THE PERFECT PARTNER

THE PERFECT PARTNER
I looked at little Rose, fast asleep, her tiny frame curled up like she was trying to make herself invisible. My heart ached for her. No child should have to go through what she did. I sighed and pulled out my phone. I needed to let Gia know I wouldn’t be able to make it tonight.

"Hey, Gia. How was the presentation?"

"Not bad, actually—it was great!" she responded, her voice brimming with excitement.

I smiled. "Wow, you sound really upbeat this evening. Wait… are you going out with Adams?"

"No, but with Eric."

I froze. "What? Eric is taking you out on a date?"

"He didn’t call it a date. He just said he wanted to thank me for a job well done."

"Mhm, sounds like a date to me. Anyway, have fun."

"How’s your day going at work?"

I sighed. "Not bad. I’ll fill you in later. Right now, I need to find my partner. He left his wound open just to wrap up this case."

"Oh, that’s terrible. I’ll let you go then. Take care, okay?"

"You too. Talk later."

As soon as I ended the call, I spotted Dax heading toward me, looking exhausted. Walking beside him was Rose’s aunt, her expression unreadable.

"Mrs. Walter has the right to get a lawyer if she wants one. Her trial begins next week," Dax informed her. "In the meantime, Rose will stay in your custody since you’re her next of kin. Please take good care of her."

The woman nodded. "I will." She carefully lifted the sleeping child in her arms and walked away.

I watched them disappear down the hall, an uneasy feeling settling in my chest. "Do you think she’ll be okay?" I asked Dax softly.

He exhaled. "I hope so." Then, looking at me, he added, "Good job, Detective Brianna. You really proved you’re a good partner."

It had been a while since I’d seen him smile like that. I glanced at my watch—6:30 PM. I still had time to help him clean his wounds before heading out.

"Come on," I said, grabbing his wrist. "I’ll help you dress your wound before I leave."

He resisted slightly, but I pulled him into the office anyway. "You can’t seriously be thinking of going back to work with an open wound."

"I can’t believe you worry about me this much," he teased, flashing another grin.

I rolled my eyes. "Who’s worried about you? I’m just making sure everyone knows we’re partners and that we look out for each other."

His smirk widened. "Are you sure that’s all?" He stepped closer, his voice dropping slightly.

I folded my arms. "Yes. Now take off your cloth so I can take a look."

I expected him to unbutton his shirt, but instead, he reached for his belt. My eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

"You said to take off my clothes." His lips twitched, clearly amused.

"I meant your shirt, not your pants!"

He chuckled. "Relax. I’m not taking off my pants. The knife cut my lower abdomen—I can’t exactly treat the wound with my belt on."

"Oh." I felt my cheeks heat up. I had completely misunderstood.

Dax raised an eyebrow. "Wait… what were you thinking?"

"Nothing!" I said a little too quickly, turning my attention to the medical supplies.

He let out a short laugh but winced when I dabbed disinfectant on his wound. I glanced up, catching the slight grimace on his face. "You’re way too chipper for someone who just got stabbed."

His smile faded slightly. "It’s just… been a while since someone cared enough to make me stop and take care of myself."

Something in his voice made me pause. There was a sadness there, something deep and unspoken.

I hesitated before asking, "Why did you move to Chicago? I thought by now you’d be living off your father’s hard-earned money."

Dax’s expression darkened. "Turns out I didn’t know as much about my life as I thought."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

His jaw tensed. "I have a stepbrother."

I froze. "Wait… what?" I had always known Dax as an only child. An abandoned son, left behind by a mother who chose another man over him.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I grew up believing my mother left when I was four because she wanted to be with a man who could provide for her better than my father. I hated her for it. I blamed her for everything wrong in my life. But two years ago, I found out the truth."

I stayed silent, watching him closely. His voice was steady, but there was an unmistakable pain in his eyes.

"Turns out my father had been having an affair. My mom found out that the woman was pregnant and filed for divorce."

I swallowed, my chest tightening at the revelation. Dax had spent his whole life resenting his mother, believing she had abandoned him. But the truth was, she had been betrayed just as much as he had.

His eyes met mine, vulnerable in a way I had never seen before. I suddenly felt a pang of guilt, remembering the night of my birthday when I had fought with him for refusing to talk about his mother.

Now, I understood.

