Chapter 32

The door burst open, and Ariel glanced straight at it.

Nat froze, breathing hard, his gaze fixed on Ariel.

She smirked, standing up from the bed. “Are you just going to stand there looking? Did you see a ghost?”

Nathaniel hastened his steps, rushing toward her and embracing her in a tight hug, taking Ariel by surprise.

“Whoa,” she chuckled, then winced slightly.

“I’m sorry,” Nathaniel muttered, stepping back.

“The doctors said I could leave,” she said.

Nathaniel nodded.

Ariel furrowed her brows. “How’s SK, by the way? Were you able to catch him?”

“SK is dead.” Nat leaned against the wall, his arms folded across his chest. “You’ve been unconscious for a month, Ariel.”

She sighed. “Mrs. Jones told me.” Her tone was sad.

“Did she say anything else?” Nat asked, looking at her.

“Let’s leave first. I just got out of the hospital after a month, and the antiseptic smell is killing me—it feels like I might get admitted again for another month.”

Nat chuckled, standing straight, his hands in his pockets as he walked closer to Ariel. “Welcome back, Ariel,” he said sincerely.

Ariel studied him for a moment before letting out a small smile. “I heard you cried and even refused to eat,” she muttered, followed by a cackling laugh.

“Pfft, you owe me lunch,” he said, heading out.

“Fine, fine,” Ariel called after him.

Outside the city, in a bustling bar, Ariel and Nat sat across from each other. A waiter stood next to their table, ready to take their order.

“I feel like eating everything I’ve missed—it’s been a month,” Ariel said.

“Eat as much as you want,” Nat said.

Ariel glanced at him, one eye twinkling with a smile. “I thought you said lunch was on me.”

Nat nodded. “Not today, but I meant it. You owe me one.”

“Alright,” she replied.

Ariel ordered heaps of chicken, chips, pizza, and all the sweets she could manage. Nathaniel watched, swallowing hard—not from the food, but from the hit to his wallet.

Ariel kept ordering until the table was overflowing.

“Are you planning on finishing all that?” Nathaniel asked just as she picked up a slice of pizza and dipped it into her mouth. She paused and nodded.

“Besides, I’ll have nothing to do soon, so I can eat as much as I want without worry.” She munched on the pizza, closing her eyes to savor the taste. “No more early morning rushes, no more SK or cases. Just me, jogging every morning, then back to my house,” she muttered, licking her fingers as she reached for the chicken.

“What do you mean by ‘no more cases’? Of course, you’ll rest a bit and resume, won’t you?” Nathaniel asked.

Ariel let out a loud sigh and paused eating, looking at Nat. “Mrs. Jones stopped by this morning. She told me I can’t continue on the detective team.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, according to her, the higher-ups said I’d have to wait a year to return. They think no one goes through what I did without developing trauma or brain issues.”

“I thought you said the doctors said you’re fine,” Nathaniel said.

Ariel nodded. “But my results show I might develop trauma if I go back to fighting similar crimes.”

Nathaniel stared at her, confused. “Then Mrs. Jones could assign you to other cases. I thought this was your dream, Ariel.”

She nodded. “It was, and that’s why I won’t stop. I found something interesting.” She searched through her bag and pulled out a file.

Nathaniel took the documents and looked through them.

“The first case we got on SK was a lady at a bar. Her body was found battered, same as the next one. They seemed like SK’s work, but after looking closely, I realized they were done by different people.”

Nathaniel furrowed his brows. “What do you mean? I thought these were all SK’s doing.”

“That’s what I’m explaining—it’s not.” Ariel pointed to a file. Nathaniel held it up. It was a picture of a deceased girl after she was killed.

“Look at her hand. There’s a ribbon. It was found in one other case, but the other girls we attributed to SK didn’t have ribbons.”

Nathaniel nodded, finally understanding.

“Have you shown this to Mrs. Jones?”

She shook her head. “She wouldn’t listen. She told me to drop it and focus on getting myself fixed first… you know, I kind of injured a doctor.” She pressed her lips together, wiping her mouth and hands. “It wasn’t intentional, but when I saw him coming with a syringe, I got this overwhelming urge to protect myself. I thought he was going to harm me, so I grabbed the syringe and stabbed him.”

Nathaniel blinked, then nodded slowly.

“They said it stemmed from my past experience with SK. Honestly, when I first saw the syringe, I thought it was a knife—SK coming toward me.” Her tone softened. “For a moment back there, my mind went blank. I fought anyone who came close. SK’s voice kept ringing in my ears.”

Nathaniel reached out to touch her hand. She smiled faintly, looking at him.

“I think I need some time off, but I have to solve this first. SK isn’t the real culprit here—someone else is pulling the strings.”

Nathaniel leaned back in his chair. “And who are you looking at?”

They were interrupted by the waiter, who brought their bill. The paper was so long that Nathaniel’s eyes nearly bulged out. Ariel had already eaten half the food on the table and was requesting the rest be packaged, while Nat stared at the bill. His hand reluctantly reached for his credit card. A bill of $900 stared him in the face.

“Are you done?” Ariel asked, smiling.

Reluctantly, he pulled out his credit card and paid.

Ariel carried the bag, now filled with packaged food, and went to wait in the car. She saw Nathaniel’s expression and enjoyed every bit of it. Her eyes watched him as he stepped out, his hair falling to one side of his face. He looked different from the rookie cop she once knew.

Her mind drifted to how Nathaniel had fought SK, how he wielded his gun. There was definitely more to Nat.

“So, did you settle the bill?” she asked as Nat entered the vehicle.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” he said.

She grinned. “Just a few dollars to prove how much you missed me.” She winked.

Nat shook his head, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He turned the key and started the engine.

Ariel glanced in the rearview mirror, her eyes catching sight of someone.

“So, who were you saying is the person pulling the strings?” Nat asked as he turned the steering wheel.

Ariel’s brows furrowed as she stared into the mirror. Her nose flared, and she grabbed Nathaniel’s arm, gasping.

“James.”