After working throughout the night, Ethan had started his day later than usual. Today was supposed to be his day off—his first in almost two weeks. A hard earned day of respite, especially after pulling an all-nighter on his own, although thankfully things had been quiet. Not that he'd expected a rise in activity, but when it came to holiday long weekend—but toss in alcohol with family gatherings—and things happened. 

He'd dropped Alyssa off at the cabin without much incident, thank god. Where he would've ordinarily walked any other woman to her door, Ethan had stayed rooted in the Rover and hit the gas soon as she'd slapped his passenger door shut.

By the time Ethan reached that evening precinct he was an edgy mess. Sitting in a quiet precinct, with nothing else to occupy his time, he had whiled away the hours on his computer running searches on Google, strictly from a professional standpoint. With Alyssa on Haven soil that meant she fell under his purview; it was only justifiable that he find out what sort of woman she was. As he had with Eva, and any other new addition to the island's growing populace of twenty thousand.

Unlike her sister, Alyssa wasn't a hard one to track down. From her years in university straight through to her professional credentials. She'd interned at a couple different advertising agencies throughout her school years, earning a reputation an ambitious go-getter. Her third internship had landed her a job offer out of school which she took and a year later used as a springboard with a major marketing and public relations firm.

And she took off like a comet. Leaving a blazing streak that outshone everything and everyone.

Three hours later and what Ethan saw was a hardworking woman who thrived in a high-powered company. Respected and well thought of, she had accolades and awards that had him sitting back in thoughtful admiration. So why the sudden departure? A press release issued three weeks before Alyssa came to Haven stated that she'd resigned from her role—had walked away from a promising career with no reason of explanation other than she'd had a change of direction.

Curiosity ate at him all night so when he'd woke up this morning, Alyssa Sloane was all he could think about.

And that annoyed him. He'd gone to considerable lengths to adjust his schedule in the gym in the hopes that the buffer would allow him enough time to get his raging hormones in check.

But getting up close with her in his car last night had proved as far as she was concerned, getting anything in check wasn't going to happen. The more time he spent in her company, however innocuous, the more she got under his skin. There was no denying he was attracted to her, and that was a host of trouble he wasn't about to entertain.

Juggling his car keys, Ethan pulled open the precinct door and halted on the threshold at the sight of a man elegantly dressed in a five thousand dollar suit standing by the reception counter. He didn't need to see his face to know it was Wade Robinson, high powered attorney from Vancouver's mainland who was proving to be the bane of Ethan's existence in the Ji Kim case.

Closing the front door behind him, Ethan strolled in, checking the time on his phone as he approached the lawyer.

"Officer Davies." At his approach, Wade held out his hand. "I'm glad I could catch you."

"Mr. Robinson." Ethan shook briskly, found Wade's grip strong and palm surprisingly rough considering he was a lawyer who pushed around papers all day. "You don't look all that surprised to see me."

"I called ahead and was told you'd be in. I was wondering if I could beg for a moment of your time to discuss my client's offer?"

"We could have easily had this conversation over the phone and saved you the trip."

"We're both slaves to our jobs, Officer. Only I get paid significantly better to do mine." Wade's eyes glinted. "Is now a good time?"

Ethan rolled his tongue along the edge of his teeth and was almost tempted to tell the man to come back in the morning. The thought of forcing Wade to shack up in a local B&B for the night instead of catching the last ferry out to the mainland almost made him smile. But in the end decided against it. The sooner they did this dance, the sooner he could close the book on the case.

"This way." Turning, he led the way down to one of their questioning rooms near the holding cells. Flicking on the lights, Ethan pulled out a chair for the lawyer, and took the one on the other side of the table.

"Alright," he said, sitting down. "Let's hear it." 

"I think this will answer any and all questions," Wade said, unfastening the clasps on his satchel so he could offer up a file folder from inside. A plain letter-sized manila about as thin as an eyelash.

Ethan already knew where this meeting was going, and that whatever the contents of the file, he was going to turn it down, but went through the motions anyway because that's what came with the job. Playing the game meant following the steps, however choreographed or dated.

Over the edge of the file, Ethan eyed his opposition. Five minutes locked in silence and neither one had blinked. Fluorescents rattled and hummed in long plastic trays mounted to the ceiling, the only sound to punctuate their showdown. He'd made a show of reading over the letter Wade had brought with him, outlining his clients latest offer to put this case—and all charges to bed.

Sitting back in his chair, Ethan set down file, closed it. "Six months of probation and community service at some retirement facility in exchange for all charges dismissed is not good enough. Especially since that retirement facility is not on Haven soil where I can enforce it."

Wade narrowed his gaze, his posture smooth and unaffected but professional. Ethan had gone toe-to-toe with him for the last three days, and neither one had given an inch, fighting to hold on to their side of the field with claws and fangs. But the clock was ticking down, the game was going to come to an end.

