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My hands started to shake, and how Nero managed to survive Kasen getting shot, I was never going to know. “What?”
“He did a pretty serious number on her,” he replied. “It’s a mess over there, so if I were you, I’d head to the hospital first. I’m not sure if the ambulance has left or not, but it got called for her, not him.”
“And what’s the price for all of this information, Murphy?”
“It’s on the house,” he smirked. “Declan doesn’t take kindly to men that feel the need to abuse innocent women. They’re taking her to Calgary Medical.”
As much as the sentiment was appreciated, that wasn’t how things worked. “Not good enough,” I told him.
“I figured as much,” Noah chuckled. “So, that’s why I suggested we get our hundred-grand back.”
“Done.”
When I hung up, Nero asked, “What’d he have to say now?”
I looked over at him. “You were right,” I said. “She killed him.”
Nero visibly relaxed as he let out a heavy sigh. “Thank fuck.”
“However, he did a number on her, so an ambulance was called,” I went on. “Noah suggests that we head to the hospital, instead of the brownstone. He said it’s a madhouse, so us getting in doesn’t look good. He also said that they were taking her to Calgary Medical.”
“It’s your call,” he said.
“I think we should head to the hospital,” I told him. “I need to see her, Nero.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” he huffed. “I know exactly how you fucking feel right now.” He called out to Dueno again. “Change of plans, Dueno. Take us to Calgary Medical.”
“Of course, sir,” he automatically replied.
Though most people would view this as good news, I wasn’t there yet. I had no idea how badly she was hurt, and because I had no idea of the condition that she was in, I had no guarantee that she was going to be okay; I could still lose her, depending on her injuries.
There was also the issue of all my rage, something that I could no longer exorcise now that Ashton was dead. Granted, now I understood how Savina had felt, but still.
Chapter 32
Savina~
After calling 911, I had decided on shock. Since I couldn’t care less that Ashton was dead, and since I’d been raised around violence and death, I knew that I couldn’t pull off the hysterical victim successfully. I wasn’t that good of an actress, and no matter right or wrong, Ashton was a congressman’s son, making the police already on his side.
So, when the pounding on the door had started, I hadn’t moved to let them in. Instead, I had remained sitting with my back against the couch, Ashton’s lifeless body lying only a few feet away from me. When the police had finally busted down the door, it’d been to find me staring blankly at the corpse beside me, all of my visible injuries front and center.
As soon as the police had busted through the door, I’d done my best to tune them out, falling into my role. I hadn’t looked around, or asked questions, or anything like that. I’d also been lucky enough to get a cop that could immediately see the bigger picture, and it hadn’t been but minutes before the homicide detectives had been called. That kind of efficiency was only reserved for important victims, and Ashton Oliver was definitely an important victim.
Now, with the help of one of the female officers, I was sitting on the couch, staring at the white sheet that covered Ashton’s body. The two detectives were doing their thing, and I knew that the street had to be crawling with the entire police force, making sure to preserve Ashton’s privacy. It was only a matter of time before Stewart, Belinda, or Brandon showed up, and I could only imagine the hell that would break loose then. While I wasn’t sure about Belinda or Brandon, Stewart was very aware of Ashton’s physical abuse, so like any good father, he was going to do his best to preserve his son’s secret.
Luckily for me, there were many different symptoms of shock, and I only had to exhibit a few to get away with this. While I couldn’t control all the physical traits, I could pull off shallow breathing, lackluster eyes, confusion, and chest pains could not be proven. So, when the time came, I was going to start rubbing my chest, playing into an anxiety attack.
“She’s been like this since we got here,” one of the officers said. “We had to break the door down, and Franklin had to move her onto the couch, so that we could get around the…uh, body.”
“She hasn’t said anything?” one of the detectives asked.
“Not a word.”
“Okay, we’ll take it from here,” the detective said, and when I felt him sit down next to me, I made sure to keep my eyes focused on the blood stain that was seeping through the white sheet that was draped over Ashton’s body.
“Ms. Valentine, I’m Detective Willows,” he said, introducing himself. “And this is my partner, Detective Lakelet. Do you think that you can tell us what happened here tonight?”
I didn’t say anything, schooling my features, waiting for the perfect opportunity to ‘snap’ out of my shocked state. If I just started talking, then that would come off as suspicious, and I needed to sell this like my life depended on it, because it did. Stewart Oliver was going to come at me with everything that he had, so I needed to get this right.
