Chapter 21

"I'm fine, Arthur; you can go back." Mira pulled away from the hug and stood by the kitchen counter.

"Let me stay, please," Arthur pleaded, fear still lingering in his eyes, his hands reaching for her but falling short.

"I haven’t forgiven you, and I don’t want you to stay here," Mira said, against her own wishes.

"If that’s what you want." Arthur stepped back. "But keep your phone close and call me if anything happens, okay?"

Mira neither nodded nor refused; she just stared at him.

Arthur left with a heavy heart, got into his car, and sighed deeply before driving toward Aldric’s house.

Aldric was in his study, reading a book, when he saw Arthur and immediately knew why he was there. He set the book down and gestured for Arthur to sit across from him.

"I fucking told you no one touches her, what part of that wasn’t clear?" Arthur remained standing.

"Calm down, she’s unharmed, we didn’t go against your wishes."

"You broke into her apartment and took Morse, what if she’d been there?"

"She wasn’t there, and we knew it. Funny how you’re more concerned about a cat than an actual person. Poor Miller."

Arthur eased a bit, sat on the sofa, ran a hand through his hair, and let out several sighs.

"Where’s Miller?"

"He wasn’t there when my guys arrived, we just wanted to show her we could reach her. Miller was already long gone with Morse." Aldric spoke plainly.

"What are you planning next?"

"So you can ruin the parts where my plans might involve your lover?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Arthur met his gaze with a dead stare.

Aldric rose from his chair and walked into the room. "It’s good that you’re dating, take her to dinner, bring her home, go out together but that’s it. She must not step further than your bedroom, do you understand me?"

"I’m not obligated to listen to you."

"But you are obligated to the system we built together, Arthur." Aldric locked eyes with him. "Did you tell her that? Does she know you’re in this willingly, that you built the system side by side with me, that you’re just as much a part of this as I am? Or are you only interested in taking her to bed?"

"Don’t talk about her." Arthur’s jaw tightened. "I’m doing my best not to hurt her while staying true to our system. Don’t push me to do the opposite, Father."

"You should take a break, take her on vacation. Until Diane’s case is settled, you’re not to come to the office or involve yourself in any work related to it," Aldric declared.

"What are you planning for her?"

"I'm not planning anything. She'll be suspended for the way she's worked, let me handle it while she's not on the case." Aldric walked out of the study.

Arthur stayed in the study for a long time before heading home. He wanted to see Mira; his heart ached for her, but she had refused. It was only the second time he’d been worried about someone other than his work, the first was when his mother had left, now, Mira seemed ready to leave, and she just might.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Mira was looking for Morse and Miller. After the police left, she started asking around and eventually found out from Rosa, a tenant who fed stray animals and kept an eye on the neighborhood, that Miller had left with Morse some time earlier.

"Maybe an hour before you came home." Rosa crossed her arms, "there was someone waiting by the car, I only saw her for a second when she turned."

"Thank you." Mira walked to the block instead of going home.

Miller sensed something was coming and left with Morse, her house looked normal, but she suspected she couldn’t even think freely there anymore, she believed Morse was safe and walked to the bench where she had once sat with Arthur.

Arthur’s lies, his concern, Diane’s prediction, Carmen’s disappearance, Susan and now Miller… Mira had a lot on her mind and in a rare turn of events that sometimes happened to her, she found herself unable to think. Though she knew she didn’t need to do much since she would be suspended soon, she was already wondering what to do during that time, maybe visit her friend out of state?

"Yes, I will go out with my friend... but for now I have to go to Vasic." Mira was no longer worried since she knew Morse was safe; she had planned to visit Vasic after going home to feed Morse, she had forgotten for a moment, but now she was on her way.

Petra Vasic glanced at the drive and listened to the story Mira had just told. "No way she was Susan's daughter. Are you sure you’re not mistaken?"

"She told me," Mira replied with a shrug.

"Susan was the complete opposite. I knew her from a case and she was nothing like what Diane has done," Petra said with amusement. "Who would believe she was her child?"

"Children are the mirror of what we want to be most of the time," Mira remembered her own father saying.

"Arguably," Petra shrugged.

Mira left her house to give herself space to work and drove off; she thought about what to do next. She didn’t want to go home, but nowhere else seemed worth going. For now, all she had was time and his thoughts slammed into her like a truck. After considering it over once or twice, she turned into his parking lot.

"I wasn't expecting you." Arthur was both amused and surprised to see Mira at his door when he opened it after hearing a knock.

"Who were you expecting?" Mira stepped inside and set the keys on the table.

"Nobody." Arthur followed her in. "I just didn’t think you’d want to see me so soon, but I’m glad you’re. Coffee or tea?"

"Glass of water and you." Mira draped her coat over a chair and sat down. "Talk to me."

"I’ve apologized more times than I can count and I still mean it, but I know that’s not why you’re here." Arthur leaned against the kitchen counter. "I know I wasn’t honest from the start, but I never shared your information with them. I never told them what you were doing, how you were doing it, or anything that would count as being a spy."

That was all Mira needed to hear. She let out an inward sigh of relief, stood up, walked over to him, and kissed him.