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Slater
He followed her home to her house and agreed to spend the night. There was no way that he was leaving her side now that she had confessed to being in love with him. She was giving him a fighting chance and that was all he wanted—a chance.
He told Knox that he wouldn’t be in for a few days. Slater needed some time to deal with everything going on with him and Rainey. Then, he’d figure out who the guy was claiming to be her husband. He trusted Rainey’s instinct—if she didn’t think that he was her dead husband, then he wasn’t. The question was—who the hell was the guy?
They woke up and went on with their morning, just like it was any other morning. The kids got up and got ready for school, begged for pancakes, and then kissed their mom goodbye when Slater told them that it was time to head out. He kissed Rainey and promised that he’d be back as soon as he got the kids to school.
He almost didn’t want to call his buddy, down at the station, to ask for an update. Slater wanted to stay in their little bubble for as long as possible, but he knew that sooner or later, their bliss would come to a screeching halt.
He decided to wait until he got back home to Rainey before calling down to the police station for an update. That way, he could put the call on speaker so that she could be a part of it too. He knew Rainey well enough to know that would be something that she’d want.
He pulled into the driveway to find the police cruiser in his spot. He quickly got out and jogged into the house to find Rainey sitting at the kitchen table, across from the officer who booked the guy insisting to be Jack. She was holding her head and looked upset, and all Slater wanted to do was throw the officer out on his ass.
“What the hell’s going on here?” he growled.
“He’s come with news of the guy who showed up here yesterday. The one who claims to be my husband,” Rainey said.
“Right, and?” he asked.
“The man that we have down at the station is not Jack Nolan,” the officer said. Slater let out his pent-up breath and sunk to the empty chair next to Rainey.
“You okay, honey?” he asked.
“Not really,” she admitted. “I knew that he wasn’t Jack, but there’s more.”
“More?” he asked.
“Yeah, and it’s not great news,” the officer said. “His name is Steve Angel. He served with Mrs. Nolan’s husband and was the only survivor of the Humvee attack that killed Jack and the rest of his platoon.”
“Why did he show up here and say that he was Jack?” Slater asked.
“We’re not really sure. He’s under psychiatric evaluation right now, to figure out why he believes that he’s Jack Nolan,” the officer said. “He hasn’t deviated from his story though. He’s continuing to insist that he’s your husband, Mrs. Nolan. The only reason we found evidence to the contrary was because he agreed to a DNA test. He had no fingerprints left from the explosion that almost killed him and he’s correct in saying that he had some extensive surgery done to his face and upper body.”
“So, he could just be confused?” Rainey asked. “Do you think that he’s dangerous?”
“We can’t be sure,” the officer said. “He wasn’t armed, but that doesn’t mean that he’s harmless.”
“What next?” Slater asked. “Will you release him?”
“As of now, no. We’re going to hold him for evaluation, for the time being,” the officer said.
“Then what will you do with him?” Rainey asked.
“If he’s found to be of sound mind, we’ll have to release him. He’s committed no crime,” the officer insisted.
“Yet,” Slater growled.
“Right,” the officer agreed. “But we can’t hold someone based on crimes that they may or may not commit.”
“Is our only option than to sit around and hope that he remembers who he is and then leaves me and my kids alone?” Rainey asked. It wasn’t their only option, but Slater would cover that with her when they were alone. He wouldn’t sit around and hope that the crazy asshole just left Rainey and the kids alone. It wasn’t his style to wait for trouble to show up at his door, especially when it already had. Whoever this guy was, he wasn’t her husband and if he was there to cause his woman trouble, he wouldn’t allow it.
“Thank you for the update,” Slater said. He stood, wanting to end this little impromptu meeting. “Please keep us updated. Here’s my contact information.” He handed the officer his business card with his cell phone on it.
“Sure,” the officer said, standing. “When I know more, I’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you,” Rainey breathed.
Slater showed the guy out and returned to the kitchen to find Rainey still sitting at the table. “Listen, Rain,” he said, sitting back down next to her. “We can’t stick around here and wait for whatever’s coming down the line next. Either this guy truly believes that he’s Jack, and he’ll come back here to claim his family, or he’s up to no good and wants to hurt you and the kids. I’m not willing to sit here and find out which scenario it is. I want to take you and the kids away for a bit.”
