Chapter 1
At exactly 10:45 p.m., heavy rain began falling over the quiet town of Westbridge.
Police Constable Riya Sharma stood beneath the station veranda, watching the rain strike the empty road. She tightened her ponytail and checked her watch for the third time.
Her night-shift partner was late.
Again.
“Looking for someone?”
The deep voice came from behind her.
Riya turned and saw Sergeant Adrian Cole walking towards her. His uniform was soaked, his sleeves were folded neatly above his elbows, and a fresh cut marked the side of his forehead.
“You are fifteen minutes late,” she said.
“And good evening to you too, Constable Sharma.”
“You’re bleeding.”
Adrian touched the cut and glanced at the blood on his fingers.
“It’s nothing.”
“That is what stubborn men always say before collapsing.”
A faint smile appeared on his face. “Are you worried about me?”
“I am worried about completing the shift without having to explain why my partner fainted.”
Before Adrian could reply, the radio on Riya’s shoulder crackled.
“Unit Twelve, reports of a disturbance at Rosewood Apartments. Possible domestic violence. Neighbours heard screaming and breaking glass.”
Riya immediately reached for the patrol-car keys.
Adrian’s playful expression disappeared. “Let’s move.”
They ran through the rain and entered the patrol car. Riya drove while Adrian contacted the control room for further details.
Although they had worked together for only three weeks, everyone at the station had already noticed the tension between them.
Riya followed every rule.
Adrian trusted his instincts.
She wrote perfect reports.
He hated paperwork.
She believed emotions had no place in police work.
He seemed determined to prove her wrong.
When they arrived at Rosewood Apartments, a frightened woman stood outside holding a little girl against her chest.
“He’s still inside,” the woman whispered. “My husband has been drinking. He threatened us with a knife.”
Riya gently guided the woman behind the patrol car.
“You are safe now,” she assured her. “Stay here with your daughter.”
Adrian looked towards the apartment building. “I’ll enter first.”
“No,” Riya replied. “We enter together.”
“Sharma—”
“We are partners, Sergeant.”
For a moment, he stared at her. Then he nodded.
They approached the apartment carefully. The front door was partly open. Broken glass covered the floor, and a man could be heard shouting from the kitchen.
Adrian entered first, with Riya close behind.
“Police!” he called. “Put down the knife!”
The man appeared suddenly and rushed towards them.
Everything happened within seconds.
Riya saw the blade.
Adrian saw it too.
He pushed Riya aside just as the man swung the knife. The blade cut through Adrian’s sleeve and sliced his upper arm.
Riya reacted immediately. She restrained the attacker, forced the knife from his hand and secured him in handcuffs.
When backup arrived, she turned towards Adrian.
Blood was running down his arm.
“You’re injured.”
“I’ve had worse.”
“You pushed me.”
“He was coming at you with a knife.”
“I could have handled it.”
“I know.”
His answer caught her by surprise.
Adrian stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“I didn’t push you because I thought you were weak, Riya. I pushed you because the thought of that blade touching you terrified me.”
For the first time since they met, she had no clever reply.
The rain poured through the broken doorway. The flashing blue and red lights from the police vehicles reflected across Adrian’s face.
Riya carefully pressed a clean cloth against his wound.
“You need stitches,” she whispered.
“Will you come with me?”
“To the hospital?”
“Yes.”
She looked into his eyes and realised that he was no longer joking.
Something had changed between them—something dangerous, confusing and impossible to ignore.
“You’re still completing the incident report,” she said quietly.
Adrian smiled through the pain.
“There she is.”
Riya tried not to smile, but failed.
Neither officer noticed the man standing across the road beneath a black umbrella. He watched them silently before raising a phone to his ear.
“The female officer has become important to him,” he said. “Now we know how to break him.”
Then he disappeared into the rain.
