Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
“Detective Howell brought James in this afternoon. I’m not even sure how you heard about it yet, seeing as we’ve not released the information. Anyway, supposedly he caught him attempting to assault his ex-girlfriend. The girlfriend pressed charges saying that James tried to rape her last night.”
That. Fucking. Bitch.
“Take me to him. Is his lawyer in there with him?”
“Umm, apparently he asked not to have his lawyer.”
I looked at him pointedly. “Seriously, you really think he’s that stupid?”
“No. I thought...” He started to explain, but I interrupted him with a wave of my hand.
“You need to go in there and stop that interrogation. I’m going to make a call, and then you can take me in there.”
I made three phone calls. One to James’ lawyer, one to Sam, and one to my father. I just hoped they got here in time to stop the impending blowup that was a result from one officer’s careless actions.
***
“What’s going on here?” Todd bellowed so loud I could have sworn the flimsy old pains of the police station’s windows shook with the force.
Todd Masterson was an intimidating man. From what I’ve learned of him from James, he was a Hard Ass, with a capital H, and a capital A. A marine during the first year after 9/11, he’d taken his fair share of shit, and it looked like he was plain out of patience. Even now, in jeans and a t-shirt, the man oozed authority. When he stormed past me as I sat in the old rickety chairs in the front office, I just smiled, and waited.
This should be fun.
“You’ve had him here for well over four hours. He’s repeatedly asked for a lawyer, I’m sure. He’s told you that he was with someone all night last night. Instead of verifying his whereabouts, you’ve decided to continue questioning him? Tell me something, did you even read him his rights yet? Please tell me you at least did something right.” Todd growled.
He did sound like he was growling, too. I’d probably start hyperventilating if he even looked at me like he was doing to the other men in the room.
“We haven’t been able to find Ms. Mackenzie to verify anything.” Detective Howell bit back.
“Well, if you’d only left this interrogation room, you’d see that she’s sitting in the front office chairs. She has been for well over twenty minutes now. She called me from the phone number that I’m sure Mr. Allen gave to you. Please, keep telling me how you couldn’t get ahold of her.” Todd hissed.
Oh, man. It took everything I had to keep the smile off my face. Howard wasn’t doing so well. He had his face buried in the crook of his elbow where it rested on his desk. His shoulders were shaking with contained laughter.
The front doors banging open with a harsh staccato against the station’s brick siding brought my attention to the door, and I lost my humor immediately.
The girl, who I later learned was named Jolie, stormed in, a worried expression on her face. Instead of going to Howard, she went to the woman that was in the corner of the room answering the phone. I heard her speaking in urgent tones, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what she had to say as soon as she was pointed in the direction of Howard.
Once she reached the desk, my fears were confirmed when her frantic voice asked for James. Over. And over.
Tears were spilling down her face, and I wanted to slap her. She didn’t have that ugliness that you get when you’re truly upset. These tears were more of what I would call fake. Her nose didn’t run, her face didn’t flush. Her hands were wrapped around her purse instead of frantically wringing her hands together in nervousness like I was doing.
I wondered what type of relationship she and James had shared. He’d only told me of them being friends in high school, and it never progressed beyond that. Which I was eternally grateful for.
After two months, I was really sure that I wanted to move to the next level with James. Although he’d been a gentleman since that first night he’d caught me watching him masturbate in the shower, I longed for him to just pick me up, throw me on the bed, and fuck the living daylights out of me.
However, he’d told me he was giving me time, and if I was truthful, I needed that time. I’d always jumped feet first into all my relationships, and even though I’ve only dated three people seriously, I complicated the relationship by getting physical too early on. I didn’t wait to build the relationship first as I was doing now with James.
Now, I was extremely sure of what type of man James was, and I knew he would never hurt me. At least not intentionally.
I needed for him to prove to me that he wouldn’t hurt me and that he could be different from everyone else. However, there was still a small part of me that felt like if I let him in all the way, he’d leave me alone and hurting just like everyone else I loved in my life did.
And there was no question of loving him. I’d fallen into lust with him when I’d first laid eyes on him, and slowly, over the past few months, I’ve come to realize that what I’d originally felt for him had burrowed deeper, and I was well and truly on the road to love.
Jolie the manipulator managed the get a more comfortable computer chair to sit in, and I had to tamp down my irritation. She’d placed herself smack dab in the middle of the doorway’s view, so when James came out, he’d see her first.
Which is what happened.
A tense hour later, James was striding purposefully out of the back room where I guessed the interrogation rooms were located. Todd towered behind him. An upset grim line graced the thin lips of his mouth.
Across the room, Jolie shot up out of her chair like her asshole was on fire, and practically launched herself at James. He caught her, whether out of reflex, or desire to do so, I didn’t know. However, my mind was seeing red. I wanted to pull that bitch back by her fucked up hair and yank enough of it out to make it all one length.