Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 72856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
My eyes ran over the table as I passed it, and I froze at what I saw on it.
My eyes focused on the paper, and I bent over the table as I stared in disbelief.
My stomach dropped at what I was reading.
Amelia Davis, a nurse at Kilgore Memorial, has been accused of blackmailing a prominent business man in this community. Detectives are still gathering evidence and confirming the facts but enough had been gathered for a judge to issue an arrest warrant. She was arrested last night at her mother’s home on extortion charges and will be arraigned later this afternoon.
My heart pounded.
“Did you read this?” I asked my brother.
My brother turned around, his brow furrowed.
“No, what?” He asked, dropping the spatula he’d been using to flip eggs and walking over to me.
I threw the paper at him, then ran back into the bedroom to grab a shirt and shove my feet into boots.
I was grabbing my wallet and keys by the time Jack had gotten through the entire article.
I glanced at my phone before I shoved it into my pocket but didn’t see any missed calls.
Jack jumped into the passenger side of my truck as I started the old girl up, and we rode in silence to the police station.
My mind was reeling.
Why hadn’t anyone called me?
What the fuck was going on?
“You do realize that there’s something seriously wrong here,” Jack said.
I tossed him an exacerbated look.
“Of course I know something’s fucking wrong here,” I said. “She didn’t do any of this.”
Jack gave me a look.
I started to get angry.
“Mia’s not like my ex-wife,” I said through clenched teeth.
He didn’t say anything.
God, would he ever fucking trust me?
We arrived at the station in less than five minutes, and I parked the truck illegally right in front of the station.
None of the boys from the fire station, nor the police department, would have my truck towed. You don’t piss off your brothers.
Luke saw me the moment I walked in, and I saw the moment he realized I was upset.
His back straightened, and his eyes widened.
Luke was the assistant chief.
He was also a member of the SWAT team, and a very good friend.
Right now, though, I wasn’t liking him very much.
“Where is she?” I barked.
Luke’s brows rose.
“Where’s who?” He asked.
I clenched and unclenched my teeth.
“Mia Davis,” I said.
His head turned.
“The paper said she was here, that you arrested her for extortion,” my brother explained with a sigh.
Dawning awareness appeared on Luke’s place.
“She’s yours?” He asked.
I nodded stiffly.
“This whole fucking thing is weird as hell,” he said, looking at his watch.
I looked at my watch, realizing that it was five past six in the morning.
What the fuck was my brother doing at my place so early, anyway?
“What’s weird about it?” Jack asked.
“You mean other than he arrested an innocent woman?” I asked sarcastically.
Luke ran his hands through his hair.
“She’s not exactly arrested…she’s being questioned,” Luke explained, leading us through a maze of hallways, down into the bowels of the station.
He stopped at a plain brown door and opened it.
Luke went in, but I stopped in the doorway, taking in the scene in front of me with disbelieving eyes.
“What the fuck?” I asked.
Mia wasn’t in cuffs. She wasn’t being treated poorly, either.
In fact, she looked like she was better than okay.
She was laughing with Nico, of all people, looking at his phone as he swiped through picture after picture.
On the table in front of her there was a plethora of food and drinks.
A coffee from Starbucks and what looked to be the remnants of breakfast from McDonald’s.
I cleared my throat and both Nico and Mia looked up.
Mia stiffened.
“I told you not to bother him so early!” She cried, shooting an accusing glare at Nico.
Nico held his hands up.
“It wasn’t me, Chiquita,” he said. “Promise.”
She harrumphed, then burst into a huge smile as she got a look at me.
“Did you get dressed in the dark?” She wondered, looking down at the shirt I was wearing.
It was the same one I was wearing yesterday, and so were the pants.
I shrugged as I entered the room, taking a seat at Mia’s left.
Jack followed me in, but I ignored him.
He wasn’t on my favorite people list right then.
“Tell me what the hell is going on,” I demanded.
Luke took up positon against one wall, and Jack followed suit on the other.
Nico shoved his phone back into his pocket and crossed his arms over his chest.
Mia bit her lip, looking first at Luke then at Nico, before she turned back to me.
“Someone is blackmailing my ex, I mean…Colt’s father…and trying to pin it on me,” she said finally.
“But not you,” Jack said.
Mia’s eyes went wide.
“Of course not me!” She cried. “I haven’t seen him, or spoken to him, in over a year and a half now.”
Jack shrugged unrepentantly.
Mia’s eyes turned to me.