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Monahan pinches the bridge of his nose before speaking.
“I guess he didn’t think he’d get caught coming back for his bike,” Dresden continues.
“And you think he’d leave it in the first place?” Monahan asks.
“Finally a man of reason,” Bishop snaps.
“Or that he would risk trying to grab it when the neighborhood is swarming with fucking cops,” the chief growls, growing more and more frustrated.
Dresden’s grip on my arm loosens a little.
I look up, locking eyes with Lennox as she and Colton come from around the far corner of Rochelle’s house.
I can’t tell by the look on her face if she’s one of those that believes I was involved, and it threatens to rip me apart from the inside out as she stays quiet while advancing toward us.
I try my best not to plead with her using my eyes. I want her to know I’m not the type of man who would hurt someone like Dresden is accusing me of.
“Why is he in cuffs?” she growls, her eyes darting to the group of patrol officers that have all taken a step back as if to say they weren’t involved since the chief doesn’t look impressed.
“His bike,” Dresden says, sounding less sure than he was moments ago.
“His bike was left here after he escorted Ms. Leach home. He rode away with me.”
She doesn’t have to make a full confession. Every person hearing her words is an adult and can come to the same conclusion.
The chief’s jaw clenches, and I watch as his fingers twitch, no doubt wanting to pinch his nose again.
“Maison,” he growls. “A word.”
The chief starts to walk away but spins back around in our direction so fast, I worry the man is going to throw a hip out of socket.
“Get those fucking cuffs off him,” he snaps to Dresden before locking eyes with me. “Get on your bike and leave.”
The second the cuffs are pulled free, without an apology from the dick bag cop, I might add, Bishop grabs my arm.
“It’s not the time,” he growls, tugging me toward my bike.
It’s hard to ride away. I want to explain, to assure the chief, that Lennox has been nothing but professional while on the clock. What she does as a grown, consenting adult in her own time is neither his nor the department’s business.
However, I don’t want to cause problems for her or Cerberus or Kincaid.
There will be a million questions. Some I won’t answer out of respect for the woman I was inside of less than two hours ago.
Bishop waits outside of the SUV until I make it clear I’m leaving the scene.
Guilt once again eats away at me. Every mile of road under my tires as I make my way back to the clubhouse weighs me down. It isn’t the lack of sleep eating me up. There are now two women that have been brutalized on what I consider my watch.
I might not be involved with their demises, but it’s certainly starting to feel extremely fucking personal.
Chapter 21
Lennox
I guess I should be grateful the man didn’t yell at me in front of my colleagues while at the scene, but the redness in his face as he sits at his desk across from me isn’t making me feel any better.
“That man is going to sue this fucking department,” he says after a much too long silence.
“I was not involved in putting him in cuffs this time,” I remind him, just in case he had that in his head.
He glares at me as if I shouldn’t even have the nerve to speak to him right now. I didn’t say it in a sarcastic, playful way. I’m beyond annoyed that anyone is even having to focus on anything other than working to solve these murders.
“Can we get back to the real issue?”
“I told you to stay away from him.”
I tilt my head, ready to lose my shit on this man even if it means losing my job, but then I wouldn’t be able to work this case. I wouldn’t have access to my sister’s case, and I don’t know what I’d do if that masochistic tool was taken from me.
“You said not to sleep with him on the clock,” I remind him. “I’m not discussing my sex life with you.”
I cross my arms over my chest, feeling petulant and wondering if any of the guys would be having this conversation if the roles were reversed. I never considered Monahan to be a sexist, but my eyes get opened to things all the time on the job.
He glares at me as if he’s no more looking forward to this conversation than I am.
“You’re going to have to explain a little more than what you have. His bike was outside of a crime scene.”
I take a deep fortifying breath before speaking. “Sawyer Maddox has been escorting Rochelle Leach home every night that she closes the bar. He waits by the curb until she flashes the porch light, and then he leaves.”
