Page 83 of Bailey-Rose: The Complete Duet

“Okay, let’s get this over with,” I urged. “Besides, you said a surprise was showing up later today as well. With this much excitement, I’m gonna need a nap between these major events.”

The two men chuckled, smiling at me as they walked side by side the rest of the way to the living room. Probably a smart choice after our close call.

My other three Alphas were there with two people I didn’t know—a man and a woman dressed in suits. Gareth carried me over to the chaise lounge so I had the most room to get comfortable. Everyone waited as I tucked pillows where I needed them before Gareth curled around me. Warrick chose to sit at the end of the chaise so he could rub my feet for me. Something we discovered helped keep my mind off how uncomfortable I was.

“Here, kitten, it’s your favorite,” Vili said, offering me a mug that looked like an adorable blue llama.

Taking a sniff of the beverage, I sighed in happiness. “Thank you, Vili.”

“Miss Thatcher, I’m Detective Vogal, and this is my partner, Detective Kelsen,” the man introduced. “While I’m sorry we have to meet under these circumstances, I'm glad to see you are recovering well. If you don’t mind, I’d like to cut right to the chase since we have yet to apprehend Mr. Steele.”

“Of course I understand,” I assured him. “Thank you for giving me time to recover before having to relive this nightmare.”

Vogal glanced at Yun with irritation before focusing back on me. “You have some rather persuasive Alphas,” he muttered before flipping open his notepad. “We’ve seen the footage of your studio space, but it didn’t have any audio. Could you tell us what exactly Mr. Steele intended to do when he showed up at your studio?”

I took a sip of the tea Vili handed me, knowing it would help to keep me calm. Once I remembered everything that happened, I’d been having nightmares, but my therapist felt they would dissipate once I was off some of these heavy pain meds and sleep aids. She’d also suggested that helping the police might offer some relief since it allowed me to participate in Randall’s capture.

“I get lost in my world when I sketch. Add in the music playing, and I had no idea Randall was there until he tapped my shoulder. To say I was surprised and confused to find him there is an understatement. I’d told him my dreams for that building and how much I loved it, but not in a way he’d go there to look for me. When I talked with my family, none of them had mentioned to Randall their plan to turn that place into my studio,” I shared, looking down at the burnt orange color of the tea.

Gareth kissed my shoulder, reminding me he was here with me while Warrick firmly squeezed my foot.

“Randall told me I was his and that my pack had no right to take me from him,” I looked up at the two detectives. “I don’t understand why he would think that. Everyone knows when you meet your scent matches, everything changes. Anyone you were with before no longer matters. It’s a harsh and cruel reality when you’re the person who’s rejected, but it’s not uncommon enough for Randall not to know.”

“Are you saying Mr. Steele planned to kidnap you?” Detective Kelsen pressed.

I nodded, taking a gulp of tea now that it had cooled. “Yes, he planned to drug me then head for Trastle, where we would start a new life. The bastard picked there because there was another top hospital for people who have my medical issues. He’d even found a doctor willing to take me on as a patient. What Randall didn’t get is if he used that tranquilizer on me, it would have killed me.”

Kelsen jotted down various notes as I talked. “Do you know what hospital or the name of the doctor?”

“I don’t know the name of the doctor, but I’m positive the hospital he was talking about is Fairview Heart Medical Center,” I offered. “Dr. Arbour had mentioned the other group of doctors performing the experimental surgery I just had were located there. If you ask around who would be able to conduct the surgery, it will narrow down your list of doctors to talk to.”

“Thank you, Miss Thatcher, that is helpful,” Vogal said, then flipped back a few pages in his notes. “The last thing I want to touch on is the number of harassing phone calls and text messages you received prior to the attack. It seems they appeared after a week of total noncommunication. Would you have any insight into what caused this escalation?”

Before I could answer, Warrick jumped in. “I’ve already addressed that. He came into my bar, grabbed Bailey-Rose, and tried to drag her out of the place. You already know he believed they were still together but was giving her space. There is no need to rehash something when I was a witness.”

Vogal’s jaw muscle twitched at Warrick’s intervention. “It is helpful to hear about situations from other perspectives. There might be some information Miss Thatcher remembers that you didn’t hear. Eyewitness accounts are deeply unreliable.”

Hearing the dismissive tone in Detective Vogal’s words had my blood boiling. “Detective, if you would like my continued cooperation, then I suggest you watch how you speak to my pack. We are the victims here, or have you forgotten that?”

Vogal seemed taken aback by my outburst, but Detective Kelsen just smirked and gave me a wink of approval. It would seem not many people called Detective Vogal out on his shitty attitude.

“My apologies, Miss Thatcher, I didn’t mean to come across too callous,” Vogal said, backpedaling like the best of them. “I’ll be honest, it doesn’t make sense why we can’t find him. Nothing in what we’ve learned or discovered in his home or place of work suggests he would be capable of hiding from the cops this effectively. Do you know anything else that might help us get this guy?”

I chewed on my lip, replaying that moment over in my head, then I remembered something. “This isn’t the first time he’s done this,” I blurted. “The first time I met Randall was at the hospital while I was recovering from a chest cold. He told me back then he was there visiting his brother who’d been hurt, but that was a lie.”

My hands began to shake as I thought back to that day and how lucky I felt to have found someone who understood. Little did I know I played right into the hands of a madman.

“He’d had a pack, one he was scent matched to, but got rejected when his Omega wouldn’t let him mark her. I guess the reasoning she gave the Scent Matchers was he scared her. This made him angry enough that he beat her to the point she ended up in the hospital. Claimed she was telling lies and needed to be honest and speak the truth,” I explained. “The brother he claimed to be visiting was actually the Omega he beat up. When one of the other Alphas in his previous pack got pissed at Randall for being there, Randall beat him up too.”

Ulysses stood with a snarl as he began to pace behind the couch. “Tell me, how is an animal like that not put in jail? The laws about abusing Omegas are clear and enforced no matter what, or so I thought.”

“There is no mention of this altercation or the fact Mr. Steele ever had a pack on file. We are going to need to dig a little deeper into this new information. It’s possible he might be using a different name to keep that off his record. Either that or he has family and friends in some high places to keep this sort of thing quiet,” Vogal admitted, tucking away his notepad. “Thank you for your time, Miss Thatcher. Is it okay with you if I reach out with any further questions?”

“Absolutely, if there is anything I can do to help put Randall behind bars, I will,” I said, shaking both the detectives’ hands. “Although, since I need to get a new phone and number, it might be best to call Yun if you need to get in touch.”

Yun-Sun had made it known he was the point person with this matter. Anything to do with Randall or the Scent Matchers was to be directed to him. I was more than happy to hand that responsibility over to the most qualified member of our pack. Plus, it seemed to give Yun purpose and something to focus on besides me.

“Not a problem,” Detective Vogal assured me before following Yun, who showed them out of the house.