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Dani was going into shock and Aaron saw it. He grabbed a blanket from his bed on the floor, led her into the living room, and, despite the heat outside, wrapped her in it.
“Sit here, baby,” he said gently, and eased her down onto the sofa.
The horror of what had happened was beginning to sink in. Dani was beginning to shake. She was cold. So cold. When she looked up at Aaron, he saw the tears in her eyes.
The look on her face broke his heart. Without thinking, he leaned down, tucked the covers a little closer around her, and then kissed her cheek.
“You’re in shock, but it’s over. Trust me.”
“I already gave you my trust when I let you in my front door,” she said, and Aaron was torn between wanting to console her and needing to deal with thechaos. Police were at the door, and an ambulance was pulling up into the drive. Aaron let them in, and after that, everything became a blur.
Thanks to the security cameras Sean had put up inside and outside the house, everything from Aaron and Dani’s statements was corroborated by the captured footage, even Aaron’s flying tackle as he took Bing down.
Alex Bing was dead by his own hand. Whatever he’d planned to use on Dani would show up in a tox screen when they performed the autopsy.
And then the chief turned up at the scene.
He saw Aaron’s bed in the hall, and then Dani curled up on the sofa.
“Is she okay?” Sonny asked.
Aaron glanced at her. “She will be.”
“Does she need to go to the hospital?”
“No, sir. Bing never touched her, or me, for that matter. When he saw me and my gun, he turned and ran. I tackledhimat the door. I didn’t even see the syringe until after I had him cuffed. It was only after I turned him over that I saw it. Seconds later, he was dead. It’ll be interesting to find out what comes back on the tox screens.”
“How did you know he was in the area?” Sonny asked.
“I put a tracker on his car. Sometime after midnight I began hearing the same car driving back and forth pastthe house, so I got up and checked the tracking app on my laptop. It was Bing. Then I saw the car had stopped in the alley behind the house. When I saw him sneaking in through the back gate, I hid Dani, told her to call 911, and waited. He picked the lock on the back door and came in. I turned on the light with my gun aimed, ordering him to get on his knees. He turned and ran. I took him down at the door.”
“Does the investigating team know about his vehicle?” Sonny asked.
“I told them where it was. It will be towed to the lab.”
Sonny nodded. “There’s no need to put you on administrative leave because you never fired your weapon, but I’m taking you off duty for today. You and Dani will need to come into the station to sign your statements later.”
“Yes, sir,” Aaron said.
“Good enough,” Sonny said. “We can’t move the body until the medical examiner arrives. He’s driving in from Bowling Green and is about fifteen minutes out. And we’ll have to search Bing’s hotel room.”
“He was staying in one of the tiny cabins out at Reagan Bullard’s campgrounds,” Aaron said.
“Do you know if he has any next of kin other than the twin who’s in prison?”
“I think his parents are still living. Dani will know. The mother is the one who called Dani to warn her, remember?”
“Right!” Sonny said. “We’ll get that info from you later.”
“If there’s nothing else, I’m going to check on Dani,” Aaron said, and headed to the living room.
Dani was curled up on the sofa, the blanket pulled up beneath her chin and her gaze fixed on the wall. She couldn’t get the sight of Alex’s face out of her mind and couldn’t quit shaking. If it hadn’t been for Alex’s mother, she wouldn’t have known he was in the area, and if it hadn’t been for Aaron, she would be dead. It was a fact.
She’d blocked out the sounds of all the people who’d invaded her space. She’d so loved this little cottage, but this had tarnished it. What happened had sucked all the air from within these walls. It was hard to breathe without screaming.
Then she heard footsteps, and all of a sudden, Aaron was picking her up from where she was lying, blanket and all. Before she knew his intent, he turned around and sat down with her in his lap, tucked the blanket tighter around her, then pulled her close.
“We’re waiting on the medical examiner. Chief said it’ll be about fifteen minutes more before he arrives.”
