Eneko’s expression darkened. “A witness has come forward. They say they saw me beating her the night she died.”
“But the camera outside the clinic—"
“Didn't catch a look at the person who left her there.” Eneko’s eyes grew stormy. “The cops are saying I snuck out a back window, killed her and dumped her body and then went back through the window to throw off the investigation.”
“They wanted you to be guilty so they found proof for it,” Jasmine whispered. “And this so-called witness… they’re lying. Who is it?”
Eneko shook his head. “I have no clue. It doesn't matter. They’ve nailed the coffin shut, not caring if the person they’re burying is guilty or not.”
Jasmine’s hands tightened on the bars. “No!”
Lori, where she stood near the door, glanced nervously backwards to the bullpen. “Quiet, Jazz. It took my best flirting to get you in here. If they kick us out I won't be able to get us back in.”
Jasmine pressed her lips together tightly and inhaled deeply before nodding. She reached between the bars to cup Eneko’s face. “I will find a way to get you out of this mess. I’ll find a way to prove you are innocent. I promise.”
She pressed a quick kiss to his lips before fleeing the room. If she stayed any longer, she’d end up crying and she didn’t want him to see that. Lori followed her out. Her sister fell in step beside her, head bent slightly. Once they were in the car, Lori gave her a half-smile.
“So. You and the doc, huh?”
Heat rose in Jasmine’s face. “Um… yeah.”
“Have you slept together?”
“That’s not really your concern, Lor.”
Lori frowned at her. “Hey, you’re my sister and he’s been arrested for murder. I know that you’re not the kind to jump into bed with just anyone. But you’ve only known him for what, a few weeks?”
“Just over a month.”
“Oh, well that’s much better.” Lori rolled her eyes. “I know I don’t have the best track record with guys, but you’ve always been smarter than me. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Jasmine repressed a sigh as she pulled away from the station. “Yeah. We slept together. I’ve never felt this drawn to a man before, Lor. It’s like… it’s like when I’m with him, nothing else matters. I know that all our problems will be solved and even if they’re not, I can be happy.”
“Is he… is he your mate?”
This time Jasmine did sigh. “I don’t know, Lor. I don’t know.”
***
When Jasmine pulled up to the Durant mansion, Adela was waiting for her. Adela embraced her tightly, then stepped back and peered worriedly at her. Jasmine didn’t want to have to reassure her that she was fine, so she spoke before Adela could.
“I was hoping to talk to Isaias,” she said quickly. “He’s the one paying for the clan’s lawyers, right?”
“Part of them, yeah.” Adela squeezed her hand. “Come on inside.”
Jasmine followed her in. Two men and a short, curvy woman were in the living room while Adela’s little girl danced in the center of the rug. When she saw Jasmine, her face broke into a smile and she came running for her. Jasmine hugged her tightly.
“Hello, little bug,” she said. “I’ve missed you.”
“Daddy and me go to the park,” Luci said eagerly. “Lots of times!”
Adela smiled fondly at her daughter, then went to Isaias’ mate, Becky. “Can you take Luci out for a bit? This has to do with Eneko Alava.”
Becky nodded. Luci was reluctant to leave, but eventually they were able to get her out. Jasmine twisted her hands as she looked at the two men left. At first she was put-out that Adela didn’t send Marcus off too, but then he was friends with Eneko. Perhaps he could help her with this.
“You’re working for Dr. Alava, right?” Isaias asked her.
“Yes… but it’s more than that,” Jasmine said. “We’ve gotten… close. I just need to—”
Isaias held up his hand. “I understand that you’re worried and frightened. And I really wish I could help more. I’ve called in my best lawyers on the case, but there is only so much they can do. This witness especially makes it tricky.”
Marcus snorted. “No way Alava killed anybody. Not even if they had a gun to his head would he kill someone else.”
Jasmine saw an opportunity and jumped on it. “Then help me prove it,” she blurted. “I know he wouldn’t have hurt her, if we can find the real killer—”
“Whoa, there.” Marcus held up his hands. “Listen, I get it. I completely get it. You’ll do anything for your mate.”
