Page 10 of Outrun The Devil

“I am still firmly against it, Ms. Park, and I half a mind to take out a restraining order against you if you continue,” Olivia said firmly, almost cutting off the woman mid-sentence to assert her dominance. And before she could allow Ms. Park to object or try her hand at talking Olivia into it, she ended the call.

Rachel Park's persistence was undeniable, but Detective Olivia Collins remained staunchly opposed to the idea.

The last thing she wanted was to become the subject of an article, glorified as Phoenix's hero. It went against her nature to seek attention and recognition. She was driven by a sense of duty, not a desire for fame. Olivia made it clear to Rachel that she had no interest in participating in such an interview, firmly closing the door on any possibility of being portrayed as a hero in the media.

Olivia had expressed her opinion to Rachel Park on numerous occasions, emphasizing the importance of giving credit to all the heroes who worked tirelessly to keep the city safe. She believed that law enforcement, as well as the fire department and paramedics, deserved recognition for their collective efforts. Olivia made it clear that singling her out as a hero would undermine the collaborative nature of their work and the sacrifices made by others in the line of duty. She encouraged Rachel to broaden her perspective and highlight the contributions of the entire public safety community.

Chapter Three

Olivia arrived at the station, the grandeur of the massive brick building that loomed over her like an unyielding fortress. Its walls stood as a testament to the years of resilience and strength, much like Olivia herself.

The scent of freshly brewed coffee wafted from the busy lobby, mingling with the smell of paper and ink from the flyers on the bulletin board. She heard the echo of her footsteps as she made her way past the officers that lingered around the lobby, chatting with the receptionist.

“Marvin, Jack.” She nodded, and they returned the nod. Those two were always at the front desk trying to flirt with the clerks on duty. A smirk tugged on the corner of her mouth as she thought about how neither of them would get anywhere because both women were spoken for even if they didn’t tell either man.

To be young, she thought.

The reception area was a cacophony of sounds, with phones ringing, keyboards clacking, and voices murmuring. One of the clerks caught Olivia's eye and gave her a nod of recognition and a smirk of her own.

The hallway to her right beckoned her towards the detectives' bullpen, her desk was the one closest to the captain’s office. The air was thick with the aroma of freshly sharpened pencils and dry-erase markers. Other detectives were typing away on their computers, talking on the phone, and scribbling notes on whiteboards. The photographs on the walls showcased the gravity of their work, and Olivia couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at being a part of it.

As she neared her desk, Olivia remembered all the paperwork. Her inbox overflowed with it, and the sight made her groan with annoyance. It was the one part of the job she wasn’t overly excited about but then again, what cop liked paperwork? It was a tale as old as time. Before she could even begin to sort through it, a voice boomed through the bullpen.

“Collins!”

Olivia winced at the tone, feeling a sense of unease rise within her. Maybe she should have answered the phone. She tried to maintain a neutral expression as she greeted the captain. Her suit jacket was discarded over the back of her chair.

“My office, now,” he commanded, the hint of irritation palpable in his voice. The eyes that were on her could have burned holes in her back as if they too no doubt wanted to know what the captain had to say to her.

Or maybe they were excited at the prospect she might get fired. Most of the cases did fall into her lap before they fell into theirs, and they were often left with what she couldn’t take on. The sloppy seconds as someone once said to her.

Olivia was prepared to be scolded as she walked into his office. It was the same song and dance. She always colored outside the lines and it rubbed everyone wrong. Including the fact that she’d gone through a lot of partners in the last five years. Olivia preferred to work alone and she wasn’t afraid to make that known.

The detective touched his desk, trying to cheat and see if she could get anything off it. But it came up fruitless. It was hard to say when her visions worked and when they didn’t. And right now, it would have been nice to have a leg up on whatever this was.

Work wasn’t the only place she tried to cheat, though. During those teen years with Jessica, she needed all the extra help she could get. So yes, she might have brushed items off Jessica to help her navigate that time in her life.

Captain Mike Colson's office was spacious, with cream-colored walls and a large wooden desk that dominated the center of the room. The captain himself was a burly man, with a stern face and a no-nonsense attitude. He wore a navy suit that was slightly too tight around the waist and a red tie that looked like it had seen better days.

Mike had always been a mentor for her. Over the years, he’d become like family, he and his wife.

But after working with one another for long enough, they’d learned to keep things professional at work. The accusation of playing favorites was a line they didn’t want to cross or deal with.

His eyes met with hers. Mike didn't say anything at first, just looked at her with a mix of annoyance and frustration. Olivia knew what was coming. She always did. It was more than a gut feeling about him calling, and it was only confirmed when he called her into his office.

“Collins, any reason you’ve been dodging my calls?”

She shoved her hands into her pockets and offered a shrug. “You didn’t leave a voicemail?” A smirk threatened to tug on the corner of her mouth, but she refrained. If she’d been any other detective, Colson wouldn’t have allowed this kind of insubordination.

Plus, with the blinds open so that the bullpen had a full view, both Olivia and Mike had to put on a show. They had to put aside their personal feelings toward one another. In this very room, they weren’t family, they were a boss and his employee.

He sighed and stared at her for a moment longer. A hint of a smirk on his lips before it faded. Another sign of the causal nature of their relationship. Colson was the male figure in Jessica’s life that she looked up to. With her father’s passing when Jessica was young, Olivia was grateful when Mike Colson stepped into that void when he did.

Folding his arms as he leaned back in the chair, he looked out the window for a moment. “I have a case for you,” he said finally.

Now he had her attention. Not that Olivia was eager to hear someone else was dead. That was always unfortunate. But there was no denying the thrill that came with solving a case and bringing them to justice. But more than that, if he was calling her into his office to assign the case it meant it was bad.

A lingering sense of unease settled in the pit of her stomach that she couldn’t shake.