Sacrificial Muse (A Sabrina Vaughn Novel) by Maegan Beaumont Page B

She flashed the paper at Strickland, and he winced at the shoeprint.
    “Sorry, but that’s what you get for—”
    “No. Not that. I forgot about the UA Mathews ordered me to drop.” She sank into her chair and scrubbed a hand over her face. “I was supposed to have it done by end of shift yesterday.”
    “It’s just after seven,” Strickland said, glancing at his watch. “Mathews doesn’t get in for another hour. If you hurry, you can get there and back before he shows.”
    She didn’t have time for Mathews’s bullshit drug test. She needed to be here to catch Anderson so she could get to the bottom of this whole crazy mess, because despite Strickland’s belief that it was just Croft messing with her, she was unconvinced. Regardless, she stood and shrugged into her coat. If Mathews had his way, she’d be out on her ass, and if the conversation with Ben this morning was any indication, he wasn’t in the mood to pull said ass out of the fire. She was on her own this time. “I was supposed to have it done yesterday—unless you have a time machine in your pocket, I’m screwed,” she said.
    Strickland kicked his feet back up on her desk and smiled. “Just get going—I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

SIXTEEN
    Twenty minutes later, Sabrina signed into the walk-in clinic SFPD contracted to collect their UAs. The receptionist recognized her immediately and smiled, taking the draw order smudged with Strickland’s shoeprint that she slid across the counter. “Good morning, Inspector,” she said before answering the phone.
    Sabrina flashed her a small smile and took a seat in the waiting area. Looking around the crowded room, her optimism took a nose dive. There were at least ten people ahead of her. No way was she getting back to the station before Mathews showed up. She reached for her cell and started to text Strickland to give him an update.
    “Sabrina Vaughn.”
    Her head jerked up at the sound of her name. A male tech in a white lab coat stood in the doorway leading to the exam rooms, staring right at her. She knew him. His name was Bradley.
    “Come on back,” Bradley said, cocking his head toward the hallway behind him. He held a clipboard, a clear plastic cup resting on top.
    Sabrina stood and pocketed her phone, taking a quick glance around. Everyone was looking at her, most of them shooting her dirty looks for jumping the line.
    “You didn’t have to do that,” she said as soon as the door was shut. Sometimes people gave officers preferential treatment. Some cops liked it, took advantage of it, even. It just made her feel uncomfortable. She had a feeling this preferential treatment had more to do with the fact that she was dating Liam Henry than the fact that she was a cop. Bradley and Liam had met in college and, according to Liam, they’d been friends ever since.
    “It’s the least I could do after last month,” he said, moving down the hall forcing her to follow. “You have no idea how long Liam and I have wanted to organize a police department blood drive.”
    “You two did all the work—all I did was get the okay for you guys to park your mobile unit in the station lot for a few hours.”
    “Which we wouldn’t have been able to do without your help, so … thank you,” he said.
    She tilted her head to the side. “Whatever you say, but this makes us even, okay?”
    Bradley smiled at her. “You might not feel so generous after I get done with you.”
    “Excuse me?” Her hand twitched toward the butt of her SIG. An involuntary response that he caught immediately.
    His eyes followed her hand’s progression, and he responded with a nervous chuckle. “Mathews ordered blood and hair samples on top of the UA this time. Sorry,” he said, flashing her the paperwork on his clipboard. There, under the dirty smudges left by Strickland’s shoe, was the order. All three collection boxes were checked. Mathews was swinging for the fences.
    She forced herself to relax. “Of course