“I was planning on staying in my apartment, but now that it is a crime scene…”
Rylie finished for me as I trailed off. “I’ll find us a hotel to stay in tonight. We were only here to pack things up and get them ready for her move to Chicago.”
“Everything is sold out locally. Between the concert, the Giants game with the Dodgers, and the festival at the fairgrounds, you might not get anything on this short notice.”
“I’ll work on it.” Rylie said.
“You mentioned going to Chicago? We won’t be able to allow you to leave the state till this is settled.” The shorter cop said.
“It’s not likely we could flee anywhere without the media knowing about it.” I said, “I’ll give you my cell number. I’ll give you a fucking confirmation code, whatever it is that you need to get patched through—”
“Sweetheart, stop.” Rylie said, turning my face to look at him. Those gray eyes met mine with a new, determined focus. “He is just doing his job. He knows that we aren’t a flight risk. He also knows he will be able to get a hold of me, whether we are here or in Chicago.” His face turned hard as he faced the cop, and said, “Isn’t that right, officer?”
“I’m sure that is the case, Mr. Allen, however —”
“I need to be somewhere safe, and that is back in my own home in Chicago. I don’t feel safe here.” I hissed through my teeth. Rylie’s eyes didn’t leave mine, and there was understanding there. I was freaking out and trying to put on a front. I was scared, and I had just watched my ex try to kill not only me but also him. Then I watched him die.
“Who else do you feel you are in danger of? Mr. Devereaux is deceased. He can’t hurt you.” The taller one said.
I blinked. I could do nothing but blink. Rylie simply said, “My fiance and I refuse to say anything else until we have had a chance to talk to our lawyer. If you wouldn’t mind, please step out of the room, so we can do so.”
The cops looked at me and I nodded. I wasn’t lying. Once the media knew that Rylie and I were involved in a domestic incident, it would be mayhem. I wanted to get back to Chicago and hole up in the condo as soon as possible.
With a heavy sigh, they left and Rylie pulled out his phone, hit a few buttons. After a long conversation, I only understood bits and pieces of, hung up the phone, and said, “Pack anything you want to take with you right away. Once they clear the scene, I’ll have movers come and move whatever is left.”
A knot released in my chest as it registered. Rylie would take care of everything. I wrapped my arms around his waist and said, “I know I tease you about the money and everything, but this, this is why I love you. You know how to handle me when I’m freaking out. You just take charge and handle me.” He kissed the top of my head and sighed.
“I almost lost you today, sweetheart.” The sound of his voice breaking with that statement had me looking up at him, and I couldn’t help but reach up and wipe the tears from his cheeks. “I never want to feel that kind of fear again. I will do everything I can to protect you. I would go through hell itself to keep you safe, and I very well may burn in the depths of hell should anyone hurt a hair on that pretty little head of yours.”
I felt the honest truth in those words. I reached up on my toes and kissed him softly. He didn’t release me though, he just pulled me up and kissed me harder. It was a deep claiming kiss. One of fear. One of passion, and one of love.
There was a knock on the door, and the cop came back in to say, “We will need to talk to you again in the morning, and then you should be able to head back to Chicago.”
Rylie’s phone vibrated in his hand, and it was only then I realized he had it. “How did you get your phone?”
He smirked at me and said, “I grabbed it as I pulled you in here.” He looked at the message and then turned to the taller cop and said, “We will be staying at The Glamin on Santana Row.”
He reached into his back pocket though and pulled his wallet out, went to my makeshift desk and wrote something on the back of the card, before handing it to him. “That number gets out, I’ll know where it came from. Do not compromise our safety and your ability to investigate this case.”
The cop blinked and nodded. “I’m assuming it would be better for us to come to you in the morning?”
“Plain clothes will be best. I’d like the media not to get a hold of this. It’s obvious from the 911 call, our statements, your statements, and the body cam footage, what really happened here today. Oh, and Luci’s security code access to the security camera footage, is 0825. I’m sure that will provide you with whatever other evidence you may need. Copies of it are uploaded every ten minutes to a secure offsite location, so I will know if any of it is tampered with. I’m not in any legal trouble, but my lawyer will meet us in the morning. Meet us around 10am? He’s taking a red eye.”
Chapter twenty
Afterwecheckedintothe hotel, I cleaned Rylie’s knuckles and the cut on his temple. He had a few other scratches on him, but I was grateful he was still standing before me. The entire time I cleaned him up, his hands never left my hips. When I was finished, I kissed his forehead, stripped to nothing, and crawled into bed.
Rylie changed his clothes, crawled in behind me, and laid there holding me, as my mind started replaying everything that happened. Justin had gotten through security, into my apartment without damaging the door, and then into my safe. How had he even done that? I felt my breathing quicken, and my heart started to race.
“Shhh, sweetheart. I’ve got you. You’re safe.” Rylie whispered in my ear, and turned me to face him. He kissed my forehead and pulled me closer.
“Even with all the security… all the precautions we have taken in regard to my safety in that apartment, Rylie… Justin got in. Justin was trying to take me back by force.” I gripped onto his t-shirt he had changed into, and looked up at him. “He pointed the gun at us. He would have pulled the trigger, too. I saw it in his eyes. He would have done it if the police hadn’t gotten there exactly when they did.”
Rylie’s chest shuddered slightly, but a moment later his voice was steady in my ear as he said, “I know. I keep replaying it in my head. I can’t figure out how he got in. You changed the code recently to the gate, right?”
“Just last week.”
“I’ll get copies of the security footage and see what we can find so that it doesn’t happen again.” He squeezed me and his voice was strained again, “I installed the best Webster Enterprises could give you. We market it for domestic violence victims. We have to do better. I almost lost you.”
