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A couple of men in suits joined him. Aspen jumped at the tone of his voice but was still relieved he’d got her message. He’d have tracked her via her cell. His gaze landed on Aspen and dropped to her and Declan’s entwined hands.
He stopped next to Aspen, his attention focused on Declan. “Who the hell are you?”
“Sergeant Declan Owen. Since when does an assault in the zoo’s parking lot require the US Marshals?” Declan demanded, tightening his grip on her hand.
“Declan, I can explain.” Aspen sighed, turning to Declan, trying to push down the bile that was threatening to force its way up.
“You’ll do no such thing, Ms. Hale,” US Marshal Ball cut her off, motioning for her to come to him.
He glanced down at his watch, and dread filled her. She knew what that meant.
Her time in Columbia was over.
“It’s time to go, Ms. Hale.” Ball’s voice broke through her thoughts.
She glanced back to Declan, who stood with a confused expression on his face. She turned to him, tears blurring her vision. She reached up to grip his face and made him look at her. His eyes softened once they met hers.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her heart slowly breaking. She’d known that eventually this day would come. She’d have plenty of memories of him to take with her. Once again, Ray Acosta had taken everything from her, and this time, he was locked away in a jail cell doing it. “For everything. I’ll never forget you.”
“Forget me? Aspen, what the hell is going on?” His hand gripped her hip, pulling her close. His gaze shot over her shoulder to the US Marshals standing by to take her away.
“We don’t have time, Aspen. We need to go now.”
“She’s not going anywhere except down to the precinct,” Officer Reeves announced, apparently having found his balls. “Either she comes willingly or it’ll be in handcuffs.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” Declan moved to stand before her.
Cruz took a step back, but Reeves stood firm where he was.
“On what charges?” Ball demanded.
“Well, if you didn’t notice, we have a dead man and we have reason to believe it was Ms. Hale who shot him.”
Chapter 13
Declan paced the small room, infuriated. Once they had arrived at the precinct, the feds had taken Aspen away from him. He didn’t know what the hell was going on but he was going to get to the bottom of it. The feds had been closed-lipped on everything.
What the hell do the feds have to do with Aspen?
“You’re wearing a hole in the floor,” Mac’s voice broke through his thoughts.
Declan blew out a deep breath. He was feeling trapped in the small interrogation room. The windowless space was a cliché of television drama shows with its bleak decor and mirror on the wall. The minute he’d arrived, he’d placed a call to Mac who’d appeared immediately. Without a doubt, Mac was the one person he’d call with any problems. “I’m sure she’s fine—”
“She’s not fine. Those men were going to take her. If it was Sarena, what would you do?” Declan asked, cutting Mac off. It was a low blow. This situation was a slightly different from when Sarena had been kidnapped by a powerful gangster who would have killed her to extract revenge on Mac. But for Declan, seeing those men try to abduct Aspen put him in the same mindset that Mac had been in. He would have gladly emptied his clip into every single one of those men. Declan didn’t know what she was involved in and didn’t care. He’d finally realized what the haunted look in her eyes really was.
Fear and loneliness.
He would be there for her. Erase that sadness from her eyes.
During Mac and Sarena’s ordeal, Declan and the rest of SWAT had been right by Mac’s side doing everything in their power to get her back.
Mac paused, his eyes darkening as he met Declan’s gaze. Their intense standoff was interrupted by the door opening. Captain Spook entered the room, his eyes shifting between Declan and Mac, having picked up on the tension in the room.
“Have a seat, Sergeant Owen,” the captain ordered. His commanding presence drove Declan to have a seat next to Mac. He flopped down in the chair and glanced at Mac.
“Sorry, man. That was low,” Declan muttered, running a hand along his jaw. Mac was as close to him as a brother, and they’d been through tough times. That didn’t give him any right to be a dick.
“Don’t worry about it.” Mac sniffed.