And only one was going to come out of it the winner.

"Think of the girls, Officer. Wouldn't it be best for everyone involved if this matter was simply resolved here and now?"

"The law is the law. I'm paid to make sure those who break it are held accountable, not to sweep things aside of the sake of making everyone's life easier."

Wade crossed his leg, set a hand on his knee, changing the angle of his approach. "My clients are ivy league educated, from an affluent family with a list of charity work that runs from one end of this island to the other. Stack that against my arguments that their actions were fueled by alcohol—evidently purchased by the young ladies—"

"Your clients gave them the money," Ethan interrupted.

"Facts are the girls were the ones seen purchasing the alcohol, where the money came from is circumstantial hearsay that you can't prove. Furthermore the eldest girl, Gigi Koppal, already has a mark on her record for drunk and disorderly conduct where my clients don't. Take this matter before a judge, I guarantee this isn't going to come out the way you want it to."

"Because your clients' daddy has deep pockets."

Wade spread his hands, saying nothing and everything all in that one gesture.

"I'm going to nail them for this," Ethan vowed. "Your clients are viewable on video footage from the bank across the street," he sliced through, listing off on his fingers, "as well as witness cell phones, all of which I have gathered as evidence. While Gigi was an active participant and Priya was a bystander, your clients were clearly the aggressors and instigators."

Wade tucked his tongue into the pocket of his cheek, holding a beat before answering. "Just between me and you, Officer, I came to you as a courtesy. You're a lawman who takes pride in his work, I respect that. But there's a reason why my firm has my name on the door, why I'm at the top of my profession where you're caught in the middle of yours." Wade rose to his feet, eyes sharp as he buttoned his blazer, "I don't lose."

Ethan held his tongue at that barely veiled threat, watched as Wade cleared the room and closed the door carefully behind him before letting loose a seething stream of curses.

Waiting until he'd regained a measure of calm, he stalked out into the hall, his thoughts set on one simple task. Coffee. He needed coffee to clear the furious haze in his skull, and then he was going to find some kind of legal hammer to lower on this case, nailing three sets of balls to the wall.

"How'd it go?" Sheryl asked, mug in hand as he approached the break room kitchen. She blew into the steaming contents, assessing him over the rim. For a moment Ethan was about to snatched it from her and claim it for himself when he recalled her recent stunt with the sugar. In no mood to chance a repeat, he abandoned the notion of a snatch and grab.

Ignoring her knowing chuckle, Ethan shouldered past her and marched to the coffee pot, found it half full with a fresh brew.

"Suit's still trying to wiggle the noose off their necks." Ethan yanked open a cupboard, found a lone mug on the highest shelf. "Came back with an under the table settlement for Ji Kim, but wants to keep all charges off the table."

"And I take it you're not good with that," Sheryl said from behind him.

"No, I'm not fucking okay with it." Ethan poured coffee with a heated jerk of temper, sloshing it over the rim in his haste.

"You know he's likely to go to Ji next, soften him up with some money pitch—talk him out of dropping the charges if you're not willing to play ball."

Irritated, Ethan turned around and leaned back against the counter, brought the mug to his lips and swallowed deeply. Contemplating. "I don't think he'll go for it. This was more than just a business. This was his life. His dream. He wants justice."

Saying nothing, Sheryl merely shrugged.

"You don't think so?"

"Money talks. S'all I'm going to say on the subject." And jerked her head towards the hall. "Chief's looking for you."

Ethan popped straight, almost spilling his coffee. "He's in?"

"As of five minutes ago."

"How's he looking?"

A look warmed Sheryl's eyes that was all pride and affection. "Sturdy and indestructible as ever. Though Miriam called in to say she wants us to send him home in time for dinner at six-thirty. Doctors still are cautioning against any over exertion."

Setting down his half finished coffee, Ethan wiped damp palms on his thighs. Shit, if he'd known the Chief was swinging in and looking to speak with him, he'd have worn his uniform.

"Go on." Sheryl smiled. "I'm sure he'll cut you some slack."

The hall down to the Chief's office wasn't more than eight or nine feet, but right now he felt like he was walking a mile. A green mile, where an electric chair waited for him at the finish line. Which was crazy, considering he had no reason to be anxious or concerned.

But it still felt like being called down the principal's office. The natural inclination was to always wonder what you'd done wrong. In his youth those trips had led to near debilitating bouts of anxiety. Was why he'd always been a model student with a spotless record who never got into trouble or stepped a toe out of line.

When he'd been shoved around by the older boys and bullied, he'd never so much as raised a hand to fight back, because back then his school had a strict no fighting policy, even if in self-defense, both parties would have been chastised and suspended.

