He sighed. “I’m exhausted.”
I took a sip of my coffee. “I think I can sleep for a week after this.”
“Me too. How’s Reagan?”
“Thankful. Grateful. Relieved like all of us.”
“I bet.” He took another sip. “Let’s get this interview over with so we can get some sleep.”
I took another sip of my own coffee, and then Shawn and I walked down the hall to the room where the redhead was being held for questioning. Just before we entered, he stopped me with a grab of his hand. “Are you sure you’re okay doing this?”
I stared into his eyes, and without missing a beat, I said, “I’ve been waiting months for this.”
“Okay, because you know I can get Shay or someone to go in with me.”
I clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m good.”
And I was. I was pissed, but like Reagan, I was thankful, grateful, and relieved. If some harm had come to Maddison, I’d be throwing this bitch against the wall. She was a monster in my eyes. But I’d had over twenty years on the force, and I knew what we needed to do to make sure this bitch never saw the light of day again.
“Do you want me to take point?” Shawn asked.
I shook my head. “I got it.”
I went in first and started to open my mouth when Katrina spoke. “Sergeant Valor, it’s good to see you again.”
My gaze flicked to Shawn’s as he shut the door, and then I moved my stare back at Katrina and sat across from her. “Again?”
She smirked and adjusted, clasping her cuffed hands onto the table that separated us in the tiny room. I figured she meant because she was watching Reagan through her laptop, and I was always with Reagan, but I let her answer. “Yes, but I’m not sure if I like you better in your suit or out of it.”
“Oh yeah? And when did you see me out of it?”
“Sergeant Valor”—she batted her green eyes—“a lady doesn’t divulge her secrets.”
“All right.” I took a sip of my coffee and peered at her over the lip. She yawned. “Oh, did you want a cup of coffee?”
She laughed. “So you can have my DNA?”
“Why do you think we’d want your DNA?” I questioned. “You’re being charged with kidnapping. We have you on that.” We would charge her with more, but first we’d get her for what we could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, and that was the kidnapping of Maddison. “So let’s start there.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I snorted. “The young woman we rescued from your house. You don’t know who we’re talking about?”
“What young woman?”
I glanced at Shawn, who was taking notes, and then continued. “What are you saying?”
“I don’t know what woman you’re talking about. I woke up from a nap with my hands in cuffs and surrounded by police officers with their guns drawn at me.”
“And why do you think the police officers were there?”
Katrina shrugged. “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”
Shawn leaned forward and placed a picture in front of her. “Isn’t that your car?”
“A lot of people have that car, Detective.”
I got the impression that Katrina thought she was smarter than us. Of course, she wasn’t. “So, tell us how that girl got into your house after she was taken by someone in the same type of car you drive,” I ordered.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I wasn’t the only one there.”
She wanted to play a game? Then we would play. “Who else was there?” I asked. Jack had been taken out of the house before Katrina regained consciousness.
Katrina tilted her head slightly. “No one else was there?” she asked.
I looked at Shawn. “There wasn’t anyone else there, was there?”
“I didn’t see anyone else.”
“So, Katrina,” I said. “I’m going to ask you again. How did the young woman get to your house in a car that looks like yours?”
She opened her mouth to speak but paused for a few beats as her gaze moved from me to Shawn and then back to me. Her shit-eating grin was gone, and she finally said, “I want a lawyer.”
“Great.” I stood. “An officer will come to get you to make that call. They’ll also get a DNA sample from you.”
“I thought you didn’t need my DNA?”
I grinned as I peered down at her. “Don’t you know, Katrina? A hair was found at a murder scene on Thanksgiving. When it matches yours, you’re in hot water for more than just kidnapping. After all, what was it that you called yourself? The Lakeshore Killer?”
Without another word, Shawn and I left the interrogation room. She may have thought that she was smarter than me, but I had been doing interrogations for most of my life. Once Katrina knew I had her backed into a corner, she lawyered up. I usually hated when perps did that because I wanted to get more answers from them, but not this time. I was tired and on the verge of passing out. Plus, I heard they found wood plaques in her basement, and that was as good as any evidence for me at the moment. Shawn and I would gather more, and we’d send her up the creek for the rest of her life. She was lucky we were in Illinois because if we were in a state that had the death penalty, I would make sure the DA asked for it.
“You want to talk about it?” Shawn asked as we walked toward our desks.
“Talk about what?”
He smirked. “That she watched you and Reagan fuck.”
I grinned. “Fuck off. We’re never speaking of that with Reagan either.”
“All right, but she might find out at the trial.”
“I’ll deal with it then. She and Maddie have been through too much already.”
“So have you,” Shawn argued.
“You mean my kids?” He nodded. “Nah. That was Jess being a bitch.”
“True. Now you can rest.”
“We can rest,” I countered. “We got this bitch off the street.”
“Yeah, we did!” We shook hands and shared a brief manly hug. It definitely wasn’t the first case we’d solved, but it was the first that literally felt as though my life depended on it.
By the time I got home, the sun was starting to rise. Walking into my bedroom, I noticed Reagan wasn’t in our bed. The sheets weren’t disturbed, and it looked as though no one had slept in it. When I turned, I ran into her.
