She shook her head, gripping her hands tighter. Trying not to think aboutlethal things, and knowing he was trying to keep her distracted. “No, I’m pretty straight and narrow and boring.”
His mouth curved ever so slightly. “We’re riding to the police station in the middle of the night in my cruiser. I don’t think you’re boring.”
She laughed, though it bordered on hysteria. No this wasn’t boring. It was terrible. But she was just overreacting. If she breathed, thought it through, this was just a bunch of odd coincidences.
It had to be.
“So, look, I can’t help but speculate. Occupational hazard.” Because she needed this to be her imagination and nothing else. “So please tell me I’m just a writer out of touch with reality. Because what it feels like is someone involved with the kidnapping figured out who I was, found or made that card, then left it on my porch in a threatening manner—during or after trying to break into my apartment.” She looked over at Royal.
His gaze flicked to her then back to the road. He said nothing.
Which didnothelp the tightening anxiety in her chest. “Tell me that’s far-fetched,” she demanded, knowing she sounded a little panicked.
“Okay, it’s far-fetched.”
“Royal.”
“Do you want the truth, or do you want me to say what you want to hear?”
“I want the truth, and I want the truth to be what I want to hear.”
He pulled into the parking lot of the Bent County Sheriff’s Department, parked the car and then looked at her.
“I know you’re scared. You’ve every right to be.” His tone was firm and reassuring. He knew what he was doing and everything was going to be okay.
She could almost believe it.
“That’s why we’re going to go into the station, talk to the sheriff, and maybe Detective Beckett, and decide what to do to make sure you’re safe.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, any calm she’d managed to grab onto evaporating. “Oh, no, don’t call Copeland.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’ll tell Audra. Audra will tell Rosalie. And together they’ll worry and fuss andworry.”
“Okay, I’ll tell him not to tell Audra.”
Franny shook her head. “He won’t be able to lie to Audra.”
“All the cops I know are great at lying.”
“Sure. But not to the fiancée they love. Hopefully.”
His expression was dubious, but she didn’t want to argue about this. She wanted… Oh, God, she didn’t know.
“Come on.” He got out of the car, and she had no choice but to follow. He led her into the station. It wasn’t bustling exactly, but there were more people and more things going on than Franny might have expected for this time of night.
Phones ringing. People talking in low murmured voices.
Royal led her into a room that looked like some kind of break room. “Sit here. Help yourself to some coffee or water or whatever you can scrounge up in the fridge. I’m going to gohandle the evidence and make those phone calls and I’ll be right back, okay?”
She nodded, not knowing what else to do. This felt like an utter disaster. So she sat at the table. The room was cold, the chair was cold. Everything felt cold and…out of body.
But Royal crouched down in front of her. “Franny.”
She stared at him. His face was becoming familiar, which was strange. She’d had coffee with him twice. Talked to him in the street once, well twice if she counted him responding to Albennie’s kidnapping. No…three times. She’d seen him in passing the first day she’d moved in. Still, it wasn’t enough to be comforted by someone’s presence.
Except he was a serious, capable police officer. He’d helped her, multiple times. She was in good hands. Everything would be okay, because what other option was there?
