hurt more.
A massive weight settled in my stomach, and my breath stilled for an uncomfortable moment. I looked sharply at him. “Please don't do this, sir. I can assure you it won't happen…”
“This is final, Detective Cross. You are officially taken off the case, and it belongs exclusively to Detective Bernettt.” He stared at me from the rim of his eyes. “Now, get out of my office.” He barked now, slapping the desk with so much force it creaked as if broken.