We follow him through the bullpen, down a hall, and into a conference room. “Wait here,” the detective says, then shuts the door with enough force to rattle the windows.
“What crawled up his ass?” Emi whispers.
“Ain’t no love lost between Austin PD and the Ranger Division. They think we’re cowboys who don’t play by the rules.”
She smirks, her brow arching in the cutest way. “And what do you think of them?”
Mitchell stalks back into the room, and I give Emi a quick wink. “One of these days, I’ll tell you.”
Sinking into a chair across from us, the detective flips open a folder. He spreads half a dozen photographs out on the table. The remains of Emi’s car, some burned wires, and a blasting cap. “So, Ms. Marsh. Do you have any idea who might want to kill you?”
Chapter Twelve
Emi
I hold it together until we’re back in Jasper’s truck. But once he starts the engine, I stare out the window while Detective Mitchell’s words play on a loop in my head.
“We found the remains of a cell phone detonator. The techs estimate a quarter pound of C4 under your right wheel well—close enough to the gas tank, it was guaranteed to burn.”
“Emi? Talk to me.” At a stop sign, Jasper reaches over to rest his hand on mine. The warmth of his touch grounds me, though it doesn’t make it any easier to find my voice.
“I thought for sure it was an accident,” I say softly. “But someone really did try to kill me.”
Jasper squeezes my fingers once, then returns his hand to the wheel. “Fowler won’t get away with this, sweetheart. Mitchell might not have much to go on, and he’s a colossal ass, but he has a respectable close rate.”
“We don’t even know that it is Fowler.” I stifle a snort. “Ignore me. Of course it’s Fowler. Or someone he’s connected to.”
“Do you always go to the grocery store on Thursday nights?” Jasper asks. “Or right from the station?”
“How did you know I’d come from work?”
He chuckles. “You were dressed to the nines, perfect makeup, heels…”
Oh. Right.
My cheeks heat, and I fiddle with the hem of my sweater to give myself something to focus on. “Saturdays. I normally shop on Saturdays.”
The trees pass by in a blur of green and brown. Why do I suddenly feel like my whole life is nothing but a blur? I work all the time. Mama died when I was twenty-three. Every year, my sister asks me to visit her in London for her birthday, but there’s always been a story. Or at least that’s what I’ve told myself.
What if I never get the chance to see her again? I don’t remember my life flashing before my eyes last night, but if it had, would I have seen anything but work?
“Emi?” Jasper brushes his hand along my arm. “We’re here.”
I jerk away from him, but the seatbelt traps me with nowhere to go. “What happens now?”
“I’m gonna walk you inside and make sure you’re safe. Your boss hired bodyguards, right?” he asks.
“Y-yes. The building is secure, but he stationed two rent-a-cops in the lobby. My cameraman, Kyle, has a family. He was okay with a bodyguard following him home at night. I wasn’t.”
“Dammit, Emi. These guys aren’t playing around. If you had been two steps closer to that car?—”
“I know!” Tears well in my eyes. “I’ve worked in network news for almost twenty years. Death threats have always been part of the job. They never bothered me before. But they were never so real before either.”
“They’re real now, sweetheart.” Jasper cups my cheek and skates his thumb gently below the bruising. “Once you’re inside, I gotta go see my brother and slap some sense into him. But I’m only leavin’ if you promise me you won’t go anywhere alone.”
“I’m not taking one of Nelson’s bodyguards to the bathroom with me,” I say with a gentle shake of my head. “I draw the line there.”
Jasper laughs, the sound so rich and almost happy. “Good. But, I’m serious, Emi. You don’t leave the station. Not for lunch, drinks, a walk…nothin’. I’ll be back at seven.”
