She threw her phone at me. Then, knowing exactly what I needed, my bestie clapped her hands together and said, “All right, let’s get this party started.”
We drank mimosas for breakfast.
Harley
I WAS SLEEPING off the worst hangover of my life Saturday morning when loud pounding woke me up.
Before I could even get my bearings, the door of my studio apartment burst open and two police officers blazed in with their guns drawn.
I sat up and tugged my comforter around me, instantly sobering up by at least three margaritas. “What… what’s happening?” I managed to get out.
Neither spoke. The Hispanic cop kept his weapon trained on me, while the blond scoured the small space, checking behind my sofa, searching the closet, and peeking under my bed before he paused in front of the bathroom door. He swore, then squared his shoulders and entered. I heard the shower curtain slide over its rod before he reemerged.
“There’s blood in the bathroom. No other suspects. Let’s take her in.” He turned and spoke into his radio, but I was too freaked out to pay attention to what he said.
“What blood? Wait, take me in? To where? For what? What’s going on?” I asked.
“We need you to calm down, ma’am,” the Hispanic cop said.
Which had the opposite effect of calming me down. Heart thundering against my chest, I asked, “What?! Why are you here? Am I being arrested?”
“Blood in the bathroom?” he asked the other cop.
“Yes. We’ll need to get it roped off.”
The Hispanic cop turned back to me. “Yes ma’am. You’re under arrest for suspicion of murder. Anything you say and do can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
“Suspicion of murder?” I interrupted. “Whose murder? Where? What are you talking about?”
Instead of answering, he kept reading me my Miranda rights while he tugged me from my bed, revealing my tank top and panties. The blond kept his gun on me while the Hispanic officer gathered clothes and sneakers and tossed them on the bed. As soon as I dressed, he handcuffed me. When he tugged me past the bathroom door I peeked in. Dark streaks ran across the floor, the wall, and the shower curtain.
“What the hell?” I asked, leaning back as they shuffled me forward. “That blood? Wait, I can explain that blood.” My face heated at the idea, but embarrassment was far better than jail time.
“Ma’am, anything you say can and will be used against you... you heard that part, right?”
I bit back a snarky Addison-esque comment and dropped my head.
We stepped out into the hallway where the Hispanic handed me off to a female officer. She tugged me forward, around two more cops who were roping off the area with yellow crime scene tape. I looked past them to see the body of a man propped against the wall, only steps from my front door.
I recognized the rumpled dark suit, thinning brown hair, and squinty little eyes immediately.
But the knife sticking out of his chest was new.
I swallowed, but couldn’t seem to take in any air. Whether from an excess of alcohol or a lack of oxygen, the edges of my vision darkened and my body trembled. The female cop pulled me along. We squeezed past two men in suits and a couple of men in white jumpsuits. I glanced back, catching one final glimpse of the body.
Just yesterday, Kirk Miller had terminated my employment and I’d—very publicly, in front of the entire office—told him right where he could stick my job. In fact, I’d even offered to do it for him. Now his dead body was propped against the wall outside my apartment, making it clear that in the end I was the one getting screwed. Talk about irony.
Visit my website at www.amandawashington.net to find out where to buy Dial L for Lynda.
Thank you so much for reading Dom’s Ascension. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey. Making Angel (the next book in the series) and Dial L for Lynda (a mystery I co-wrote with my friend Tracey Jane Jackson) are both available for purchase. Please take a moment to write a review. They only require twenty words and help me tremendously. I appreciate your support!
Also visit my website and sign up to be included on news about future releases:
http://www.amandawashington.net
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Other books by Amanda Washington
Dial L for Lynda: Linda & Lynda Detective Agency Book 1
Throw Linda from the Train: Linda & Lynda Detective Agency Book 2
Making Angel: Mariani Crime Family Book 1
Breaking Bones: Mariani Crime Family Book 2
Rescuing Liberty: Perseverance Book 1
Liberty’s Hope: Perseverance Book 2
Amanda Washington is a lover of animals, books, dark chocolate, and red wine. She's always up for a good adventure (real or fictional), and when she's not building imaginary worlds, she's dipping her toes into reality in southwest Washington with her husband and their boys.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to the following people for their invaluable support and assistance with the writing of this novel:
My husband, Meltarrus, our boys, and all my friends and family for understanding when my mind is in a fictional reality.
My awesome editors, Ellen Tarver and Roslyn McFarland.
The talented creative team who developed my cover, Jackson Jackson and Tracey Jane Jackson.
Dom's Ascension (Mariani Crime Family Book 0) Page 16
