Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 138522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
“An hour.”
“One hour,” he agrees. “Cat’s joining us.”
“I’m going to bring Reid.”
“Expected.”
We disconnect and I text Reid: Problem. Reese’s office in an hour.
He replies with: I have a meeting in an hour we don’t want me to miss.
I grimace and type: Fuck the meeting.
He answers with a quick: WTF is going on? Call me.
I reply with: Call Cat. I can’t talk.
His answer is instant: FUCK.
Yep. That about sums it up. I slide my phone into my pocket and walk toward Abbie, who abandons Dexter to stand up but she doesn’t turn to look at me. I step behind her, wrapping my arms around her.
She rotates to face me, those green eyes search mine in earnest, her expression stretched tight. “Gabe?” Her hands flatten on my chest, warm and soft, delicate and sweet. “Why do I feel fear right now?”
“The police have a video of a woman leaving your ex’s apartment on the night he was murdered.”
“Okay. Why is that bad? It feels like closure. Do they know who it is?”
“They called Reese, Abbie. They want to talk to you sooner than later.”
“Me. Why me? I wasn’t there. I was with you.”
“I know that. You know that, but—”
“But what?” She pales. “She had red hair.”
“Yes. She had red hair.”
“It’s a set-up. You know it’s a set-up. I was with you. You can tell them. Right? You’ll tell them.”
“Easy, baby. Breathe. Yes. I’ll tell them, but they could easily decide we’re in on this together and that I’m covering for you.”
She twists out of my arms and tries to take off. I catch her and pull her back to me. “Where are you going?”
“We can’t be together. Not until this is over. And you can’t tell them I was with you.”
“Of course we can be together. Of course, I’m going to tell them—”
“No. No. No.” She pokes my chest. “No. I’m breaking us up. I’m crazy about you, Gabe, but I won’t see you anymore. Not now. Not—”
I cup her head and kiss her. She resists, holding herself stiff in my arms for several seconds until finally, she not only kisses me, she’s kissing me back and doing it like it’s our last fucking kiss.
“No,” I say, pulling my mouth from hers. “Do not fucking kiss me goodbye. The police already know we’re together. Hell, the reporters out front sure as hell do.”
“What reporters?”
“We’re surrounded,” I say. “Obviously Kenneth’s murder investigation is now fodder for the press. But fuck them. The point is, that saying anything different about us will not help us. In fact, it might hurt us. I have camera footage that I can turn over to the police. I have a security system. We can prove where we were that night.”
“What if it doesn’t cover the right times? What if it’s when we were sleeping or at dinner or at my place?”
“Panicking does us no good.”
“When do the police want to meet?”
“Reese has court this afternoon. I’m assuming this evening, maybe even at the courthouse. Go get dressed. We need to get moving.”
She gives a choppy nod and I manage to get her to the bathroom. Once we’re there, I turn on the hot water, strip her naked, and pull her under the water with me, wondering when she’s going to have the last piece of this puzzle hit her. It doesn’t happen until she steps out of the shower. She’s holding a towel when she drops it. “Oh God. It wasn’t me but—Gabe.” She swallows hard. “You know what I’m thinking, don’t you?”
“Your mother’s a redhead.”
Chapter seventy-two
Gabe
Gabe
“I have to call her. I have to go see my mother.” Abbie tries to pull away from me but I hold her close, folding her naked body into mine.
“Not yet. Wait, baby.”
“Why not yet? No, no waiting. Let me go.”
“Not yet,” I repeat. “Stop and think.”
“I need to know if she was there.”
“One: you don’t want to talk to her on the phone that can be listened in on. Two: we’ll know more when we get to Reese’s office. Neither Blake nor Reese wanted to tell me much for the same reason. The phone is a dangerous communication method.”
“There’s more to tell?”
“Nothing big or they would have warned me. They didn’t.”
“Gabe,” she breathes out, torment in her voice. “She isn’t a killer, but would she confront him? What if she was there? What if they blame my mother?”
“She has the best legal counsel possible in Reese and so do we.”
“I’m scared.”
“I know you are.” I tilt her face up to mine. “I’ll protect you and your mother. That’s a promise. And remember what I told you last night. When I protect someone, I don’t fail.”
“And who protects you?”
Dexter barks and my lips curve. “Dexter, the resident serial killer.”
She wraps the towel around her and leans down to hug the big pup, tension easing from her shoulders. Damn if that dog isn’t earning his keep and earning it well, but right now, I’m thinking about the redhead. It’s an obvious set-up. I pull Abbie to her feet. “Someone is trying to take us down, baby. We won’t let them. Dress for the office. We need to make damn sure we go on with our life. We need them to know that we have nothing to worry about but they do.”