He did not, however, fail to notice the wedding ring on her finger. It was not like you could miss that gigantic diamond anyway.
He guided himself inside her and continued to fuck her. He knew that when they were done here she would go home and fuck her husband, but it would never be the same. Now she would be wishing it was his cock instead of her husbands.
Ah, their sex life probably wasn’t that great anyway if she was so willing to do a guy she picked up in a coffee shop.
Just as he felt her getting ready to come, his fucking phone went off.
“Shit!”
“Let it ring.”
He couldn’t let it ring. It was the Empress. Couldn’t that bitch ever call when he wasn’t in the middle of sex? It was like she had some kind of radar that said ‘Aiden is having sex, call him right now and interrupt.’
“Ugh, Dammit!” Aiden pulled out and reached for his phone.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” The blonde angrily swept some hair out of her face.
He ignored her and flopped down onto the bed, “Hello?”
“Aiden, why haven’t you called me yet?”
“I can’t really talk about it right now.” He explained to the Empress, hoping that she would get the hint that he was around people.
The blonde eyed his still hard cock and waltzed over to the bed. “Is that your wife?” she whispered as she crawled up onto the bed and straddled him.
He shook his head.
“Seriously, Aiden. This was a simple task and should be done by now.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve taken care of it and will … oh God!” He couldn’t help the outburst, but blondie had slid herself right down onto his cock, taking the length of him inside of her.
“What is wrong with you?” The Empress asked with surprise clear in her voice.
“Oh, fuck! I … I stubbed my toe.”
“Jesus, Aiden. Call me back when you can contain yourself. I want a call within the hour.”
“Yes, yes. I can do that,” he quickly agreed as blondie rode him, moving her hips back and forth, and rubbing her nipples as she stared down at him.
“Goodbye, Aiden.” There was a click and Aiden had never been relieved to get that bitch off the line.
Blondie leaned over, so that she could whisper in his ear, “Sit still and enjoy.”
And he did, he gripped her hips and let her ride him until they both reached their orgasm. Afterward, there was no lying side by side and cuddling. There never was. He rolled over and reached for his jeans, while she searched for her clothing and then made an attempt at fixing her hair and makeup.
Neither he, nor she, spoke. They didn’t need to. Both of them seemed to understand this was a one-time thing that was not going to happen again. But, as she was leaving, she turned to him and offered a smile and a weak “Thanks.” Then, she was gone.
Aiden knew he had to get back to the Napa compound and also call the Empress back. This little shit-hole hotel charged by the hour and he didn’t want to pay for any more time than he had to. Damn, it was strange having to watch where his money went.
He checked out and pulled out his phone as he headed for the SUV. With the push of a button the Empress’s line was ringing through.
“Aiden.”
“Empress.”
“Is your toe better now?”
“Why yes it is, thank you for asking.” He knew she didn’t care and she also knew that he hadn’t hurt his toe. He was a soldier, a killer, he didn’t cry over a stubbed toe.
“Have you spoken with Jack?”
Yup, that was the Empress all right, straight to the point. “Yes and he refuses to come back.”
She sighed and he could just see her shaking her head. “I thought as much. I figured he should have the chance to come and see his father though.”
“I’m sorry. I tried to convince him it was the right thing to do.”
“I am certain you did. In any case, you can tell me about the Keepers and how they are getting on when you get back. Get your things together, you can be on a flight in the morning. I will send you further details.”
“Yes, Empress.”
“Till then.” She clicked off the line, leaving him standing there, staring at the phone with surprise.
Dammit. He thought he was going to have more time here. He rather liked this area and it was nice not to be right under the thumb of the Empress all the time.
He stepped up into the vehicle and turned the key. Well shit, it looked like this was just one more thing that wasn’t going his way.
CHAPTER
17
DAVID
The look in Hannah’s eyes as he told her he had to arrest her made him sick to his stomach. She had nodded and held her hands out. “Do you ... need to, like, cuff me or something?” she asked, glancing from him to the sheriff.
“Not unless you’re going to try and run. Are you going to cooperate, Hannah?” He kept his voice soft, and what he hoped was non-threatening.
This shit made him hate his job. He had never before hated his job. He loved being a cop, but he’d also never had to arrest the one person he loved more than anything in the world.
“Yes.” Her voice was smaller than he’d ever heard it. “I’ll cooperate.”
“Okay, let’s go get in the car.” He moved toward her, but didn’t touch her. He didn’t want to freak her out even more than she was already.
“But, we need to help clean up first.”
Darcy stepped forward and took Hannah’s hands in her own. “Don’t worry about that, honey. You go on and get all this cleared up. I know everything will turn out for the best and the faster you get this part over with, the faster it will be over.”
Hannah met her eyes and nodded. “Thank you, and thank you for having us over for dinner. It was wonderful.”