“Did I wake you?” I asked.
“No. I didn’t fall asleep. I was just watching my baby sleep.”
I pulled Reagan to me and wrapped my arms around her. “It’s over.”
She drew her head back and looked up at me with her emerald eyes. “Is it, officially?”
“Techs found the malware program on the woman’s computer, the strand of hair is most likely a match, we’re testing all of her knives, and we found a wood carving station in the basement of the house. I’d say it’s over.”
Reagan sighed. “Thank god.”
“I’m going to shower and then sleep for a week.”
“I’ll wait for you.”
I kissed her lips, and then I went to take a hot shower. When I got out, Reagan was curled up on her side of the bed, her back to me. I scooted in, pulled her against me, and kissed the top of her head.
“I think I’m going to go to Michigan with Maddie tomorrow. Make sure she gets there okay,” Reagan stated.
I thought for a moment and then replied, “I think that sounds like a great idea. She may need to see a therapist.”
“Yeah, I was thinking that too. I’m going to stay as long as she needs me.”
“Want me to come with you?”
Reagan turned over and faced me. “Can you?”
“I can go for a few days if you need me too. I can use your laptop to type up my report for the case. Cap knows I need a break—Shawn too. I haven’t had a vacation in a few years. But we have the boys on Wednesday, so I’ll need to be back by then.”
“Okay, I’d love for you to be there too. I think it will make her feel safer.”
&n
bsp; I kissed Reagan’s forehead. “Then I’ll make it work.”
Ethan drove Maddie’s car to the University of Michigan. We had no hotel room, or any plans other than to get her there safely. I’d gotten one of the other bartenders to cover my shifts, but I didn’t think I could work at Judy’s any longer. It was never part of my long-term plan, and I knew that whenever I’d walk out the door (front or back), I’d always fear someone was waiting for me. I needed to talk to Judy. Ethan was certain he’d caught the killer, but what if she wasn’t the only one?
He parked in a campus parking spot for Maddison’s dorm, and we all exited the car. He grabbed Maddie’s bag from the trunk, and I grabbed her hand.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” I asked as we walked toward the door of the building.
“I’m not planning on going anywhere alone ever again.”
I sighed. I hated this. There were so many reasons why I wished it had been me who had been taken. Maddie would be looking over her shoulder for a long time, I was certain of it. But she was also strong, and I knew she’d get through it. She didn’t want to quit school, and I didn’t blame her. Life deals out shit to overcome, and we all have to stay strong to get through it, and I’d raised a tough woman.
“You can always come live with us,” I suggested and looked at Ethan. I hadn’t mentioned it to him, but if Maddie needed to, we’d figure it out. We already needed a bigger place because the week after Christmas we were going to have a houseful of kids—my one and his two.
“I’ll be okay.” She smiled.
We got to her dorm room, and Maddison put her key in the lock. Before she could turn it to unlock it, the door flew open and Maddie was engulfed in arms.
“Finally,” the girl said.
“Ethan drives the speed limit since he’s a cop and all.” The girls broke apart, and we all chuckled.
“Mom, this is Sophie.”
I stuck out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Maddie has told me so much about you.”
“You too, Mrs. McCormick.” We shook hands.
“Please call me Reagan. And this is my boyfriend, Ethan.”
I expected Sophie to shake his hand too. Instead, she engulfed him in a giant hug. “Thank you for saving my girl.”
“Always,” Ethan replied and looked at me over Sophie’s shoulder. I smiled warmly back at him.
My gaze moved to Maddison. “Why don’t the two of you catch up while Ethan and I find a hotel room? We’ll meet you back here and take you both to dinner.”
“Sure,” Maddie replied.
“Maybe we can find a car rental place too?” Ethan suggested.
“Use my car,” Maddie suggested. “I won’t need it while you’re here.”
“Are you sure?” Ethan asked.
She nodded. “I can walk to all of my classes.”
“Okay,” Ethan replied.
“I’ll text you when we’re on our way,” I said.
Maddison wrapped her arms around my neck. “I love you.”
“I love you more.”
Ethan and I left and walked back toward the parking lot. “So, Sophie?” he asked.
I smiled. “That’s Maddie’s girlfriend. I was going to tell you, but she didn’t tell me she was dating a girl until she showed up on Wednesday, and then a lot happened.”
“Understandable.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “What do you say about going somewhere at the start of next year, just you and me?”
“I’d say that I can’t wait.”
“Good. As long as there’s no trial scheduled, I’ll put in for time off.”
“Do you think I’ll be working by then?”
“You mean in the crime scene unit?”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“Maybe. I haven’t heard anything.”
“It’s okay. The right job will come along at some point.”
“That it will.”
We got to Maddie’s car, and Ethan started it up while I looked for the nearest hotel. Thankfully, we didn’t have to drive far because there was a hotel within a four-minute drive. We got a room for three nights, and while I freshened up for dinner, Ethan worked. When he was done, I texted Maddison that we were on our way.