“He’s not…” She trailed off as her eyes filled with tears.
“I can’t start going against the law,” Marcus continued. “I’ve got a shady enough past and with my new position, I’d only put everything I’m trying to accomplish in jeopardy. Not all cops are bad, I guess, but there are a few who would love to see me screw up enough to throw me back in jail. I have my own mate and child to think about, too. It might seem like a tough situation, but Isaias here has the best vampires money can buy. They’ll get our boy out of this.”
Jasmine’s hands curled. “But—”
“But interfering in a police case and poking around in a murder won’t do you any good,” Marcus said firmly.
Isaias nodded. “A woman has already been murdered. Do you think it would help Eneko if you got hurt or arrested yourself?”
Jasmine could see that she would get no further with this. Her shoulders slumped.
“Clifford Boone’s firm is handling Eneko’s case,” Isaias said gently. “He’s a good lawyer. I’m certain he’ll handle it.”
It was probably the best she was going to get. Even though her instinct was to beg or scream and do whatever she could to get them to agree to do this her way, she couldn’t bring herself to make another sound. Her jaguar batted against her chest, but she had spent too long purposefully disconnecting herself from it that she didn’t even know what it wanted. She nodded slowly, her mind so abuzz with thought and emotion that she couldn’t hold any one of them. Bending her head, she walked away without another word.
Only one thing was clear. If nobody else could help Eneko, she had to. Somehow, she had to catch a killer and prove his innocence.
***
“So, I guess there is only one thing to do.” Lori patted Jasmine’s back. “We’ll just have to break your boyfriend out of jail.”
They sat at Jasmine’s kitchen table. On the way back to her apartment, Jasmine had started to cry and she couldn’t stop. Now she had a cup of tea clutched in her hands while tears dripped down into it. She had told Lori everything that had happened, as well as her determination to find and jail the real perpetrator.
Jasmine stared at her, her tears forgotten for a moment. “What did you just say?”
“Come on, he is your boyfriend. I’ve never seen you this weepy… ever.”
“Okay, one, that’s not the issue. Two, you are not getting involved in this. Three, we’re not breaking anybody out of jail.”
Lori gave her one of her ‘Lori’ grins. The kind that said she was going to do whatever she wanted, and she was going to have fun doing it. That grin had gotten her into a lot of places she shouldn’t have been, and yet she always found a way out. Even if it was calling her big sister to come rescue her. “Let’s see… for once I get to play the hero to my big sis instead of the other way around. I’d like to see you try to stop me, Jazz. So. Tell me the facts so far.”
Jasmine hesitated. She didn’t want to get her sister involved in all of this, but who else was she supposed to turn to? Given everything that was happening, she needed someone in her corner… Maybe it was a stupid idea, but Jasmine relented. She told her everything she knew. Lori listened, nodding in the appropriate places.
“And you say this Andy boyfriend guy actually attacked Eneko?” Lori leaned forward. “Well, I guess Mr. Andy is the first person to interrogate, huh? I’ll go flirt wit
h him while you figure out how to bust Eneko out of jail.”
“Hell no!” Jasmine burst out.
Lori looked startled, then sniggered. “Wow. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you swear.”
“That’s beside the point.” Jasmine narrowed her eyes at her sister. “There is no way you are going to go flirt with a man like that. Eneko had to chase him away from Jana multiple times. I want you to stay away from him, do you understand me?”
Lori leaned forward, cupping her chin in her hands. “One, I’m going to do what I’m going to do. Two, you have your own things to worry about. Busting a man from jail isn’t going to be easy. And you have to get moving on that. The moment this thing goes to trial, it’s going to be a helluva lot harder to get him out. You know that as well as anybody.”
Jasmine stared back stonily, but there was part of her that agreed with Lori. How many of her friends had been jailed, and then left in jail for weeks and months after the real criminal was caught? In this case, Eneko probably wouldn’t even be released until after someone else was found guilty.