“You go on now, dear. David and Frank are going to help you as much as they can.” Darcy patted the top of Hannah’s hands and then released them. “David.” She turned and opened her arms wide.
He hurried into her embrace, needing reassurance and comfort for the moments to come. “You take care of her, understand.”
“I will,” he promised.
“And call me if you need anything, or if you don’t. You’re always welcome here.”
He tightened his arms around her once more before letting her go. “Thank you.” After placing a kiss on her cheek, he shook hands with Frank who nodded. “You want me to go with you?”
David shook his head. He needed to talk to Hannah alone before they got to the station. This was one moment that he was actually happy the station was a good half-hour drive away from Summer Hollow. “We’re all right.”
He guided Hannah toward the front door. The sheriff and Mrs. Davis followed them out and stood on the porch while he helped Hannah into the passenger seat of the Chevelle. She got in and sat down, her eyes lowered as if she didn’t want to look at him.
“I’m sorry, David.”
He patted her leg and then bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek. “We can talk about it on the way there.”
He jogged over to the driver side and slid behind the wheel. The next part was probably going to be the hardest for him. After releasing a long sigh, he put the car in gear and turned the car around. When they were finally headed down the long driveway, David glanced over at her. “I have to tell you your Miranda rights now.”
She nodded as she stared straight ahead. “I know. Go ahead.”
With each word that passed his lips, David fought the urge to vomit. She sat there silently the whole time, staring out the window and nodding that she understood.
“All right Hannah, it’s time to tell me everything.”
She finally turned her head to look at him. Tears had pooled at the corner of her eyes, threatening to spill over. “Don’t you already know?” she accused.
“All I know is that you’ve been upset about something and holding it back and this.” He reached over and flipped open the
folder sitting between them. The picture of the footprint was on top. “Now turn to the next one.” He instructed, after she had given the first one a good look. Her gasp told him that she knew it was her shoe.
“David …”
“I’m sorry, Hannah.”
She didn’t say anything, but he knew she was holding back her temper and going over things in her mind. “I heard you tell Sheriff Davis that you didn’t tell anyone. Does that mean you haven’t shown this to anyone?” she pointed at the photo.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you turn me in?”
Instinctively his anger flared. Did she really think he would turn her in without talking to her about it first? Well duh asshole, of course she did. You left her to become a cop, so yeah … she thinks you care more about your job than her.
Fuck.
He pushed back the anger and frustration so she would stay calm. “I didn’t turn you in because I love you, Hannah. I don’t think you’re capable of killing someone just to kill. If you did this, there has to be a reason and I wanted to find out from you first.”
She looked away again. “I’m sorry.”
“Well, stop being sorry and tell me what happened, dammit.”
“I … I …”
“Start at the beginning.” He forced a gentle voice.
She drew in a deep breath and then exhaled long and steady. “Okay. That morning, I wanted to drop off Mrs. Bradley’s casserole dish that she’d left at Lucy’s after the funeral. I knew she was at the center for bingo that day, so I went there to drop it off.
“After I did that, I went out to the car and the storm had just hit, so when I opened the door my mortgage check flew out and caught the wind. I ran all the way over to the corrals to get it. After I was finally able to catch it, I started back when I noticed a man in the woods. At first I didn’t think anything of it, people walk around over there all the time. But then I got a good look at him. It was Jeff, this guy I went on a date with a few months ago.”
So she knew the name from the guys fake ID, but then again, she’d also done the autopsy and it was in the report. “Keep going,” he urged.
She still wouldn’t look at him. He hoped to God that was just because they were driving, since not looking at the person you’re talking to is a sign of dishonesty.
“After we went out, I decided I didn’t want to see him again … he creeped me out. So I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore. But, he wouldn’t stop coming by the house and a few times he showed up at the hospital when my shift was over.”
“And you never told anyone this guy was bothering you?”
“My family knows. They are the only ones I told.”
David nodded in acknowledgement. That made sense because he knew that family well enough to know that if someone hurt Hannah, they were going to have to deal with the entire Estmond Clan, and they were all scrappers when it came down to it. “All right, go on.”
“So when I saw him that day, I got pissed. I just wanted him to leave me alone, so I went over there to tell him exactly that. I yelled that I wanted him to stay away from me and a whole bunch of stuff about how crazy he was acting … and then he grabbed me.” At this last part her voice wavered and faded off.
“What happened next?” He knew it was hard for her to talk about, but he had to know the whole story.
“He … he attacked me. Threw me to the ground and pulled a knife, telling me something about how he would make me do what he wanted or he would kill me. I … I fought back, that’s really all I remember about it. I fought back and ended up stabbing him. It, I … when I realized what I’d done, I ran.”
It was a good story, he’d give her that much, but he knew she was still holding back. His senses told him there was more to it than she was saying. But he also knew that Hannah would never kill just for the thrill of killing.
“Jesus, Hannah.” He shook his head. “Stop hiding whatever it is you’re hiding. Tell me all of it.”
