by Rebecca Deel
The police chief focused on Mason. “Where were you from 8:00 until midnight?”
“Here.”
“I assume you have people who will verify your location?”
“I can,” Nicole said immediately.
Mason kissed the back of her hand. “Your testimony wouldn’t hold much weight in court since you love me. Also, you can only account for a few minutes. You fell asleep against me for two hours before Linc arrived. I could have slipped out without you knowing I was gone.”
“I need a timeline, Mason,” Ethan said.
“Why?”
“Someone is accusing you of assault.”
Outraged, Nicole said, “That’s ridiculous. Mason would never do that.”
Mason squeezed her hand in warning. “Who’s the victim?”
“Todd Fitzgerald.”
He dragged a hand down his face.
“He’s lying,” Nicole insisted. “Look at Mason’s hands, Ethan. No bruises or busted knuckles.”
“In this case, it wouldn’t matter. The perp used a hand tool. Missing any tools, Mase?”
He groaned. “I don’t know. I didn’t check when I left the job site at 3:00. I was more interested in taking over the watch at Pet Palace from Linc than counting my equipment. What tool was used?”
“Hammer.”
Mason flinched. “I must have four or five hammers in my collection. Fitzgerald will recover?”
A nod. “He was lucky. A broken arm and a couple fingers. Other than that, bruises over various parts of his body. The perp didn’t use the hammer on his head.”
“He wanted Fitzgerald to live to accuse Mason,” Nicole said, her pulse rocketing. Who was doing this and why? She thought she was the only one with a target on her back. Was the killer trying to hurt her by bringing harm to Mason or setting him up to be arrested? If Mason was out of the way, she would be vulnerable.
“Tell me where you went from the time you left the job site at 3:00,” Ethan said, pulling a notepad and pen from his jacket pocket.
Mason summarized his activities with approximate times for each. “You were a witness yourself to the time I was at Delaney’s.”
“Your altercation with Fitzgerald hit the Otter Creek grapevine the minute you pulled away from the diner.” The police chief’s lips curved. “That grapevine is the most efficient communication system in town.” His smile faded. “We’ve taken fingerprints from the hammer, Mason.” His voice was soft. “We’ll run them to confirm, but my gut says it’s your hammer.”
“He didn’t do it,” Nicole snapped.
“Can you prove it?”
She thought fast, determined that Ethan would not arrest Mason for a crime she knew he hadn’t committed. “I can’t, but Linc might be able to.”
“How?”
“The security system. Rio had cameras mounted all around the house. I know Fortress monitors the feed and the system here records the activity.”
“Mason could have slipped out without detection.”
Mason snorted. “You could have. Not me. I’m not trained in stealth.”
“You’ve been training with Durango and Bravo.”
Nicole’s eyes narrowed. How did the police chief know that information? She hadn’t known until today.
“Self-defense,” Mason said evenly. “I want as much training as I can get to better protect Nicole.”
“Why is Fitzgerald convinced you’re the one who beat him?”
“You know why.”
“Enlighten me.”
“I told him to leave Nicole alone.”
Ethan frowned. “Why?”
“He came to my shop.” Nicole tightened her grip on Mason’s hand. “He warned me to break things off with Mason before I ended up dead like his sister-in-law.”
The police chief refocused on Mason. “You can’t afford to be in trouble with the law, Mason.”
“I didn’t seek him out.”
“You would have.”
A shrug. “I had no intention of getting into a physical altercation with him, but I won’t let him harass Nicole, either. She doesn’t have anything to do with my past.”
“You did end up in an altercation.”
“I didn’t touch him.”
Ethan waited, gaze locked on his face.
“If Fitzgerald had tried to punch me again, I would have defended myself. If Nicole had been with me and he’d tried to hurt her, I would have done more.”
Ethan sighed. “Lucky for you that I was parked close enough to see the whole episode outside the diner.”
Nicole frowned. “Why does Fitzgerald say Mason was his attacker?”
“He doesn’t know anyone else in town except you two, and he and Mason aren’t on the best of terms. Mason is the only person with a reason to hurt him.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little extreme for Mason to beat up a man for warning me to break up with him? I have people in town tell me that all the time.”
Mason turned to her. “Are you serious?”
She squeezed his hand. “They don’t know the real Mason Kincaid.”
He gave a wry laugh. “Funny. That’s exactly what Fitzgerald said when we were in Delaney’s. Do you need any other information from me, Ethan?”
“I want a copy of the security recordings.”
Mason got to his feet. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Nicole waited until he left the room, then said, “You know him, Ethan. You know he isn’t capable of doing this.” She expected the police chief to agree with her since he’d met with Mason every week since his release from prison. She was disappointed.
“To protect the woman he loves, a man will do a lot more than beat an aggressor. Don’t kid yourself, Nicole. If your life is in danger, Mason will do whatever is necessary to save you.”
Mason returned to the kitchen with a flash drive in hand. “Six cameras. Six digital files. The recordings begin at 7:00 p.m. and end at 1:00 a.m.”
Ethan stood and accepted the drive. “Anything you want to tell me?”
“Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t touch Fitzgerald?”
“I have a job to do, and I’ll do it to the best of my ability. That means I follow the trail of evidence wherever it takes me, no matter what my gut says.”
“What does your gut say?” Nicole asked.
“Mason is telling the truth. Someone is out to set him up for a fall and willing to use innocent people to do it.” He turned to Mason. “Between now and 7:00 a.m., give some serious thought to who might hate you enough to send you back to prison.”
Nicole and Mason followed Ethan to the front door. With his hand on the knob, the police chief turned to Mason. “Bring a lawyer with you.”
Ice water flowed through Nicole’s veins as Ethan stepped outside and closed the door behind him with a quiet snick. She looked at Mason. At the sight of his pale face, she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Mason strode out of the police station at 8:45 a.m. with the Fortress lawyer at his side. Andrea Esposito paused at the top of the stairs and glanced at him, her dark hair blowing in the breeze.
“Remember what I told you, Mason.”
How could he forget? “Don’t answer any questions without you or one of the other Fortress lawyers at my side.”
“That’s right. Blackhawk and Kelter will keep digging. They don’t have the reputation of looking for easy answers. Unfortunately for you, someone is wrapping a bow around your neck, hoping the cops will take the gift being offered and blame all this on you.”
Anger burned in his gut. “I haven’t done anything, and I would never hurt Nicole, even if I was furious with her. I love her and need her more than I need to breathe.”
A sour smile curved Esposito’s mouth. “You know what they say about love and hate. A fine line separates the two. You can hate someone with the same passion as you once loved them.”
That would never be the case with them. He knew
it in his gut. Mason shook his head. “I have no life without her.”
“A sweet sentiment, Mason, but we need facts to keep you out of the pokey.”
“I’ll find them.” Whatever it took. He refused to go back to prison for crimes he didn’t commit.
She scowled. “That’s not a good idea. Law enforcement frowns on suspects chasing down leads, intimidating witnesses, and contaminating evidence.”
“I’m not going to intimidate anyone or contaminate evidence. If your freedom was on the line, would you sit on the sidelines and let someone else do the work, especially if the person you planned to marry had a target on his back?”
“We don’t know if the person who attacked Ms. Copeland is the same one framing you. For now, we have to assume these are two separate investigations. The police won’t be happy if you interfere. You could find yourself in jail again.”
The idea made him want to hurl, but what choice did he have? “I’ll be careful.”
“Not what I wanted to hear.” Esposito sighed. “You have my number. Call me if there are further developments. If I can’t shake free to get here, I’ll have Maddox send one of the other lawyers on staff. Be careful, Mason. I’d hate to see your future plans derailed. I’d hate even more to learn you’re dead.”
“I’m not fond of either alternative myself.”
With a few more instructions, the lawyer hurried to her car, and headed back to the airport in Knoxville where the Fortress jet waited to fly her back to Nashville.
Mason breathed in the fresh air for a minute and settled himself down before climbing into his truck. After sending a text to Brian about his approximate arrival time, he drove to Pet Palace. Nicole had asked him to stop by before heading to work. Truthfully, he needed a minute with her after the two-hour ordeal in an interrogation room with two cops at the top of their game. Both Ethan and Rod had hammered him relentlessly about timelines, details, and witnesses. Even though he counted the two men as friends, Mason wasn’t sure whether they believed his story or not.
When he parked in front of the salon and walked inside, Nicole glanced up from the computer screen, phone pressed between her shoulder and ear. Relief shone in her eyes when she saw him. Man, every time she looked at him with just that expression on her face, he fell more in love with her.
After she finished booking a grooming appointment and ended the call, Nicole came around the desk and pressed her lips to his in a hard, heated kiss. When she eased back, she gripped his biceps. “You’re okay?”
Not hardly. “Ethan and Rod don’t use torture to obtain answers.”
“The lawyer arrived?”
“Andrea Esposito is everything Maddox said she was. The lady is a ruthless shark and frustrated my interrogators from the first question asked.”
Satisfaction filled Nicole’s face. “Excellent. I owe Maddox a favor. I don’t know how I’ll repay him, but I’ll find a way. What do we do if Ethan drags you back in for another grilling session?”
An accurate assessment of how he felt at the moment. Grilled evenly on every side. “I’m to answer no questions without one of the Fortress lawyers present.”
“What’s the likelihood of you going back into the interrogation room?”
He tucked her against his chest and breathed in the familiar scent of her shampoo. “The way things are going, a near certainty.” Did someone hate him that much? If Fitzgerald lived in Otter Creek, Mason would point the police his direction. He and his family were the only ones that had a reason to come after him.
He frowned. Was it possible one of the other members of the Fitzgerald family was in town and carrying out a campaign to put Mason back in jail? Maybe Zane could help him figure out if the Fitzgerald family members were still in Liberty.
Much as he would like to go home to see his father, that wasn’t an option, especially now that he was suspected of committing various crimes around Otter Creek. He’d been warned by Ethan not to leave town.
“We’ll figure this out and move forward from here.” Nicole held him tighter. “No one is going to take you away from me. Sorry, Mr. Kincaid, but I can’t live without you now. I need you.”
