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“Only to my family and everyone knew to keep quiet.”
“Anyway, you’ll get set up and the equipment will be tested and you’ll head down to the police station on foot.”
“O-kay…”
“You’ll wait out front until our suspect shows up. She’ll see you and no doubt engage in conversation and we’ll be feeding you questions to ask in hopes of getting a confession. I think she’s arrogant enough to gloat so this shouldn’t be hard.”
“I just want this all to be over with,” she murmured. “I want my life back.”
“I’m sure.”
The rest of the drive was in silence and once they walked through the back door of Books & Beans, everything seemed to be happening at once and it felt incredibly surreal. She was quickly ushered into Jade’s office where two female police officers were waiting to get her wired and miked. Billie was pacing like a nervous wreck, asking dozens of questions to ensure Ashlynn’s safety.
“Um, Bill? I’m pretty sure she’s not going to do anything crazy. As far as she knows, she’s going to the police station to formally press charges against me. If anything, she’s going to be in a great mood.”
“Still,” Billie said with a deep frown. “I wish you hadn’t agreed to this.”
“After today, we can go full throttle on the salon. So if this speeds that up, I’m all for it!”
Big words considering she was mildly freaking out herself.
There wasn’t really time to think about this or second-guess herself because soon she was all taped up and being instructed on questions and then ushered out the door. Her sister grabbed her in a fierce hug.
“I’m so proud of you, Ash,” she whispered before pulling back with a grin. “Now go make her pay.”
“That’s what I’m hoping,” she said quietly before walking out the front entrance of the coffee shop.
The police station was only two blocks over and yet it seemed much farther. She did her best to appear casual—waving to people she knew and smiling the entire way—but it all felt strange and almost like an out of body experience.
And here I thought this shit only happened in the movies…
She was a block away from the station when a truck pulled up beside her. “Ashlynn!”
Reid.
Muttering a curse, she walked over to where he was parked as he climbed out to greet her. “Are you seriously following me right now?”
He was breathless and looked a little wild-eyed. “I saw you leaving with the fire inspector and I’m not letting you go through this alone,” he said firmly. “I should have stood up for you sooner. I should have put each and every member of the fire squad and this town in their damn place and defended you and I’m sorry I didn’t.”
If his timing wasn’t the absolute worst, she’d be seriously sighing a little dreamily right now.
“Reid, you have to trust me on this and just…go home. I swear I’ll stop by later and explain but you need to go. Now!”
But he shook his head defiantly. “I’m not leaving you. We’re in this together. I love you and I’m not leaving your side.”
So many things raced through her mind in that moment, but one of the police officers was whispering in her ear that she had to get to the station.
“I have to meet my attorney at the police station, Reid, and I cannot state this strongly enough…go home.” She walked away and the damn man started walking with her. Ashlynn sighed loudly but kept her focus on getting to the front steps of the station and taking her spot.
“Where’s Inspector Rowe? I saw the two of you leave the complex together. Why didn’t he take you right here instead of making you walk? Why…?”
Ashlynn stopped short and Reid completely banged into her. She spun on him full of fury. “You need to not be here! I don’t owe you an explanation, Reid! This is already awkward enough without you yammering in my ear right now! I know you think you’re being helpful, but you’re not!”
That should have been the end of it, but he was more stubborn than she gave him credit for.
“I’m not leaving you.”
Rather than argue, she turned and kept walking to the police station. When she reached the front, she perched herself on the stairs and pretended to wait for her attorney. Fortunately, Reid stopped asking so many questions.