Breaking Eneko out of jail, though…. That was risky. Very, very risky. It could put him in an even worse situation.
“No,” she said. “We’re not going to break him out of jail. I am going to go with you when you go flirt with Andy. I’m not going to let you put yourself in danger.”
Lori shrugged, a sour expression on her face. “Fine. But you’re not gonna like watching.”
Chapter Ten
Eneko eagerly chomped on the pastrami sandwich that Clifford Boone had given him. The portion sizes in this jail were so small that he was constantly hungry, but his requests for more food were just met with sneers about how he wanted better treatment than anybody else. Never mind that shifters needed at least twice the calories as non-shifters to keep them going.
“I finally got the name of the witness against you,” Clifford said as he ate. “A non-shifter by the name of Jerimiah Wilder.”
Eneko looked up, eyes widening. “Jerimiah Wilder? That’s the witness? And they’re believing him? He was stalking Jana. She had a restraining order out on him, he legally shouldn’t have been close enough to her to see anything. And it’s his word that they’re using to throw me into jail?”
He couldn’t believe it. Yeah, he had known that a lot of this case was based on anti-shifter sentiments. But for some reason he’d expected they’d be subtler about it. Maybe because he’d never had a problem with the police before. That they would take the word of someone that Jana was clearly afraid of… it made him grind his teeth so hard that for a moment he was afraid that his molars would crack.
“I know. It’s disgusting.” Clifford shook his head, a growl on his lips. “On the other hand, having such an unreliable witness can be used to our advantage. No jury is going to trust the word of a man who was stalking the murder victim over a doctor who donates his time and talents to the people who need it.”
Eneko sat back, appetite was gone. If that was true, then the cops and prosecutor wouldn’t be proceeding with the case. He wouldn’t be in jail. They had something up their sleeves.
“In the meantime, I’ve convinced the DA that you’re not a flight risk,” Clifford said. A rakish grin appeared on his face and he leaned back, looking immensely satisfied with himself. “Combined with this Jerimiah Wilder nonsense, you’re being released.”
“Released?” Eneko’s eyes widened.
Clifford nodded. “Well, into house arrest, at least. You’ll have to wear an ankle monitor and check in with an officer every couple hours, but at least you’ll be out of jail and you’ll be allowed visitors.”
Eneko nodded seriously. “Thank you.”
Clifford smiled at him. “I’m doing what I can. I know that the situation is less than ideal. Keep faith, though. Things will work out. You’ll see. I’m very good at what I do.”
***
Getting home was exhausting.
More than exhausting, in fact. Cameras swarmed him the moment he stepped outside of the jailhouse. Police held back a line of people shouting and waving signs in the air. Jeremiah Wilder, a thin, mousy-looking man with big glasses, stood giving interviews with the press with Andy standing near him, as though he was giving support. Eneko could have laughed at that. There were many times in the past when they’d come to blows over Jana, and now looking at them you’d think they were best friends.
The ankle monitor was heavy, clunky, and would alert the authorities if he stepped out of his house, but being in his own home again took a weight off Eneko’s mind. If the best the cops had was Wilder stating that he saw Eneko beating a woman that he, Wilder, was forbidden from getting within a hundred yards of, then perhaps this mess would be over soon. Clifford did seem like a good attorney. After all, he’d gotten Eneko out of jail.
He hadn’t been home long before Jasmine came to him. When she came in, she threw her arms around him and started kissing him soundly.
Eneko couldn’t help himself, too hyped up on the thought of freedom. He tugged her into his room, took off her clothes, and spent hours making love to her. His bear roared in approval, not content until it was almost dark and they both laid spread out on his bed, spent. Jasmine ran her hands over his chest as though assuring herself that he was still there.
“This will make things easier,” she murmured. “Lori and I have decided we’re going to do our own investigation, and now that you’re released you can help us.”
Eneko blinked, uncertain he had heard her correctly. As what she said sunk in, he pushed himself to his elbow, staring down at her in horror. “What are you talking about?”
Jasmine’s gaze was steady. “We’re going to prove you’re not the killer.”
“No.”
