“Just wondering what life will throw at me next,” I murmur.
“It’ll be okay,” Knox says, reaching over and squeezing my hand.
“I want to believe you,” I whisper.
He gives me a sad smile.“I actually have a couple of questions for you.”
My anxiety ratchets up a notch as I wait for him to go on.
“I had a friend look into Joe’s police department, and he’s identified a few other dirty cops.”
I sigh.“I’m not surprised.I figured it wasn’t the first time they’d done something like this.”
“Some of it was rumors—granted, multiple rumors that seem to show a repeated pattern—but he also found concrete evidence.”
“On Joe?”I ask hopefully.
“Not yet.We found a stalking complaint, but the victim moved away when the police buried her complaints.It still might help, though.It shows that he’s done this before and gotten away with it.”
“Maybe.”I bury my face in my hands, taking a deep breath.“This is all so crazy.I mean, even if we find out that Joe has done this to ten other women, I don’t think it’ll change anything.”
“It might,” Knox insists.
I shake my head.“I should go back and face the charges.Maybe a judge and jury will believe I’m innocent.”
“No.You’re not leaving,” he says forcefully.
“Knox, I?—”
“You’re not leaving.I’m not letting you go,” he growls.
“What?”I croak out, growing nervous.“What do you mean?”
Knox suddenly looks anxious, setting off louder alarm bells inside my head.
“I—Listen, we need to talk about something else.”
I stare at him, wondering what else he could’ve found about Joe and the police.
What could be worse than being framed for a crime I didn’t commit?And why does he always change the subject whenever I ask what he means about me being his and not leaving?
“Have you heard of shifters?”
I stare at him blankly.Did he sayshifters?I scramble to figure out if I misheard him or if he misspoke.
“Do you mean stalkers?”I finally ask.
“No.Shifters.”He enunciates the word clearly.
I gape at him as my brain tries to comprehend what he’s telling me.
“It’s someone who can change between human and animal forms.”
He says it so sincerely, but all I can think is that he’s crazy.
I stop that thought.Knox believed me, and I’m sure I sounded crazy talking about Joe and the charges.He’s been nothing but honest and open with me.If he can do that for me, I can give him a chance to explain.
“Okay,” I say, hoping he’ll go on.
