Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 133

Pam POV

The office cheered when Scott's team announced that Bethany had been rescued; most of those who had worked with her and liked her a lot said she was easy to like. However, once it all settled down and the forensic teams were on site, I got the ribbing from the guys for losing my charge. I knew it was time to face the real music. This was going to take a lot of work. Jacko is on the warpath, and I have the head in the noose.

Jacko called me into the office-or should I say ordered me into his office? The looks of those around me were of sympathy; none wanted to be called into the office when Jacko was on the warpath.

'What the hell, Pam, why did you call off the protection?' Jacko's voice was sharp, filled with a mix of anger and concern. His particular spot for Bethany was well-known, and I had failed her, failed him, Bob, and everyone on the team. I let my guard down. I should have waited to see her inside the building, and that was all on me.

'We were going to be here all night. I thought I told the men to be back around eight o'clock, but then we kept finding other books, and it would have been far too much for Bethany to handle; the emotional content she was reading was breaking my heart; how much worse would it have been for her? So I thought it would be okay for me to take her home!

'But it wasn't, was it?' he all but growled at me. I had never seen Jacko so worked up before. I would like to know if this will improve any time soon. I have lost the respect and trust I had worked hard to gain. For a woman in the workforce or any job seen as male- dominated, it is harder for us to get to the top.

'They had a man inside, waiting; they could not have known when she would come home; they had to have been waiting all day. If not longer, because Bethany was visiting her brother, it seems that if we can get the security video of that time and go backward, you will find out how long they had been waiting. To access the complete chapters for free, visit Job nib.com. Even Scott's team does not walk into the building. So the result might have been the same!' Jacko seemed to take this in, and his face slowly changed. 'You're right. Get the guys on it, get the footage for a whole week, and let's see how long they have been waiting. 'Jacko dismissed me, and I headed over to my team and asked them to chase up the footage from Bethany's building; maybe they need to beef up their security, too. I left the building feeling defeated and headed to my other office. When I entered, officers nodded and saluted me. I wouldn't say I liked coming here when I was working. 'Mike, where the hell were your men last night?' I almost screamed at him. 'They were there, sir.' He tried to look me in the eye but failed. He was in the wrong, and he knew it.

'Well, they failed; Bethany was taken right under your noses; what the hell were they doing? They certainly were watching out for Bethany if it was not for Scott and his team. Bethany would have been dead. Your guys failed, and I am not happy!

'Sorry, sir. The men have been reprimanded. They were across the road watching and did not realize what was happening until it was too late. Then we saw you trailing the van. They followed up in case you needed a backup. They could not get across the street fast enough to stop it; it all happened so quickly.' He was trying to defend the sloppy work, and I was not buying it. I hope the camera is angled in the direction he says they were showing what they were really up to.

'Not good enough; I had lost respect and trust now, all the years of work I have put in to build up trust, and you blew it the first time I gave you a job to do. Not only did it look bad for me, but it is looking bad for you and your team; I am not going to be using that suad ever again, and it is going into my reports when I had them to our boss and you can handle his anger, not me, I am not covering your arse again.' I was fuming; I had no idea how to fix this. Bob won't trust me; I like him and want to pursue a relationship with him; he is the first man to break through my walls in a long time, and I may have lost him now. I head over to see my boss and talk to him about the situation.

'Sir, we have all those we have been chasing in custody, and the case is airtight. Can I reveal who I am to Bob now and possibly Jacko?' I was desperate to cover my b**t and get on the right side of these guys again. It hurts to think that Bob distrusts me. 'Why? You have changed. I see why you have become attached to the new Police Commissioner. But is he clean?' Those were two questions, and I had to think for a moment about how much I wanted to reveal to him.

'I am falling for the police commissioner, and before you say my judgment may be impaired, don't. you know me better than that from past experience. I dared him to dispute it.

'You have my permission to reveal yourself to them and tell them what you have been working on. Good luck with the police commissioner. Will you resign if you become an item?'

'Not at this stage, but I might look at it in the future. I am not getting any younger.' I jest and leave his office feeling a whole lot better than when I walked in.

I pulled out my phone and prayed he would answer my call; I would not blame him when he saw it was me calling to hang

up on me.

'Hi Pam, what can I do for you?' The ever-professional voice. I feel a little sad that he has his police chief voice on, but I could hear voices in the background, so he was entertaining.

'I need to talk with you, please!' I asked or pleaded, and it sounded the same to me.

'Sure, come to Thomas's place for dinner; I will let Judy know to set for an extra mouth. He hung up on me without me being able to say another word, but at least I would plead my case. At least being at Thomas's place, he won't be yelling at me, and he might even listen; I can talk to Bethany and Theo, too. It is safe to tell them all about who I really am and clear the air; Bob will not like that he was kept out of the loop. Still, he will understand that secrecy, in this case, was vital.

I took off in my SUV and headed towards Thomas's home; I stopped, brought flowers, some wine, and beer, and prayed I got the right stuff. I knew the beer was right; we drank it at Hank's place, but I am not a wine drinker, so I was curious to see if it was the right one to buy. I turned on my playlist and sang my favorite songs all the way; I needed to get in a happier mood; walking in already defeated was not going to win any favors, and I have been in difficult situations before, but I can do this. I pulled outside his home, climbed out, walked to his front door, took a deep breath, and knocked.