He rose and pulled me into him. “I know,” he spoke into my hair. “It’s okay.” Then he turned to Megan. “Let them in.”
She looked unsure until the banging started again.
“Ma’am, we hear you in there. We’re giving you until the count of three to open the door, or else we will have to break in ourselves.”
“Just do it,” Ronan ordered.
“Keep your pants on, I’m coming!” Megan shouted as she scurried to the door. With a sorrowful look, she opened it.
“Ronan?” I wondered.
His arms around me were still tight, though I could see the fear in his eyes. “Everything’s going to be okay, I promise.”
Would it, though?
The door opened, and three policemen entered the room, two in uniform, another in a suit that identified him as a detective. “Ronan Black?”
Ronan turned, his arms still tight around me. “That’s me.”
All three policemen looked shocked that he was willing to cooperate. “Mr. Black, we have a warrant for your arrest,” the detective said. “We’ll need you to come with us.”
I jerked at the sight of handcuffs. “What? But he’s cooperating.”
“Laney, stop. I need you to trust me.” Ronan cupped my face and delivered a brief but thorough kiss. “I love you. No matter what, I love you.”
Two of the officers approached warily, clearly having been warned about Ronan as a risk. They seemed surprised when he unwound his arms from around my waist and offered his wrists for them to secure.
“Mr. Black.” The detective spoke while the other two affixed the cuffs. “You’re under arrest for the murder of William Richards. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law?—”
“What?” I jumped forward, only for Megan to yank me right back and out of the way.
“Don’t,” she said as they went on reading his rights. “You’ll make it worse.”
“But he didn’t do anything!” My chest throbbed as I tried in vain to shake her off. “He was with me the whole night, I swear it! He couldn’t have done anything because we were together, and?—”
“Laney, don’t.” Ronan’s eyes, so dark, so fierce, implored me to be quiet. “I told you. Don’t lie for me.”
“You have the right to an attorney,” the detective continued. “If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you?—”
“But we met at the club.” I was finding it hard to breathe again. My heart felt like it was trying to jump out of my chest. “We met in Vegas—and he couldn’t—he didn’t?—”
“Laney, listen to me. This is important.” Ronan’s voice cracked as the officers began to steer him toward the door. “Take care of yourself, do you understand? Schedule your surgery. Finish your PhD. Live your life, Ari. For me.”
“No!” I was reaching full levels of hysteria now, even as Megan tried to shush me. “I won’t let them take you—you can’t?—”
But Ronan’s voice remained calm and gentle, tinged with inevitability. “Whatever happens, remember that I love you. And marrying you—even for the wrong reasons—was the best thing I’ve ever done.”
“No!” I wrenched myself away from Megan, intent on following. “I won’t let them?—”
My heart felt like it was about the beat out of my chest. Then a harsh pull stopped me cold, and I crumpled to the floor as the world spun.
“Laney?” Megan’s voice was far away. “Laney, what’s going on?”
“My pills—I need?—”
“Oh God, ohGodohGod, Laney, you just took the last one.”
I blinked. The world was going blurry. “Please—call?—”
