“We have a warrant for your trailer and your car,” he told me. “Do you have any weapons inside that we should be aware of?”
“I have a hunting knife under my mattress,” I mumbled. “And a pocket knife in one of the kitchen drawers.”
“Okay,” he said. He walked me over to a spot by the police cars. “Don’t move, do you understand? Don’t do anything stupid, son, and this will go by easily.”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “I won’t.”
And so I stood there, helpless, as they ripped apart my life without hesitation or care. They tossed around my stuff like it was worthless as they searched through every inch of what little I’d built for myself. Of what I’d bought with my hard-earned money. What they were looking for was beyond me, but the damage they caused as they tore through everything would take me forever to fix or replace.If there was any fixing it.
When Johannson and some other officer turned their attention to my car, I watched them more closely and hoped to hell they wouldn’t treat it like crap, like they had my home. Most of my money went into keeping that car running. It was my lifeline. I didn’t need a bunch of cops wrecking it and costing me more money than I could afford.
I also knew I’d have to explain the hidden money in the trunk, which I knew didn’t look good, considering the circumstances. I was ready to cite a mistrust in banks, even though my mistrust was in Aidan going through my mail.
Their search of the interior was at least decent. They emptied my glove compartment and dumped the papers I had in there on the lawn.
“There’s a safe under the carpet,” I said when they popped my trunk. I wasn’t stupid. It was better to cooperate than hope they didn’t find it. “There are no weapons in it. It’s just money.”
“Okay,” Johansson replied. He flipped up the rug and found the compartment where I kept my safe. He pulled it out and set it on the grass.
“The key is with my car keys in the kitchen.” At least, they had been in the kitchen. Who knew where they put them as they moved everything around.
He just nodded. I waited as they tracked down my keys and flipped open the lid. A quiet exchange of words rolled through them. Or maybe they were loud as fuck. Who knew?
All the blood had rushed from my head the minute they opened it, and I saw what was inside. The world tipped around me. My stomach turned violently, bile rising in my throat, and I dragged in an unsteady breath. All the money I’d worked my ass off to save was gone. In its place was a pile of expensive-looking jewelry. Only one person would’ve taken my money and planted stolen jewelry in its place.
Aidan.
This was his way of making me regret my refusal to do his dirty work. This was payback for standing up to him.
This was going to destroy me.
“I think I’d like that lawyer now,” I whispered, my voice almost inaudible.Though I wasn’t sure how much good it’d do me at this point.The pile of jewelry was damning.
“What’d you say?” Johannson demanded. He stepped closer, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the safe.
“I said I think I’d like that lawyer now,” I repeated a little louder, feeling incredibly small as I watched my world fall apart right in front of me.
“Smart choice, kid,” he said. His hand touched my elbow. “Let’s get you back to the station to be processed.”
I barely heard him. There was no way I could talk myself out of this one. No one would believe me. I had no evidence. And fuck if I could afford a good lawyer. I was screwed.
CHAPTER 42
maverick
The incessant, quiet tick of the clock on the wall drove me insane. It beat against my skull with every passing second. The worst of it was that the clock was broken. The second hand ticked, but the minute hand didn’t move, and neither did the hour hand. It was me stuck staring at an endless loop of time that ticked by in a way that made no sense. It left me with nothing but the spiraling questions in my head.
How long had I been handcuffed to an interrogation table?
How long were they going to keep me here?
Was I ever going to get a lawyer?
Was the lawyer going to be able to do a damn thing to get me out of this?
Was I going to jail?
Could I prove Aidan had framed me?
