There’s a knock, and I nearly throw up. All I can do is watch as Caleb leaves my side and slowly opens the door to reveal a uniformed officer.
“Good evening, I’m Officer Kevin Brown. Are you Caleb Miller?”
Just the formality of the officer’s words make me brace myself against the wall.
“I am,” Caleb replies, his voice strong and unwavering.
“We received a report of an assault here by several witnesses who claim they were here for a…discussion…and that you—unprovoked—attacked them.”
My pulse spikes, and my stomach flips. Unprovoked? Attacked? So not only is Tony a violent pervert, he’s also a liar with absolutely no shame.
Caleb sighs, running his fingers through his hair. “Let me guess. Tony Morelli is the one who made this report?”
Kevin nods. “That’s right. Him and three of his friends.”
Just hearing Tony’s name suddenly sends me back to the club—to his hands on me, dragging me from the dance floor and out the door to that van. Who knows what would have happened to me had he gotten me in there? Had Caleb not stepped in and saved me.
“Well, Officer, what Tony is saying is not exactly accurate—”
My heart feels like it’s about to explode. I can’t just stand by and watch him be interrogated like this.
“That’s not what happenedat all,” I interject, stepping forward out of the kitchen. Officer Brown looks up as I take Caleb’s side. “As you can see, Tony kicked in our door, and he and his friends attacked him. One of them even had a knife!”
Waving my arms around, I actually see the knife lying on the floor and point to it. “See? Right there!”
To my surprise, the officer actually stops pressing Caleb and kneels down to examine the knife. Then he goes to the door and sees the lock and the frame where it was broken in.
“And you’re saying Tony and his friends are responsible for this?” he asks. “Why?”
“Because he tried picking me up at the club a few days ago,” I snap. “And by picking up, I meankidnapping. He tried to drag me into a van, and Caleb…stopped him.”
“And so you’re saying they came back here for what…revenge?”
“Or me!” I reply, trying not to shout. “He was shouting for me when he came in.”
“And then they broke the door down, and your…”
“Step-brother,” Caleb says.
“Your step-brother took matters into his own hands and defended you and the house by breaking one man’s ankle and another man’s nose?”
I feel like I’m on trial. “Yes. That’s what happened.”
The officer nods and scribbles something in his notepad. It’s hard to get a read on him. I can’t tell if he’s writing me off or actually listening. But Caleb is looking down at me with surprise—like he’s proud of me. He totally was not expecting me to step up like this. But how could I stand by and let them railroad him?
The moment drags on as the officer continues with his notes. I’m shaking so hard I have to cross my arms to keep it from being obvious.
I look up at Caleb and see confidence in his eyes. He’s always so sure that everything will be okay. But will it really?
“Yeah, that sounds about right,” the officer says, shutting his notebook. I’m stunned. Even Caleb looks stunned. Am I hearing things?
“Excuse me?” Caleb asks.
The officer shrugs and grins. “Well, Tony Morelli is well known in town for being—and please don’t repeat this—a bit of a dick.” I can’t help but laugh as Caleb wraps a protective arm around me. “And I’m sure when we run prints on this knife, they’ll match one of his boys.”
Sliding his hand into a latex glove, he lifts the knife and places it into a plastic evidence bag and seals it shut.
“So…that’s it?” Caleb asks.