“I am!” she cried out. “Dammit, if I hadn’t fought back, he would have killed me.”
Inside, David wanted to shake the truth out of her, but instincts and experience told him to continue to be gentle.
“Hannah. I need to know everything before we get to the station.”
She sat back and crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. “I am telling you everything. That is exactly how it went down.”
“Fine! Fuck. Fine, just make sure it doesn’t fucking change.” God dammit! She was fucking lying. All he could hope for was that the only reason he could tell was because of their connection. Yeah, he’d been away for a long time, but he still knew her.
“You don’t believe me?” she asked in a small voice.
“I believe you had to fight for your life and the murder was an accident. I believe that much, but I know that there is something there that you aren’t telling me.”
When she didn’t respond, that only confirmed his suspicions. “We’re here,” he told her, turning into the parking lot. After he found a spot, he killed the engine and turned to her. “Now, I am going to have to put the cuffs on you to go inside. This has to be legit. Okay?”
She sniffed and nodded then turned to the side and put her hands behind her back. Hating every moment of it, he slipped the cool metal cuffs onto her slim wrists and clicked them tight. When she turned back to him, he stared her straight in the eye and said, “Do not talk to anyone yet. You tell them you want a lawyer and you won’t talk until your lawyer comes. Got it?”
She choked back a sob and nodded. “Got it.”
“Hannah.”
“What?”
“I love you.”
Her face was wet with tears and at his words, even more of them spilled from the corners of her eyes. “I love you too.”
With a heavy heart, David led her into the station and sat her down at a booking desk.
“Hey McMillon, book her in, will ya? I’ll be back in a minute.”
The young, dark haired officer nodded his head. “Sure thing, Foster.”
He didn’t want to leave her, but he had shit to do. He threw Hannah one last look before he headed over to the chiefs office.
“Chief,” he rapped on the frame of the open office door.
“What do you want, Foster.” The older man looked up from the paperwork on his desk. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
“I just wanted to check in and let you know I brought in a suspect for the murder in Summer Hollow.”
The chief raised his eyebrows. “Good. We’ll get her into questioning.”
“She’s not talking without her lawyer.” David shook his head, hoping she would take his advice and tell them that.
“Well isn’t that a fucking surprise.”
“Not really. I’m going to help finish up her booking and get her in a pod.”
The chief went back to his paperwork and waved him away. “You do that, but bring me the paperwork and get started on your report too.”
“Yes sir.”
Right a fucking way.
He hated watching Hannah go through the humiliating shit the inmates had to do when they came in. After booking, there was the search, the shower, and then putting on the blue jailhouse clothes that looked almost exactly like the scrubs she wore at work.
After she’d finished all of that she was put into a cell, what they called pods, with four other women. When he walked her into the pod, he leaned in and told her, “I have to get started on the paperwork now. This is going to be a long process.”
“I’ll be fine,” she told him, but he could see in her eyes that she was far from fine.
“You want your phone call right now?”
She shook her head. “No, I’ll wait. I need to think for a little bit first.”
David wondered if he should give the family a heads up before Hannah called, but quickly decided that was a bad idea. “All right. Remember what I told you about your lawyer. I’ll be back soon.”
“I know y
ou will.” She nodded and walked away from him, her red hair was down, and still a bit damp from the shower, but it was also dull from the crappy medicated shampoo they made all the new inmates use when they came in.
Good god, he hated this shit so much.
He left her in the pod and went to his desk. He’d only been working on the report for about ten minutes when the chief showed up, looming over his desk like a uniformed Sasquatch. “Foster!”
“Yes sir?” He turned away from his paperwork and looked up at his boss.
“Please tell me it’s not true that this suspect is your ex-girlfriend.”
Aw fuck. “She is,” he answered.
The Chief put his hand to his forehead and shook his head. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. You know I have to pull you from this case now.”
Even though he knew that was procedure, he sat back and stared at his boss. “Why, I haven’t seen her for twelve years.”
“Don’t be an idiot, Foster, you know as well as I do that you are too close to the case now. As of right this minute, you’re done with it.”
“Come on chief,” he plead
“Don’t …” the older man held up his hand. “Just don’t.” He turned and stalked away from David’s desk.
“Well, I’m going to watch the questioning,” David called after him.
“I didn’t fucking hear that,” the chief hollered back at him.
David ignored that last comment and went back to his paperwork, which was a total bitch to concentrate on since all he could think about was Hannah locked up in one of their cells.
After a few minutes, he realized he’d forgotten the file with the report on the victim and the photos in his car. “Shit. He rolled his chair away from the desk, got up and headed out.
Once he reached the Chevelle, he yanked open the door and leaned over to grab the folder of the seat. His fingers had just brushed across the edge of the folder when a sharp pain flared in his neck like he’d been bitten by a big ass spider.
Keeper of the Peace (Graveyard Guardians #2) Page 14