Sweaty butt crack? That was what I was worried about?
10
Ian
I stared at the man standing in front of the room dragging on. I didn’t have my phone to check messages, hell I didn’t even have my Apple watch since this was a classified meeting and I couldn’t have any electronic devices with me.
For the most part, I loved my job, but having to sit through hours of bullshit while some pencil pusher from the government tried to tell me how to do my job was torture. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the guy had any idea what we did as engineers to design their fucking missiles, but he didn’t.
I heaved out a quiet breath, telling myself that I was only so annoyed because I had to leave Leo in my house this morning. She looked so vulnerable, so sweet. And even under all of that hospital smell that seemed to linger on her I could still smell her light rose scent. It must be her shampoo or something.
My thoughts were interrupted when a tap at my hand forced me to look down. Captain Lara Bradford was aggravating me with the corner of a notepad. Leaning forward, I read what she’d written on the piece of paper.
I’ve known you long enough to know that something is eating you. What’s up? Do you know something about this design the guy is talking about? Is something wrong? Should I be concerned?
I picked up my pen and wrote.
No, nothing like that. Project looks good.
Lara took her pen and scribble back.
Then what crawled up your ass and died?
I made a mental note to introduce Lara to Stella or Sophie. The three of them would get along. But in response to her comment, I just shook my head.
She could prod me later for details, not that I would give her any. Chatting up coworkers about personal issues wasn’t something I did. Not ever.
I shuffled in my seat and pulled at my tie. There were more than fifty people in this single conference room and right now more than anything I wanted to bang my head against the fucking wall. The smell of body odor and sweat was starting to fill the air and mix with the perfume of the women around me. Everyone was in professional business attire, but there was only so much close proximity I could handle. I’d officially met my max for the day.
By the time the meeting was adjourned and I finally made it out of there, I felt as though my brain was going to explode. Returning to my office, I stopped at Taylor’s desk. Though my skin crawled to talk to her, it was part of my job.
“Any messages?” I questioned.
“Not a peep,” she replied with a cheery smile. The look in her eyes told me something was off...well, more off than usual.
I made sure to shut my office door behind me, dropped into the chair, and grabbed my phone, which was vibrating away with an incoming call.
I answered as I attached my watch back to my wrist. “Hello?”
“What the hell are you playing at? Where are you?” Carter sounded pissed.
“I’m at work and just got out of a meeting from hell. What are you so mad about?”
“Leo’s at the sheriff’s station. She’s been waiting hours for your alibi and no one can get hold of you!” I felt my entire body go cold. I didn’t even stop to think. I just ended the call, grabbed my stuff, and was walking out the door.
Halfway to the door, I turned and walked back to Taylor’s desk.
“You’re positive that there were no calls?
Her smile oozed innocence. “Positive.”
She was fucking lying. Another strike against her, as if she needed any more, but I had no time for her nonsense.
“I’m leaving for the rest of the day, clear my schedule.”
“But—”
I let the door slam behind me, cutting her off.
My phone rang again. “What?”
“Don’t bother going,” Carter snapped.
“Why not? She needs me.”
“Yeah? She needed you a few hours ago. Your bitch secretary said she couldn’t get you. Sophie and Stella are with her.”
“Where is Leo now?”
“She’s at her apartment.”
“Not my house?” Something about the thought of that ached. “Then I’m headed there.”
“No. I have a feeling you might be facing the wrath of women if you head over there.”
“I’m willing to take my chances.” I shifted gears and picked up speed. “Tell me what you know.” Carter informed me of what he’d gathered so that I could go in somewhat prepared, and I hung up just as I pulled into Leo’s apartment complex.
I’d only been there once before. God, I hoped I remembered which apartment was hers. But I didn’t have to worry about that because she was pushing her key into the lock.
“Leo!” I shouted, and when she turned to look at me, I could see that she’d been crying. Her face was red and blotchy. I raced to her.
She stopped for a second. “You can go on back to work. Stella’s got me.”
“What happened?”
Seeing the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes as I got closer and the hard line of her jaw as she tried to hold them back I strode forward and took her into my arms. “Whatever it is, we are going to fix it. I promise. I will do whatever it takes to help figure this out.” Never had I spoken truer words. I didn’t know all the details. I didn’t know why Leo had been taken in to the station, but what I did know was that no matter what it was, she was innocent.
Leo looked up at me, and it crushed me, hurt and despair were painted on her face. Leo had been broken. I left her this morning, and she was sore but adorable and in my house.
“Will you do me a favor?” Leo’s green eyes were full of tears, and I could tell that she hated asking.
“Anything, name it.”
“Will you call this detective?” She handed me a card. “He has a few questions for you about my whereabouts the night of the wedding.”
“You’re fucking kidding me. Of course, I’ll call him. Let’s get you inside, and I’ll call right now.”
“No, you can do it later.” She waved me on, but I wasn’t leaving.
Stepping forward, I reached out and cupped her face. “Please, don’t stay here. Come back to my house.” But any further beseeching on my part was cut off.