The end result had led to a lot of black eyes and bleeding lips on his part. He'd been a skinny little shrimp, and short, until at least until he'd hit fourteen and puberty gave him a boost. Thanks to the guidance of a gym teacher, Mr. Morris who'd witnessed Ethan getting the snot pummeled out of him by the jocks, he'd discovered weight training.

After school hours, Mr. Morris trained him long and hard, pushing his body through a remarkable transformation over the summer months. By the time he'd started his sophomore year, those same jocks were surprised to discover that little Ethan Davies wasn't so little any more. 

Though the door had been left open for him, Ethan knocked against it and waited until Chief lifted a hand, motioning for him to enter and to shut the door behind him.

"Yes, yes I understand." Chief Tom Creedy set down the receiver and propped his elbows on the desk as he angled forward. Since his accident six weeks ago, this was the first time he'd clapped eyes on his superior after going to see him in the hospital following his accident.

He'd been hurt on the job by a reckless driver that clipped him while making a left turn at the lights. Idiot was drunk and blasting down the street at twenty over the limit. Put him in the hospital with a broken hip and ruptured spleen. Though the doctors were confident he'd make a complete recovery. And so Ethan had stepped up to the plate to hold down the precinct, carrying the Chief's desk until he returned to work.

Aside from a drop in his usual bulk, the Chief looked good. Healthy. And that had Ethan's heartbeat easing in relief.

"Chief." Pulling out the chair, Ethan sat down, hooked an ankle around the leg. "You wanted to see me?"

Flat white brows sat over sharp, brown eyes. There was a reason why he'd acquired the nickname 'The Bull' over his tenure. The man was stubborn, all wide shoulders and hellfire in his eyes, a Bull set to charge when challenged. A fierce defender of the law and those who fell under it; aside from his parents, there was no one Ethan admired or respected more.

"There's a few things we need to discuss, Ethan. During my absence I know that left a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. I want you to know you've done a fine job, son. Fine job. I'm proud of you for holding down the fort."

Considering the Chief didn't dole out praise often—or at all, come to think of it, Ethan found himself momentarily at a loss for what to say.

"Um...Thank you?"

"Save the thanks, son. I don't blow smoke. If I say you put in good work, it's because you've been hauling ass to cover mine. And I appreciate the effort. It hasn't gone unnoticed or unappreciated, by me or my Miriam." Tom's smile spread, revealing tobacco stained teeth and a fanning of wrinkles around his eyes. "The reason why I asked you to come see me is...well, there's no easy way to say this son. I've decided to retire."

Stunned, Ethan's mouth fell open.

"It's time. I shoulda retired ages ago." Sighing, Tom leaned back in his chair, the leather cracking from the shift in weight.

Clearing his throat, Ethan took a moment to process. To absorb. It was true that at sixty-seven the chief was the oldest to carry the mantle on Haven, but he'd kept himself in shape and could run circles around rookies young enough to be his grandchildren. To Ethan, Tom Creedy had been indomitable. Ageless. A permanent fixture of the first precinct.

"When?"

"Soon. Thinking I'll make the announcement in eight...maybe ten weeks. The New Year will mark thirty-eight years on the force. Thirty-eight years." Tom exhaled heavily, smiled, and then shifted his sharp gaze to Ethan, held there. "I want to bring you up to take my place."

Knocked with another staggering punch, Ethan's head reeled on his shoulders. "Chief..."

Tom raised a hand, and that's all it took to silence him. "You're the best I've got here, son. Solid record. At thirty-five years of age, coming up on seven years with the badge and you've never missed a day. Not one. You put in the longest hours and understand that this job isn't just a job, but a lifestyle. It requires sacrifice, discipline and commitment. Added to your job performance, there's an entire team out there who respect you. Depend on you. Hell, they already call you Chief."

Ethan's cheeks flamed hot and he imagined he was red as a drunk on a weeklong bender. Carlos Suarez, his partner of four years, had started it as a joke when Ethan had first stepped in the temporary role. Soon the name had spread like wildfire. "They don't mean it with any disrespect, Sir."

"Son, I'm not mad or the least bit offended. I won't pressure you for an answer right yet. This desk comes with some serious accountability." He leveled hard eyes. "Means you won't be in the field. The paperwork is a bitch that never quits, and this phone—" his laugh barked out dry as dust, "well, you'll find that out for yourself in due course. Think it over. I'll be returning to the office on a temporary basis to clear the way. We'll pin things down in a month or two once you've had some time to let it all sink in."

The walls squeezed around him, his head swam and the ground tilted under his feet. Noise buzzed loudly in his ears as Ethan mumbled something as the Chief shook his hand, clapped him on the shoulder before sending him on his way. He'd managed to hold himself together long enough to make it to the men's room, where he locked himself in a stall.

And puked.