Les and I are already moving by the tone of his voice. I wrap a fluffy towel around her, then turn to him. “What kind of problems?” I know by the look on his that it’s about me.
“The cops are downstairs. Mani hasn’t let them through the gate, but they have a warrant.” He looks at Les, then back at me. “For your arrest.”
“What?” Les hisses.
Ryder tosses my clothes to me. “Get dressed.”
Les disappears from the bathroom to throw on some clothes while I slide mine back on. Hand in hand, we walk down the stairs and out the front door. Blue lights are flashing everywhere behind the gates. “Let them in,” I tell Ryder. He calls someone, and the gates swing open; cop cars fly up the driveway.
Steve, one of the guys I’ve worked with my wholecareer, steps out of the front car, looking smug as hell. He hated me on sight because of who my dad was.
“Zane Ayers, you’re under arrest,” he declares loudly.
“For fucking what?” Les asks, stepping in front of me.
Steve steps closer. “For the murder of Jay Hoover.”
I feel my stomach drop to my feet. Jay isn’t fucking dead. But I know how this goes and don’t open my mouth, and none of us react. Kissing Les on top of the head, I step out from around them, turning my back to Steve. He doesn’t waste any time slapping cuffs roughly onto my wrists. As he starts reading my rights, Les’ face falls. “I’ll be fine, Beautiful.”
“We’re right behind you,” Ryder assures me. I just nod. I don’t know what they can do if we can’t prove Jay is still alive. Murder? How the hell did he pull that off?
Steve shoves me in the back of the cop car, and before long, they have me in an interrogation room at the station, cuffed to the table. He could have brought me in through the back. Instead, he perp-walked me right through the fucking station; all eyes turned on me. Jay laid everything out so I look like a damn dirty cop, and it worked.
“I never took you for a murderer, Zane,” Steve comments in front of me. He knows I won’t answer; I know better. I hear a commotion in the main part of the station and turn to look over my shoulder through the window.
“Where is he?” Les growls, and I have to hide my grin.
They just pissed off the wrong woman.
Mywoman.
Chapter 21
Alessa
The cop cars hadn’t even left the driveway with Zane before we ran inside to get dressed, including Holden. Ryder broke every speed law to get here, surprising the shit out of me. Something big changed between them today.
Busting into the station, I don’t stop at the scared-looking receptionist behind the desk. We shove through the main doors where I know Zane is, and everyone gives us a wide berth.
“Where is he?” I growl at one of the cops I saw at the house.
“Interrogation.” I turn to that voice and come face to face with the Chief of Police, Hartley Cruz. He’s one of the youngest ever to gain the title, and he fucking hates me. The feeling is mutual.
“He’s coming with us,” I demand. “Now.”
“Can’t do that, Ms. Poletti,” he says with a sneer, green eyes narrowed at me. “He’s the number one suspect.”
“For a man that isn’t even fucking dead?” Gage snorts, leaning against one of the desks. “Nice detective work.”
“Are you willing to answer some questions?” Hartley asks, knowing I’m not going to. “Or are you still sticking to your story of Jay kidnapping you?”
My blood starts to boil at the insinuation that I’m lying about thehell I went through. I didn’t step foot in here after that, so Zane must have told them. I jerk the folder from Ryder’s hand when he holds it out for me. Slapping the folder against the closest desk, I stab my finger at it. “There’s your proof,” I hiss. Holden made copies of everything in the event we would need it, including stills from the videos of Zane and me locked up in that fucking basement. “Where’s your proof?”
Hartley shakes his head. “This is a closed investigation.” That means they don’t have shit.
“Fine,” I declare, catching sight of Zane through the window in the back. Without waiting, I march back there, swinging the door open. “Let him go.”
“You don’t have any authority here!” the cop who arrested him says, standing up.