“I feel the same about you, Ms. Copeland.” He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth before stepping back. “I need to go. We have an inspector coming to the Oakdale site in a few minutes. Who’s keeping watch?”
“Alex Morgan. He went to the back to help Dawn with an Irish Wolfhound. That big, sweet girl isn’t cooperating. She’s not a fan of baths. Alex is in the grooming room, two seconds away if there’s trouble.”
The door opened and Durango’s sniper walked into the reception area. “Daisy is all set but she’s not happy about it.” He squeezed Mason’s shoulder. “How are you holding up?”
“I’ve been better.” Understatement of the year.
“You can trust Ethan and Rod to find the right culprit.” His lips edged up at the corners. “You can trust us to help them find the answers faster. You’re not alone this time, Mason. You have many friends in this town who believe in you.”
An invisible band tightened around his chest. He gave a short nod. “How is Cosmo?”
A chuckle from Alex. “Having a blast with Spenser. Savannah loves him and so does Ivy. He acts like he’s always been a member of the family.”
At least some good had come from such ugliness. Maybe the sweet dog had found a new home. “I need to go.”
“I’ve got your woman and her friend, Mason. An attacker will have to go through me to get to them.” A cold smile. “And I’m hard to kill.”
“Thank you for watching over them.” He lifted Nicole’s hand to his mouth and kissed her palm. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“We’ll be fine. Watch your back, Mason.”
With a nod, he made himself leave the shop and climb into his truck. Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at the job site as the inspector strode toward Brian with his clipboard in hand.
Brian directed him to the right buildings, then came to stand beside Mason. “How did it go this morning?” he asked, gaze locked on the inspector making his way to Building 8.
“About like I expected. Brutal. You don’t want to be in an interrogation room with Ethan Blackhawk and Rod Kelter.”
“I’ll take your word for it. Dean is in Building 7.” He gave Mason a long list of tasks to complete. “By the way, Patton and Fisher are on notice.” He eyed Mason a moment. “Have you given any thought to what we discussed last week?”
“I haven’t had much time between grilling sessions and dodging bullets.”
Brian gave a bark of laughter. “Well, when you have time to breathe, give it some thought. I think it might be time. Our workload is becoming too heavy.”
“You must have employees who are more qualified without my complicated background.”
“You’re the man I trust, Mason. You’ve proved yourself over and over for the past two years. Anyway, get going. You and Dean have quite a list to knock out today.”
“Yes, sir.” He climbed back into his truck and drove to Building 7. Mason found his partner on the second floor. “What have you finished so far?”
Dean rattled off the tasks he’d completed and the two men split the remaining tasks on the list and got to work. At lunch, Mason and Dean ate their lunches under the shade of a nearby maple tree.
“I hear you had a visit from Ethan in the middle of the night.”
Back pressed against the tree, Mason glanced at his friend. “The town grapevine is nothing short of amazing. Yeah, Ethan showed up after 1:00 this morning.” He explained about Fitzgerald and the man’s accusation.
Dean scowled. “Why would you be stupid enough to do something like that? You’d be the first suspect.”
“Definitely the most obvious one.”
“Did Fitzgerald see who attacked him?”
He gave a rough laugh. “Sure. A muscular man dressed in black from head to toe, complete with a convenient ski mask, and a hammer with my fingerprints
on it.”
“Huh. That’s the second tool of yours used in a crime.”
“Believe me, I know.”
“How is the man getting your tools, Mase?”
He dragged a hand down his face. “I have no idea. I lock the tool box in my truck bed every afternoon before I leave the job site.”
“But it’s open all day?”
“I’m in and out of the box several times a day.”
“Lock it from now on. The hassle of having to unlock the box when you need another tool is better than having another one of your tools used in a crime.”
“I’ll lock it when we return to work. Might be a moot point, though.”
“Why?”
“The person who stole the pipe wrench and hammer may have stolen more items but not used the remaining tools yet.” And wasn’t that a cheery thought. If he hadn’t had an alibi for the time of Fitzgerald’s attack, Mason would be in jail now.
Dean grimaced. “Let’s hope that’s not the case. Someone’s doing a good job setting you up for a hard fall.”
“If they succeed, I’ll lose everything I’ve worked to achieve. More important, I’ll lose Nicole.” Mason could rebuild his life if Brian cut him loose to protect his company’s reputation. He couldn’t ask Nicole to wait for him to be released from prison if he was tried and convicted. It wouldn’t be fair, especially since he might not leave the prison except in a body bag.
“You think she’ll dump you? She loves you. I can’t see Nicole walking away when you’re at your most vulnerable.”
“She wouldn’t. I’ll break the engagement. I won’t take her down with me.”
His friend looked amused. “I think the lady will have several things to say about that. A blistering tirade, in fact. I don’t believe it will be as easy as you assume.”
Easy? No, doing the right thing for Nicole wouldn’t be easy. Severing ties with the woman he adored would gut him and destroy his last vestige of hope. But what choice did he have? At least she’d have a life while his would be over the moment he stepped foot behind those prison walls again.