Bad Mother

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Otherwise, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Text copyright © 2023 by Mia Sheridan All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by Montlake, Seattle www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781662509766 (paperback) ISBN-13: 9781662508226 (digital) Cover design by Caroline Teagle Johnson Cover images: © Sidorenko Olga / Shutterstock; © LightFieldStudios / Getty Images To my team. Grateful doesn’t begin to cover it. CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE CHAPTER THIRTY CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT EPILOGUE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR CHAPTER ONE Reno, Nevada, the one place on earth she’d vowed never to return to. Unfortunately, that pledge had blown up in her face, an outcome that was an iffy mix of fate and her own emotionally charged decision-making. Would you change it? Sienna asked herself for the hundredth time. And for the hundredth time, she still wasn’t certain of the answer. Only . . . yes, yes, she was sure of the answer. She’d do it again if given the choice. She just hadn’t anticipated the choice leading her here. The cloudless desert sky—vivid blue and endless—stretched above as she pulled open the door to the police department before stepping into the blessed relief of the air-conditioned building. “May I help you?” the woman at the front desk asked on a smile. Sienna smiled back, though not quite as widely. “Sienna Walker here to see Sergeant Dahlen.” “Oh, hi! You’re the new detective from New York, right? I’m Chelle Lopez. Nice to meet you. What do you think of Reno so far?” “Hi, Chelle. Nice to meet you too. And I’m actually from Reno. Originally, I mean.” A look of surprise lit Chelle’s round face. “Oh, well then, welcome home.” Sienna schooled her expression, even while a knot twisted in her stomach at Chelle’s words, and she watched as the woman picked up the phone and let Sergeant Dahlen know she was there. “She’ll be out in just a minute.” “Great, thanks,” Sienna said as Chelle picked up another call. Soon she was laughing at something the person on the other end said and lowering her voice as she chatted on what was obviously a personal call. Sienna had barely taken a seat when a very tall, striking woman in her fifties with white-blonde hair in a spiky pixie cut entered the lobby, her eyes focused on her. “Sienna Walker?” She stood. “Yes. Sergeant Dahlen? Nice to meet you in person.” The older woman, who was wearing a black pantsuit, a black shirt, and red high heels, moved toward her and shook her hand quickly as Sienna lifted her chin, attempting to see eye to eye with the woman and failing. “You can follow me this way.” Sergeant Dahlen led her through the station, buzzing with the midday activity of a busy police force, her long legs causing Sienna to have to hurry to keep up. They entered an office, and Sergeant Dahlen closed the door behind them. She gestured to a chair in front of her desk, and they both took a seat as she picked up her phone and asked someone to come to her office. Sienna did a quick sweep of the room, which was completely devoid of clutter and appeared as squared away as the woman who inhabited it. She replaced the phone in its cradle, leaned back, and crossed her legs as she perused Sienna. “Your captain, Darrin Crewson, and I are both army veterans.” “Yes, he told me, ma’am.” “Ingrid.” She paused, her eyes narrowing very slightly. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my fellow brothers and sisters in arms.” Sienna nodded, her nerves tingling. “Yes, and vice versa, Darrin said.” If an icicle morphed into a person, Sergeant Dahlen is what it would look like, Sienna thought. Lovely in a cold, sharp way. Sergeant Dahlen—Ingrid—lifted her chin as though reading Sienna’s thoughts and agreeing. “Even so, I don’t need nor want a troublemaking renegade causing me headaches and unnecessary paperwork. I hate unnecessary paperwork.” “No, ma’am. I don’t intend to cause this department—er, especially you—any trouble. What happened in New York was a . . . unique situation. I won’t let it happen again.” Her tone sounded weak, even to herself. She straightened her back, attempting to convey the message of strength with her posture where her voice had failed. Sienna had a strong feeling Sergeant Dahlen had a low threshold for weaklings. The older woman studied Sienna for another moment, and she resisted the urge to squirm. If that was the look the detective sergeant used when she was interrogating a suspect, the department must have an insanely high solve rate. Anyone would crack under that glacial gaze. Her eyes moved to the window, and Sienna let out a silent breath. “We have a major staffing shortage right now in the Reno PD, so when Darrin requested the transfer, that made things a little easier on our end.” Sienna resisted a flinch. “But,” the sergeant went on, “Darrin also told me you’re a damn good detective when you’re not going off half-cocked and that any department would be lucky to have you.” Thank you, Darrin. For that and a dozen other kindnesses. “I’m going to