Chapter 35:

Sharon opened her eyes a little and saw Flynn tucking his shirt inside his pants before zipping them. She grabbed the night-robe that was lying on the edge of her bed and put it on quickly while getting on her feet. Flynn was already at door with his hand on the handle, when she took his arm in her hand, and made him turn around. He frowned at her and she knew he was upset.

"Andy…" she started, but wasn't sure how to proceed. She hated that it was so hard for her.

"I should go. I'll see you at work tomorrow," he said coldly in a low voice, but she continued to hold him.

"Andy, please. You know how I feel about you. I…"

"Don't force yourself. Good night." He said calmly and turned back to the door.

His arm slipped out of Sharon's grip just as she opened her mouth and said, "I love you too." She half-whispered it, but he heard her well and turned back around quickly. She didn't look him in the eyes at first, but then her gaze moved up hesitantly and their eyes met.

"God, I hate this," he muttered and bent down to kiss her for the last time. His hands grabbed her waist at first, and then moved to her back and brought her body closer to his. He was sure that she could feel his heart, as it was beating so forcefully in his chest.

Sharon brought her hands to his cheeks and closed her eyes hard, trying not to cry again. After a few moments, he stopped the kiss reluctantly and leaned his forehead against hers for a split second, before pulling back and looking at her.

"Good luck with… everything," he said and she nodded sadly. "Don't hesitate if you need me for anything."

"I won't," her voice was shaky and she cleared her throat to cover it up.

"Okay, well… bye," he said when he couldn't find anything else to say, sounding like a little, disappointed child.

"See you tomorrow," she smiled, trying to stifle a cry. Flynn opened the door and stepped out of the room without looking back. Sharon closed the door quickly and the tears started to trickle down her cheeks uncontrollably. She leaned against the door for a moment with her hand on her mouth in attempt to stop the crying, but it didn't work, so she walked back to her bed and lied down, sobbing into the blanket.

A few minutes later, Flynn was already out on the street, walking to his car. He had no idea that two men were watching him from inside a dark BMW.

"Hernandez, this is the guy you need to whack," Richard said to the man sitting next to him in the passenger seat and pointed at Flynn.

Charlie Hernandez squinted at the distant figure but he couldn't see him well. "No problem," he said hesitantly. "When do you want me to do it?"

"I thought about letting him live a little longer and suffer from being fired, but, no... Do it tomorrow. But I want you to wait and do it when he's with my wife. You've already seen what she looks like earlier. You just follow him or her when they leave work, and I'll make sure they meet somewhere public," he watched Flynn getting into his car and driving away. "This is very important, Hernandez. Don't screw this up."

"And you, don't forget to promote me like you promised," Hernandez said with a serious face.

"If everything goes the way I want it to, sure. If not - you're dead," Richard said calmly and started the car.

"What did he do to piss you off so much?" Hernandez chuckled, even though he was terrified. He knew that sending someone to kill him wouldn't be a problem at all for Richard.

"I've got my reason, and it's none of your business," Richard said coldly and drove away.

(***)

Sharon walked to the murder room the next morning and found the entire squad there, already working. The thing she liked most about them, besides being really good at what they do, was how diligent they all were.

"Good morning," she said loud enough for all of them to hear. They all greeted her back, except for Flynn, who didn't even look at her. He sat at his desk and stared blankly at a paper he was holding. Sharon looked at him for a moment with a sealed face, then approached Provenza and leaned forward so she can talk to him without the rest of the squad hearing.

"Can I help you?" he asked grumpily before she could talk.

"Um… what's wrong with Lieutenant Flynn?" she asked quietly.

Provenza looked across the room at Flynn, and then back at Sharon. "I don't know. He's been like that from the moment he set foot in here."

"Maybe he's not feeling well?" she looked at Flynn when she said it, but then her eyes moved back to Provenza, since he didn't answer. She saw he was looking at her impatiently and returned him a frown.

"He's just fine. I know my partner. It's probably a problem with a lady," Sharon stood straight the second he said it, and tried to look nonchalant. "Which, I have no knowledge about, and it's annoying as hell," he muttered.

"Well, if it's nothing serious, then… thank you," she was about to go to her office but Provenza spoke again.

"You never cared about any of our personal lives. What's changed?" he looked at her, intrigued. Sharon swallowed hard and tried to find something to say back, but his question caught her off guard.