And it made my heart ache for him even more.

I now realized the only reason he never wanted to talk about it was that it was a painful memory for him.

"Have you ever heard from your mom since she left?" I asked.

"No. That’s why I'm even angrier at her. If she was going to leave, why not take me with her? Why did she leave me behind?

I guess I was nothing but a burden to her. Maybe he wouldn’t accept her because of me, so she chose to leave me behind for a better life."

My hands instinctively went to his cheeks as I saw how devastated he was. He looked up at me and smiled, but it was a smile drenched in sadness.

He gently took my hand from his face, brought it to his lips, and pressed a soft kiss against it. The unexpected action sent a jolt through me, and I tried to pull away, but he hugged me instead.

"Dax, what are you doing?"

"I missed you so much, Brianna. I went back to find you, but you were gone," he murmured, burying his face in the curve of my neck.

I wanted to push him away, but I couldn’t. It felt like I was the first person he had ever shared this pain with.

"I’ll lend you my shoulder for today… because you look just like a lost puppy," I muttered, running my hands up and down his back in a soothing motion.

I didn’t know how long we stayed like that, but eventually, my shoulders started to scream in protest.

"Dax, you need to let me go."

"Give me ten more minutes," he mumbled, holding me even tighter.

"You’re heavy, and my shoulder is starting to hurt," I complained. He pulled away immediately, though his arms remained wrapped around my waist.

"I'm sorry, Brianna."

"It's okay. I’m sure my shoulder will understand."

"Brianna, I mean eight years ago. I'm sorry you got hurt because of me. I'm sorry things turned out the way they did."

I lowered my gaze. "I told you—I lost most of my memories."

"And I know you’re lying." His voice was almost pleading. "You can hate me, you can hit me, but don’t pretend you don’t recognize me. It’s killing me inside to know that you want to erase our memories together."

The moment he said that, I knew this conversation would only end in pain. Silently, I removed his hands from my waist and focused on dressing his wound.

"You’re lucky," I said, forcing my voice to remain neutral. "The knife didn’t cut too deep, so you’re safe."

"Brianna, please don’t change the subject. Talk to me," he said, stepping closer. I immediately stepped back, avoiding his touch.

"Let’s not start something that will only leave us with hate." My voice wavered, but I kept going. "To be honest, I never wanted to see you again after I woke up.

I was told you left the country to keep me safe. Thank you for trying to protect me, but I can’t go back to how things used to be.

It’s better if we just stay partners."

I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. "I have to go—Gia is waiting for me." Without another word, I turned and walked out of the room.

Dax's POV

Her words felt like a knife stabbing straight into my heart. Does she hate me that much?

I glanced around the office—it felt empty without her. Whenever I see her, it’s like my life becomes whole again. It took every ounce of my self-control not to kiss her, but I won’t rush her.

I’ll do whatever it takes to earn her trust back. I haven’t been able to be with another woman in eight years because I could never get her out of my head.

The office phone rang, pulling me from my thoughts. I picked it up—it was one of the detectives I had assigned to check the security cameras Brianna found.

"Were you able to find anything?"

"No, all four cameras weren’t working."

"Then what the hell is the security guy doing if he’s not replacing or fixing them?"

"I’ll see to it."

"Please do."

I ended the call and sighed before heading to see the head officer, who had been asking for me. Knocking on his door, I waited for his signal to enter.

"Detective Dax, have a seat."

I settled into the chair, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"I can’t believe you cracked the case in one go. I guess Miss Cromwell is the perfect partner for you."

"Yes, she is."

"That’s good to hear. Well, as promised, I’ll assign a new member to your team by the end of the day."

"Thank you, sir."

"You’re dismissed."

I left the office and headed straight home, stopping by a convenience store to grab a few things before continuing on my way.

Gia's POV

I kept watching her—she looked like a mess. There was a sadness in her eyes, the same look she had when she couldn’t get over Dax.

"Brianna, what’s going on? First, you sounded off when you called me yesterday, and now you’re back looking even worse than I imagined."

"How was your date with Eric?" she deflected.

"Forget about that and talk to me."

She hesitated, then finally spoke. "I met Dax at the station yesterday."

Tears slipped down her cheeks, and my heart clenched. I immediately pulled her into a hug, trying to comfort her.

I had a feeling there was a lot more to this story than she was letting on.