“Oh my fucking God, there’s no way anyone can believe this.” Katy waved her hands in the air as she ran up to Leo.
“You need an attorney.” I stared at Sophie, who was carrying a pet carrier.
“Why don’t we take this conversation inside?” I said as I held the door open and waited for them to all go in before closing it behind me.
“I don’t have money for an attorney.” Leo’s voice was sad.
“Well, I don’t care. I have money, we will buy the best fucking attorney. I’m calling Johnny Fucking Cochran.”
“Umm, he’s dead,” Stella cautiously informed Sophie as she tried to fight back a laugh.
“Well, then who got that Zimmerman guy off? If he can get that man off, then he’ll have no problem clearing our innocent Leo.”
“Have a seat, Gloria Steinem before you pop a blood vessel over there, she wasn’t arrested; she was brought in for questioning.” I stepped forward, trying to gain control of the situation for the first time and immediately regretted that decision when what felt like spotlights at Wrigley Field came on, one at a time. Boom, boom, boom. I was pierced in less than a second by three pairs of eyes.
Sophie broke her stare first by letting out a giggle, which caused Katy to giggle, which caused Stella to start cackling, and before I knew it, they were all piled on the couch laughing. For a few moments, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Leo because, for a moment, she seemed to have forgotten about the clusterfuck that had become her world in just a matter of days and it was so good to see her smiling.
The giggling stopped, and I moved to pick up the phone that was ringing.
“It’s mine.” Leo held out her hand.
“Hello?”
All I saw was Harley on the caller ID before
I handed it over.
Leo’s demeanor changed as she spoke to someone named Mike. With each, “Yes, I understand, of course,” a shadow seemed to engulf her.
“No. Please.” Her voice changed from the monotone it had been seconds ago to a broken whisper. Hearing it ripped through me. “Yes. Of course.” She turned an ashen gray and sank back against the couch.
When she disconnected, a second of silence settled over all of us before I dropped to my knees in front of Leo and asked, “What was that about?”
“I just got fired.” The first tear fell down her face.
“What?”
“Well, actually, he said I was put on leave without pay. He said it was due to insurance pending the investigation. I’m not allowed to work on any bikes because I’m a possible suspect for sabotaging bikes. I’m a motorcycle mechanic, I have no clue what I’m going to do.”
“That’s bullshit.” I glanced at Stella, silently letting her know that she wasn’t helping the situation and I needed her to stop.
“How long?” I tried to get Leo to meet my eyes, but she was focused on her hands that rested in her lap.
“Until the investigation is over and I’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing.”
“Let me call that detective and see if we can get this sorted.” I picked up the card and dialed. But it didn’t go as I had expected nor how Leo had anticipated, all he did was ask for my name and two questions.
“Do you know where Leo Scarvoni was during the Christakos reception and directly afterward?”
“Yes, she was with me.”
“Would you swear to that under oath?”
“Yes, I would, and I’m sure that there are cameras from the hotel to back me up.”
11
Leo
Something was happening, and I could feel it. I was slowly retreating and pulling back into the timid mouse I had been when I lived at home with my mom. I realized this, but for some fucking reason, I couldn’t do anything to fight it. Either that, or maybe I just didn’t have any strength left to fight it. Was this what the bottom of the barrel felt like?
My phone rang, and I picked it up. “Hello?”
“Leo, please talk to me.”
“Not now, Ian. I’m not in the mood. I need to sleep. I need to heal.”
Before he could argue or try to convince me to let him stop by, I hung up and dropped my phone back onto my lap.
It had been the same excuse every time he called. I didn’t want to see anyone. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t want to get off my couch or eat or leave my apartment. Throttle was lucky I was bothering to shower at this point.
When someone knocked on my door, I squeezed my eyes shut and mentally let loose a string of profanity. A part of me seriously considered pulling my throw blanket up and burying myself underneath and ignoring whoever was at the door. Ian had enough sense not to stop by without my permission, so odds were it was Stella, and she’d just make my life a living hell if I didn’t let her in. With a sigh, I pushed myself to my feet.
The second I answered the door, I wished that I hadn’t. Because standing outside my apartment were Han Solo and Chewbacca.
“Miss Scarvoni, we meet again.” Chewbacca, the more talkative of the two greeted me.
I crossed my arms and stifled the urge to tell them to get lost. It would have made me feel so much better to rage at them and tell them what idiots they were for focusing on me instead of looking for whomever had actually tampered with the bike, but I knew it would have been useless. “I wish I could say the same. Whatever it is, you have the wrong person.” Fear rumbled up inside me and I held my breath waiting for one of them to tell me my fate.
“I’m afraid we’re here to escort you down to the station...again.”
“Again? What for this time? You guys know this is bordering on harassment, right?”
“Miss Scarvoni, please. Just lock up and come with us.” He wasn’t giving anything away.
“Do I have a choice?”