“No…?” She arched a brow. “What are you saying no to?”
“You know exactly what I’m saying no to.” Eneko pulled away. “I don’t want you to get caught up in all of this.”
“You don’t want me caught up in it?” Jasmine rolled out of bed and reached for her clothes. “Too late.”
Eneko’s bear huffed, angry at him for upsetting her. Tough! I’m not going to let her put herself in danger.
She shook her head as she pulled her panties on. “I’m already caught up in it. I’ve been caught up in it from the first time we kissed. I am more drawn to you that I have been drawn to anybody else my entire life. I’ve spent my life not knowing what it means to have a mate. And maybe you’re not him. But I can’t think of anybody else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with. I love you, Eneko Alava, and I am not going to see you go to jail for something you didn’t do.”
Eneko stared, slack jawed, as she finished dressing. She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him, but he still could only stare. He wasn’t sure why… he knew he should be saying something. He should be telling her that she needed to step back and see things clearly.
Instead, only three words kept rattling around in his brain. I love you.
“I… I love you, too.”
Jasmine blinked. Her mouth became an ‘o’ and the two of them just stared at each other for a long time. She pressed her hands together and eventually gave him a small smile. “Then there you have it. I’m going to—”
“No.” Eneko climbed out of bed. He began dressing and shook his head as his pants caught on the monitor around his ankle. “I love you, so I can’t let you do this. I know it’s hard. It’s hard for me, too. But the cops will do their job and if they don’t, then the lawyers will do theirs.”
Jasmine didn’t look convinced, but didn’t continue the argument. He rubbed his hands over his face as she left the bedroom. It wasn’t much longer after that before he heard the front door open and a loud woman’s voice came down the hall.
“I’ve set it all up on Prezi,” the new woman said. “Put together everything I could pick out from the news. It’s the coolest-looking murder board you’ve ever seen.”
Eneko hurried down the
hall to find Jasmine and a woman who was slightly shorter, slightly less curvy, but with the same bright eyes and facial features leaning over a computer. He cleared his throat, not at all happy about what he could infer from their conversation.
“I said that this investigation was over.”
Jasmine didn’t even look up. “Yes, you did. I never agreed, though. There has been enough damage done already, I’m not about to let it continue on like this without doing anything.”
“And who is this?” he gestured to the woman.
“Lori Rowlands. I’m Jasmine’s sister,” the woman said with a grin and a wink. “Gosh, I know now why Jazz is so determined to keep you out of jail. You’re the hottest boss she’s ever had. And I might not have a shifter’s super-sensitive smell but—”
Jasmine pushed Lori, glaring at her. “Shut your mouth.”
Lori grinned at her sister. “Here’s the Prezi. Although, I have to say, Mr. doctor man…” She narrowed her eyes at him. “If it turns out you are a murderer, you don’t have to worry about jail because I will kill you myself. Nobody hurts my sister and gets away with it.”
“Lor!”
“Jazz!” Lori mimicked Jasmine’s shocked tone.
“Can we concentrate on what we need to accomplish here?” Jasmine’s fair skin was beat red. “Obviously our best suspect is Jana’s boyfriend.”
Eneko reached for the laptop and both women glared at him. “Look, I don’t want either of you putting yourselves in danger over me.”
“We’re doing this,” Lori said bluntly. “And Jazz might be doing this because she likes your butt, but I’m doing this because I’ve never seen her like this before. I don’t know much about all that mate stuff, but I know my sister. She wouldn’t fall for someone who goes around killing people… but if you did—”
“Lori, stop it.” Jasmine narrowed her eyes. “So, we first have to get details about Andy’s whereabouts the night that Jana was killed. And you, Eneko. You can either help us or send us out there to go after a killer all by ourselves…”
Eneko sighed. What was the likelihood that they’d actually do something to put themselves in danger? This wasn’t an ideal situation, not by a long shot, but if it kept them all busy… and maybe if they knew more about what was going on, perhaps they wouldn’t be so eager to go chasing off on their own interrogations and put themselves in danger.
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