Chapter 90: Sydney and Jalen’s Reckoning

Karla pulled out of the precinct parking lot and merged onto Peachtree, heading north. The afternoon sun caught the windshield at an angle that made her squint. Jalen sat in the passenger seat with his head against the headrest, staring out the side window at nothing.

She glanced at him, then reached for the steering wheel controls. “I’m calling Sydney now.”

He didn’t respond.

Karla pressed the button, and the call went out through the car’s Bluetooth. It rang twice before Sydney picked up.

“Hey Karla, what’s up?”

“Hey. Listen, I’m in the car with Jalen. Are you at work?”

There was a pause. Karla could hear office sounds in the background — a phone ringing, someone laughing at a desk nearby.

“Yeah, I’m at my desk. Why? Is everything okay? Is Jalen okay?”

“Jalen is fine. He’s right here with me. We’re both okay.”

“Soooo, is there a reason you’re calling me in the middle of the day?”

Karla glanced at Jalen again. He was still looking out the window.

“There’s been a development in the shooting investigation. Something significant. It pertains to you specifically, and we need to come talk to you about it in person. Are you able to leave work early today?”

There was a longer pause this time. Karla could hear Sydney processing.

“Karla, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

“I promise you Jalen is fine. He’s healthy, he’s sitting next to me, he’s not in any new danger. This is something we need to discuss with you in person, not over the phone. Can you leave?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I can leave. I’ll tell them I’m not feeling well. Can you meet me at my place? I can be there in thirty minutes.”

“That’s perfect. We’ll head there now.”

“Karla.”

“Yeah?”

“Just tell me one thing. Did someone die?”

Karla looked at Jalen one more time. He had finally turned his head toward the speaker.

“No, Sydney. Nobody died.”

A small, audible exhale on the other end. “Okay. Okay, I’ll see you in thirty minutes.”

“See you soon.”

Karla ended the call.

For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. Jalen had gone back to staring out the window. They were on the connector now, headed north into the afternoon traffic that would only get worse the closer they got to Buckhead.

Karla glanced at him again. “You okay?”

Jalen was quiet for a long beat. “I don’t know.”

She let that sit. She didn’t try to fix it. After a moment, she reached over and put her hand on his thigh, and he covered her hand with his without looking at her.

A few more minutes passed before she spoke again. “Do you want me to stay when we get there? Be in the room with you while you tell her?”

Jalen exhaled slowly. He thought about it for a long time before answering.

“I think it should just be me and her. She’s going to need to react, and I don’t want her to be managing how she reacts in front of someone else. Even you.”

Karla nodded. “Okay.”

“I can grab a Lyft back when we’re done. You don’t need to wait around.”

“Jalen, I can come back and pick you up. It’s not a big deal.”

“I know. I’d just rather ... I don’t want there to be a clock on it. I want her to be able to take however long she needs. And I want to be able to be there for as long as she needs me to be.”

Karla nodded again, slower this time. “Okay.”

She didn’t fully like it. He could tell she didn’t fully like it. But she wasn’t going to argue with him, not today.

They drove the rest of the way mostly in silence. As they got closer to Sydney’s complex, Karla started checking her mirrors more carefully than usual. Old habit by now. She took two unnecessary turns through residential streets to make sure no one was following before she finally pulled up to Sydney’s gate.

Jalen reached for his phone and texted Sydney. A moment later, the gate buzzed open.

Karla drove through and pulled up to the entrance of Sydney’s building. She put the truck in park but didn’t take her hands off the wheel right away.

“You’re sure,” she said.

“I’m sure.”

She turned to him then. Her eyes were searching his face, looking for something. He wasn’t sure she found it, but after a moment she leaned across the center console and kissed him slowly. He kissed her back, his hand coming up to cradle her jaw.

When she pulled back, she rested her forehead against his for a second.

“I love you,” she said. “Call me when you want me. Doesn’t matter what time.”

“I will. I love you too.”

He opened the door carefully and eased himself out, the familiar tug across his abdomen reminding him that he was still healing. He closed the door, gave her a small wave through the window, and started toward the building entrance.

Sydney was already there, standing just outside the doors. She was still in her work clothes wearing a soft pink maternity blouse and slacks, her blonde hair pulled back loosely. Her hand was on her belly without her seeming to realize she was holding it there. Her face was tight with concern.

Karla’s car pulled away behind him.

Sydney walked to meet him halfway up the path, her eyes searching his face the same way Karla’s had a minute before.

“Jalen, what is going on?”

“Let’s go inside.”

“Tell me right now if it’s something bad.”

“Syd. Inside.”

She held his eyes for another second, then nodded and turned toward the door. He followed her up to her unit. She unlocked it, held the door open for him, and locked it behind them after he stepped through.

The condo was warm and lit by the late afternoon sun coming through the big windows in her living room. He could smell something faintly citrusy, likely some kind of candle she liked. He’d been here many times before. The familiarity of it made what he was about to say feel even harder.

She set her keys on the side table and turned to him. “Couch?”

“Yeah.”

They sat down side by side on her cream-colored couch. Sydney turned her body to face him, one foot tucked under her. He could see her hands trembling slightly in her lap.

Jalen sat with his hands on his knees, staring at the coffee table. She waited. She wasn’t pushing him. She was just waiting.