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“It will be.”
“O…kay.” Chase’s voice sounded tentative, wary, concerned.
“Don’t stress. We’re fine. We’ll explain later.”
Alexander hung up and his phone rang again. For fuck’s sake.
“Yeah?
“Alexander Barrett, we need you to come down to the police station to complete your statement.” The arresting officer from last night. Did these guys ever sleep? Probably not much when in the midst of a case. He knew all about that. The requirements of the job.
“I’ll be there shortly.”
“We’re trying to get in touch with Sage Cassidy. Do you know how to reach her?”
“I’ll bring her with me.”
“Great. See you soon.”
“Who was that?” Sage trailed her hand over his chest, tracing the lines of his tattoo, her voice barely a whisper, still half asleep.
He ran his palm over her back in soothing, just-chill strokes. “Don’t worry.”
She searched his eyes. “I am worried.”
“No need. When we’re ready, we need to get to the police station to give our official statements. And Chase called, too, and he’s fine.”
Alexander could feel the relieved breath leaving her body. “Thank goodness.”
“He supports us as well.”
“What? Did you tell him?”
“He worked it out.”
“Oh. Makes things a lot easier.” A massive smile kicked up the corners of her lips. The Sage spell. She’d cast it on him as soon as she’d turned sweet sixteen and, over the years, it had grown more and more powerful.
“Agreed.” He cradled her to him. “Not that he had a say.”
They kissed, quickly got ready and made it to the precinct in forty-five minutes. The arresting officer joined them and took their individual recounting of events.
Sage tightly clasped Alexander’s hand beneath the table, as though to absorb some extra courage. “So, um, do you know if Mallory drove anywhere near the airport the night she kidnapped me?”
The investigator glanced up from his notes and focused his full attention on her. “You’re referring to your brother’s hit-and-run car accident.”
“Yes. It’s just, I mean, it was the perfect way to separate me and Alexander.”
The guy tapped his pen on the table. “Interesting… We’ve been looking into that angle as well. Mallory had started working for a security company soon after her husband passed, so had easy access to monitoring and surveillance equipment.”
The police officer shifted the paperwork to the side and propped his forearms on the table. “From all the evidence we’ve gathered, we believe she broke into your home and bugged the living area, allowing her to keep track of most of your movements and that of those close to you.”
As in him and Chase. Alexander exhaled hard. Fuck. What a fuck up. How had he not thought to check? Why hadn’t he instigated a sweep of Sage’s house? When he’d worked in the field, he’d have been right on it.
Fucking PTSD, screwing with his head. A floundering fish trying to fit into the flow of civilian life. And being enamored with Sage didn’t help, either. Living with the captivating woman had his mind frequently diverting below his belt.
The spyware entirely explained how Mallory had predominantly stayed ahead of them, while devising believable, seemingly faultless excuses.
The policeman flicked his gaze to Alexander, then back to Sage. “Footage we’ve received places Mallory’s car at the scene of the accident, and her phone data usage confirms her trip across town to your office then to her country property.”