We went to a burger place not far from campus for dinner. Maddie was smiling and laughing, and it put me at ease to know that she would be fine. Even though her relationship with Sophie was new, I could tell they were in love. The way they touched, the way they looked at each other, it was the same way I looked at Ethan. Even if they weren’t meant to last forever, I knew that it was what Maddison needed to get through this rough time.
Since the girls had class in the morning, we made it an early night. “Want to meet for coffee after your first class?” I asked Maddie.
“I’d like that. We can finally have coffee together instead of over the phone,” she replied.
“You’re more than welcome to come too, Sophie.”
“I have classes until 11:45. Then Maddie has class.”
“Yeah,” Maddison agreed. “We usually don’t see each other until dinner.”
“Then we’ll do dinner again,” Ethan cut in.
“Perfect,” Maddison replied.
We said our goodbyes, and as we started to walk away, a thought occurred to me. “Hey, Mads,” I called.
“Yeah, Mom?”
“Are you going to tell your father?” I didn’t need to elaborate.
“I haven’t decided.”
“You should,” I replied.
She looked at her phone in her hands. “It’s still early in Denver.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “You can call me to come back if you need me. We’re just down the street.”
She sighed. “I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” I gave her one last hug before Ethan and I left.
When we got back to the room, I showered while Ethan worked. I wasn’t sure if this was a new Ethan or if it was because of me, but I knew that Jessica had wanted a divorce because Ethan had chosen work over her. I wanted to believe it was because of me as a person—the love of his life—and not because he thought that I would leave him too.
“Almost done?” I asked as I came out of the bathroom, a white towel wrapped around me.
“Almost.” He hit a few keys, and I came up behind him and ran my hand down his chest. “Are you trying to get in my pants, Buttercup?”
I smirked. “Maybe.”
In one quick move, he spun around in the desk chair and pulled the end of the towel, causing it to fall to the carpeted floor. “Looks like I got in yours first.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?”
Ethan stood and picked me up, my legs wrapping around his hips. “Do you remember the only other time we’ve been in a hotel room together?”
“How could I forget?” I leaned down and placed my lips onto his.
The time he was referring to was the May before I graduated high school. We told my parents that I was going to stay at my friend Rebekah’s house, but we really drove to Indianapolis to watch the Indy 500 all day. Literally all day long. We stayed in a hotel the night before the race and drove home after it. The night in the hotel was the one night when we didn’t have to worry about parents catching us, being fast, or being quiet. It was a night I’d never forget because, not only did we spend the whole night connected, it was the night I knew for sure that I wanted to spend every night for the rest of my life with him.
Before Ethan placed me onto the bed, he stopped and turned back around.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He closed the laptop. “Just in case.”
“Just in case what?” And then it hit me. “I thought you caught the person.”
“We did. But you never know who could be watching.”
I shivered at the thought. “That’s creepy.”
“Yeah, it is.” He captured my lips again, and all thoughts of someone watching turned off just like the closed laptop.<
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My back hit the mattress as our mouths worked together. We were starved for each other. What if the killer had killed me, and I would have no longer been able to kiss his lips, feel his breath on my skin, love him? “Thank you.” I broke our lips apart because I needed to tell him. I wasn’t sure if I had thanked him for saving my daughter or not. Everything was still a blur.
He pulled his head. “For what?”
“With Maddie.”
“Baby”—he rose onto his heels—“you never need to thank me for saving or protecting either one of you.”
“I know. It’s just all …”
“Shh, it’s okay. Everyone’s okay.” He brushed my dark hair behind my ear.
“I know.” I wanted to tell him that this time everyone was okay, but I also wanted to forget for the time being. So instead of saying anything further, I started to push his boxers off of his hips, but Ethan stopped me. He got off the bed and rummaged in his bag. He pulled out a condom, stepped out of his boxers, and sheathed himself.
“On your belly, baby.”
I didn’t hesitate to flip over.
“Your ass, mmmm,” he moaned his approval of my backside. I turned my head to look over my shoulder at him and saw him stroking his cock as he stared at my butt. Only once in my life had someone claimed my ass, and that man was staring at it. I wanted everything with Ethan Valor.
I wanted forever.
The sight of Ethan stroking himself as he admired my body was turning me on. My belly clenched, my pussy became wet, and I moaned. His eyes flicked up to meet mine. “You ready for me?”
I nodded, still looking over my shoulder. He stepped forward as I lifted my hips to give him a better angle. Spreading my knees, I’d expected him to line up and enter me. Instead, he ran his fingers through my opening.
“Yeah, you’re ready for me.” I grinned and moaned as his fingers touched just the right spot. The bed dipped, and within seconds, Ethan entered me. He pumped a few times. “Raise up and hold on to the headboard.”
Doing so caused my body to tilt and his shaft to hit the spot that drove me insane with pleasure. He picked up his speed, my tits bouncing with each drive, and Ethan grunted.
“You feel amazing at this angle.”
“Oh, God,” I moaned. I couldn’t say anything else as he kept driving and hitting the spot. He groaned again. I moaned again. The hotel bed squeaked, and the headboard started to bounce off the wall over and over and over.
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