An officer approached the car, pulled the driver out, and slammed him against the concrete while another yelled at Rome to drop his gun.
“He didn’t do anything,” I tried to protest as they pulled Rome out of the car.
“It’s okay,” Rome mumbled as he stood outside the car, with multiple guns from the officers pointed at him. “They’re just doing their job.”
I exited the car on shaky legs. “He’s my bodyguard,” I tried to explain to the officers. “He was just doing his job.”
“Ma’am, we need you to calm down,” a female officer tried to placate. “You’re bleeding, do you need an ambulance?”
“No!” I protested at the same time as Rome sternly said, “Yes, she does.”
I shot him a glare, but he only gave me a small smile and a look in his eyes that I couldn’t quite decipher. “Let them take you to the hospital,” he sweetly urged, as he was cuffed and led towards a police cruiser. “I’ll meet you there, okay?”
Chapter Nineteen
ROME
It had been far too long since I had seen Bec. She was injured and had a nasty cut on her forehead. After hours of pestering them during my interview, the detectives finally confirmed she was taken to the hospital for her injuries. With how bad the cut was, I was assuming she had also sustained a concussion.
I was allowed to make one phone call, and I was at least able to send someone her way. If I couldn’t be with her, I neededsomeone I trusted to be with her. I didn’t want her to be alone, especially now.
Watching her get taken from me was my worst nightmare. The fear and confusion on her face as she was snatched away from me would be etched in my memory. It would haunt my dreams for the rest of my life. The moment that car door had shut, cutting off my access to her, a switch flipped in my mind and body. I hadn’t thought through any of my choices; I simply acted in whatever way would get me to her the fastest.
I would need to track down the guy whose bike I’d stolen and reimburse him for the costs. I had a feeling he was less than pleased with me at the moment. The guy had been standing across the street, having just pulled over. He seemed like a douche anyway, so I didn’t mind stealing from him too much.
“We’re almost done out here, and then you can go,” an officer explained when she poked her head into the interrogation room I was currently stuck in.
After I had been placed in the back of the squad car, I was driven here, put in this room, and haven’t been allowed out since. Logically, I understand why. In my pursuit of getting to Bec, I had broken a handful of laws. The officers also needed to confirm I wasn’t involved in the initial kidnapping.
The driver was in a separate interrogation room, and the passenger—the man who had actually grabbed Bec—was taken to the hospital since he was still unconscious when the police had arrived. I hadn’t meant to hit him as hard as I did, but I didn’t regret it either. He deserved much worse for what he had done to Bec.
I sighed and leaned back, trying to stretch my very sore body. The adrenaline had waned long ago, leaving a plethora of sore muscles and an aching back. Which wasn’t shocking; Ihadjumped onto a moving car.
I scrubbed at the dried blood on my hand. Despite using a helmet to break through the glass, I had cut myself on the way into the car. It didn’t look deep enough to need stitches, but it still hurt like a bitch. It may need an X-ray, though. I wouldn’t be shocked if I had broken some bones from the force of punching through that glass roof.
I was praying they would let me go soon. I had been interviewed by two separate sets of detectives. It looked like no charges would be pressed against me due to the extenuating circumstances, but I could see in their eyes that at least one of them believed I was involved.
They hadn’t interviewed Bec yet, and I wasn’t sure what the actual abductors were saying about my presence. I was banking on the fact that I had stopped them and the car was enough to prove my innocence. Well, my innocence in the abduction at least. I did steal a bike, run multiple red lights, and evade police cruisers for several blocks. To keep Bec safe, there was no law I wouldn’t break.
The door opened again, revealing a very exasperated-looking police officer, his hair mussed from what I assumed was his hands running through it. “You can go now,” he explained. “Please go.”
I stood and followed him out to where my sister, Livia, was yelling at the receptionist.
“Is that what you do? Detain innocent men for crimes they didn’t commit?” She asked loud enough that the entire station could hear. “Innocent! I tell you, innocent!”
I chuckled at the outburst, gaining her attention. Livia practically threw herself at me, “Oh, thank God! I didn’t know if you were going to prison or something,” she mumbled against my chest as she held tight.
“As we explained, ma’am, we were only interviewing Mr. Cipriani about today’s events,” the officer who had let me outexplained. “He was never going to prison. At least not without a fair trial.”
Livia let go and glared at him, "Interviewing him? He was detained in a cell for hours! He’s innocent!”
“Okay, I was in an interrogation room. But they gave me painkillers, and even food,” I mumbled, grabbing Livia by the shoulders and pulling her towards the exit. “Please give me a call with your findings. You have my number,” I called out to the officer.
He nodded in understanding and turned around, probably trying to get as far away from Livia as possible.
“Asshole,” she grumbled under her breath.
“Liv,” I chastised, “it’s more likely you’ll be detained for disrupting the peace than me for all the various laws I broke this afternoon.” I then pulled us out of the station, onto the busy sidewalk.
