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I heard the fear in her voice and how she gripped my bicep as she spoke, but I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. Instead, I fell into a dreamless sleep with her in my arms.
My phone ringing dragged me from sleep and a twisting feeling pulled in my chest when I realized the ringtone was the one I saved for Thomas.
Sitting up, dragging my hand over my face, trying to shake off the deep sleep I’d been in, I tried not to disturb Frankie, but she sat, looking frantic.
I answered. “Thomas. Hold on, I’m going to put on speaker so Rogue can hear.” She smiled at me gratefully, obviously remembering how I reacted to the last phone call I’d received here and how that ended.
I clicked the button and his voice echoed out from the handset. “Morning, both of you. Sorry, it’s so early. I thought you’d want to know that Emma and Alfie’s killer has been refused bail and a date has been set for his trial, six weeks from now. They have charged him with sixteen counts of murder.”
“Can you tell me who he is? Did we know him? Why was there no DNA or signs that he broke in?”
“I could tell you his name, but it won’t help you, and I know you well enough to know you’d drive yourself crazy.” I wanted to argue with him, but we both knew he was right. “And you know I can’t tell you anything else about him, Matt, without compromising the trial. Even if you’d got to the police station the day of the storm, they wouldn’t have told you anything either. I want you to have all the information and you will in time, but no one wants to see the cunt walk away because the police shared something they shouldn’t. I’ll email you over the trial dates and I’ll go with you, so you can watch him get what he deserves. I’ve got my solicitor, Trinity, on the case, so she will make sure your interests are represented and your statement, which she’ll need to take, is taken into account in his sentencing.
“Thanks, Thomas. I really appreciate all your help. You’re a good friend.”
“And as your friend, the one thing I can tell you is that there is way too much evidence for this to go under the radar or for him to get off, but I need you to prepare yourself. This is going to hit the news big time. Six of his victims were kids, and the rest were women, mostly attacked in their homes. I’ll talk to Addi about how it might affect the band, but you might want to keep your relationship private until after the trial.”
“Why?” Frankie asked, reaching out her hand to mine.
“Because it will cause a lot of press. You guys have been through enough.”
I clenched my jaw and tried to breathe. Rage, fear, and sadness rushing through me as I thought about not being able to put a ring on Frankie’s finger and tell the world she’s mine—that murdering fucker was taking something else from me.
“I don’t want to hide anything. If Matt wants me there, I will show up for every moment of the trial with him, holding his hand with my engagement ring on my finger. He’s not in this alone anymore.”
And just like that, she made me believe that I could get through this… because I wasn’t alone. She wanted to do this with me.I love you, I mouthed at her.
“Okay, you guys go talk and I’m here if you have any questions. I’m glad you’re on the mend, Matt. I’ve missed you, man.”
“Don’t go getting soppy on me, Thomas. I’m still not coming to work for you.”
“You can’t blame me for trying,” he laughed before he hung up and my eyes moved to Frankie’s.
“Do you feel like running, Bear?”
“No. I promise, but we need to talk.”
“About?”
“You asked me to quit my job, Rogue. I heard you last night. You know I’m not going to do that, right?”
“Why? I have enough money to look after us for a couple of lifetimes. You don’t have to work.”
“What if I asked you to quit the band or stop writing songs?”
“Then I’d do it.”
“But you’d be miserable.”
“I would, but I would do it if it would make you happy.”
I pulled her into my lap. “Rogue, stop. This isn’t you. We do what we do because we’re passionate about it. I could work for Thomas catching traffickers and monsters with a gun or two attached to my waist. I don’t. I said no to doing that. What I do with you is relatively low risk. I know you see the knife wound and Tanner’s stalker and the river and it feels a lot, but the river was a fluke event. A freak of nature. That could have happened if we were here as a couple on holiday.”
“But—”
“No. I need you to stop thinking with your heart and think with your head. Even if I quit, I would still protect you with my life.”
“But—”