“Yes and no. You absolutely can refuse to come with us, but then we will arrest you and you will still come with us. So, no, you don’t really have a choice. Out of respect for several of the deputies, the detective handling the case has asked that we attempt to bring you in by cooperation. But I don’t know you, which means I don’t care. All I know is that deputies are getting hurt and you are the prime suspect. So you’re coming with us one way or the other.” He flicked the snap on his handcuffs.
What the fuck, he was really going to arrest me. I’d never met a law enforcement officer that I would call a dick, but this man was a dick. As Stella would have said, he should have been swallowed.
Since being arrested was not high on my priority list, I went with them and allowed them to escort me back to the same small square room. It couldn’t be any bigger than ten by ten. It smelled like stale sweat and fear, but it was a familiar smell. What a horrid feeling, something that should be unknown to me was familiar.
Detective Brown was already sitting at the table riffling through a stack of papers. “Miss Scarvoni, please have a seat.” He pointed to the chair opposite him as if I had a choice.
I met his eyes. In the past few days, I’d gotten to know three deputies better than I’d wanted; Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Detective Brown, who looked nothing like Castle from the detective television series. I wish he looked like Castle, then at least something in this horrid experience would be pleasant.
“I need to ask you a few questions about events that occurred early this morning.”
“Can you tell me where you were this morning?”
“Sure, that’s easy. Home. I haven’t gone anywhere.”
“You weren’t at the station this morning?”
“No. Why would I be?” Honestly, did these guys not know that almost every square inch of this city was under some kind of surveillance? What was the point of dragging me all the way down here to ask me about something they could have easily found out themselves?
“You mean to tell me that you weren’t in the parking lot, waiting for Deputy Carter Lang?”
“No. Carter is off today. And besides, if I needed him, I’d just call his cell phone.”
“How do you know that Deputy Lang is off today?”
“How many times do I have to tell you people? Carter, Kayson, and Piper are like family to me. I know their schedules. Hell, I know the security codes to their homes. I’ve known Carter’s wife since I was five years old, which is also how long I’ve known Kayson. I know Carter wasn’t at work today because I talked to his wife this morning and she told me he was home.”
I yank my phone from my pocket, pull up my call log, and toss it onto the table between us. He takes a second to pull up the information, checking the long list of calls between Sophie and me.
“Can anyone vouch for your whereabouts this morning?” Detective Brown asked as he scribbled into his notepad. The scratching sound of pen on paper made my skin crawl.
“No, I’ve been home alone today. I just told you that I haven’t gone anywhere. I haven’t been much in the mood for company lately. However, I’m sure you guys already know that there are security cameras in my apartment complex, on the bank across the street, and about a dozen other places on the block in which I live. If you need proof I didn’t leave my home, all you have to do is watch them.”
I didn’t like where this was going. Looking away from him, I found myself staring at the overhead lights, they were so bright, so, so bright. I could hear the soft buzzing sound that fluorescent bulbs gave off in the ballasts. God, they were giving me a headache.
“You didn't go anywhere?” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest as he meticulously took in my expression, which was nothing but annoyed.
He kept asking me the same questions like he was expecting me to mess up. But I couldn’t, how was I going to mess up as long as I stuck with the truth? I turned my focus to the clock for a while, ignoring the man sitting across from me bef
ore changing my attention to the giant mirror. I knew there were people on the other side watching me even if I couldn't see them.
“I went from my bedroom to the bathroom to the couch, which was where I still was when you guys decided to pull me down here again. You see, because you guys keep hauling me down here—for no reason, I might add—I lost my job, so there wasn’t much point in leaving.”
“That’s funny.”
“Funny? I’m not sure what’s funny about any of it.” Was he joking with me? The clock suddenly sounded too loud, the tick-tock, tick-tock was ringing in my ears.
“Oh, that isn’t what I’m referring to. I find it funny that you claim you didn’t go anywhere but one of our deputies claims to have seen you this morning.” He cocked his head with arrogance, and the look in his eyes told me he truly believed I was lying to him.
“He has to be mistaken. It wasn’t me.” Why was this such a big deal? So someone made a mistake. I felt my fingernails cutting into my palms as the frustration inside me grew.
“He gave your name. He knew you.” The detective’s voice was growing short and sharp as if he could force a different answer other than the truth out of me.
“The deputy was wrong. I wasn’t in the parking lot this morning. In fact, the last time I was in the parking lot was a week ago, and that was because I was leaving.” I could feel the desperation growing inside me for this man to believe me. But then it occurred to me desperation might be misconstrued as guilt and I didn’t need that.
“Why would a deputy say it was you if it wasn't? Have you pissed off a deputy? Dated a deputy and had a lover’s spat?”
“No. None of that. I have no idea why someone would say I was here when I wasn’t. I also don’t get why someone being here is such a big deal in the first place. It doesn’t seem like a reason to pull me from my house.”
The detective tapped his foot under the table, added with the ticking of the clock in the room it sounded like and volcano rumbling just before eruption. I was sure it was just another tactic, another irritating gesture that was supposed to make me cave.
Often (Iron Orchids Book 4) Page 8
