“I’m never living this down,” Axel groaned from the bedroom.
“Neither am I,” I called back, but honestly, I was too blissed out to care.
46
PLOT TWIST: APPARENTLY, “I’LL FIND THEM FIRST” ISN’T WHAT DETECTIVES WANT TO HEAR. #LEGALADVICE
AXEL
“You’re implying this was a good thing?” I snapped, my voice cutting through the room like a blade.
The detective’s hardened eyes met mine.
“Axel,” Ryker warned from his chair across the room.
I stood up, crossing my arms over my chest, glaring at the law enforcement officer in front of me. “No, he can explain himself. How my fiancée getting attacked is somehow a good thing. I’d like to hear this.”
My eyes briefly locked with Dakota’s, and using the wordfiancéethis time felt different than any other time I’d said it. There was more truth behind it now. Something real and raw that made my chest tight.
Her pupils dilated slightly, and I saw her breath catch. Even in the middle of this nightmare, that electric current between us was undeniable.
“What I said was”—the detective spoke his words slowly, like I was a child who couldn’t comprehend—“he did this in a public area. There are multiple security cameras. We’re alreadytracking them down and following his path. Identifying him will be much easier than?—”
“We already know who’s behind this,” I reminded him, tension coiling tight between my shoulder blades.
“You suspect. You don’t know for sure. And frankly, Mr. Pierce, your theory about organized crime might not align with the evidence. This looks more like random street violence. It’s our job to find the actual perpetrator and lock them up.”
“Random?” I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Someone sends us threatening black roses, and then Dakota gets attacked? That’s not random.”
“Correlation isn’t causation,” the detective replied. “We see attacks like this all over Chicago. Young woman, alone at night, valuable jewelry. Could be a robbery gone wrong.”
“Well, thank God for crimes against women. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have a job.”
“Axel!” Ryker snapped.
It was only the sharp tone of my friend that drew me out of my cloud of rage. I ran a hand over my face, the lingering dampness from the bath still clinging to parts of my hair where Dakota had run her fingers through it, reminding myself that this detective was supposed to be on our side. But, honest to God, when he started implying that this brutal attack against Dakota was somehow beneficial? How the hell was I supposed to react to that?
Dakota had been violently assaulted and could’ve been killed. How dare anyone suggest that was in any way good?
“I’ve got what I need for now.” The detective stood up.
“That’s it?” The disbelief in my voice was evident.
“For now.”
I ground my molars together, tasting copper. “How quickly will you arrest him?”
“These things take time, Mr. Pierce.”
“We don’t have time!” I motioned toward the black roses still sitting on my kitchen counter, their thorns looking more menacing under the dim lighting. “Someone left us a threatening note?—”
“Which you failed to report until now.”
“And now they’ve escalated to physical violence.”
“Someoneattacked her,” the detective corrected with maddening precision. “This is a big city, Mr. Pierce. Random violence happens every day. We can’t assume every crime is connected to your … celebrity status.”
“Celebrity status. Like this was about fame and not about someone threatening the woman I …”
