“You son of a bitch.” Matt covered several inches of ground.
As they’d been trained, the detectives took a cautionary step back, their hands immediately going to the butt of their guns.
“I’d advise you to keep your distance, Mr. Turner,” Holloway warned.
“And I’d advise you to kiss my ass,Detective.”
“Everyone stop! Please.” Kat stepped between them all and put a hand up. With a weary sigh, she set her gaze on Casey and Holloway. “Look, Detectives. I know you have a job to do, but Matt did not kill my father, and neither did I.”
“If that’s true, you two should have no problem coming to the station to talk with us.”
Though he could tell it was the last thing she wanted, Kat nodded hesitantly. “Fine. We’ll go. You can ask your questions, and we’ll answer them. After that, you can quit wasting your time with us and find the real killer.”
Damn. Not only was she smart, she was tough.As tough as they come.
“I’ll go to the station, but you’re not putting her in a goddamn interrogation room like some fucking criminal. You want to question Katherine, you can do it at her father’s house.” Not waiting for their response, Matt turned to Zade.
“I want you to drive Kat and…” He looked to the two detectives. “Which one of you will be questioning Katherine?”
It was clear neither one was happy about the way Matt had taken over, but he didn’t give a flying fuck. If they wanted answers to their pointless questions, this was how they were going to get them.
“I’ll go with Miss Marsh,” Holloway told his partner. “You drive Turner to the station. When you’re done with him, you can come by the Marsh estate and pick me up.”
Still hesitant to concede to Matt’s plan, Casey finally gave the other man a curt nod. “Fine. I’ll text you when we’re on our way.”
Kat’s eyes rose to meet his, her grief and anxiety-driven fear prevalent. Matt hated being separated from her, but knowing Zade had her covered helped some. Plus, even though he thought the guy was a dick, having Detective Holloway as an additional escort didn’t hurt, either.
“I don’t want to leave you,” Kat told him softly.
“I know you don’t, sweetheart.” Matt cupped her cheek. “It’s going to be okay. Zade will be with you the entire time, and I’ll be back with you before you know it.”
“They shouldn’t be doing this to you.” He caught a tear with his thumb. “I know you didn’t hurt Dad.”
That she trusted him so completely after everything they’d been through floored him. “You’re right. Thank you for believing me. They will, too, as soon as I do their little dance.” Wanting to end this shit show as soon as possible, he leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Go. Be as open and honest as you can be with them. I’ll be with you again, soon.”
With a squeeze to his wrist, Kat worried her brow but nodded. “Okay.”
Pressing his lips against hers in a brief but meaningful kiss, Matt watched as she, Zade, and Detective Holloway walked away.
The second they were out of earshot, Matt looked down at Casey and said, “He upsets her any more than she already is, it’ll be both your badges.” Then, using his height to his advantage, he moved even closer to the pretty detective before adding, “And since you’re so…familiarwith what me and my team are capable of, I’m confident you know I can make that happen.”
A slight twitch of her hazel eyes was the only sign his intimidation tactic had worked. It was enough.
“Follow me.”
Detective Casey lifted her chin as she led Matt to her department-issued sedan. Within minutes they were on the road and headed to her district’s station house.
They’d been on the road about ten minutes when the mounted police scanner crackled through the car’s tense air.
“All units be advised, we have a ten-thirty-eight in progress. I repeat, we have a ten-thirty-eight in progress. Officer needs assistance, traveling northbound highway two-forty-one, west of Loma Ridge. Officer reports two vehicles attempting to force them off the highway. The vehicle the officer is in contains two civilians. All available units in the vicinity report to the scene, post haste.”
Matt’s stomach dropped as his head swung to face the detective. “Two-forty-one is the way to Marsh’s estate. An officer and two civilians? It has to be them.”
Thankfully, she didn’t try to placate him by acting as though it could be someone else. Instead, she grabbed her phone from her pocket, he assumed so she could call her partner. The phone began to ring before she got the chance.
She shot him a look. “It’s Holloway.”
“Put it on speaker.”
