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Jasper spied Asher when he pulled into the bank parking lot. Once he parked, he joined Asher on the sidewalk. “Thanks for coming.”
“Look, I know it seems bleak. But if she’s telling the truth and has the evidence, then it might take some maneuvering, but she’ll be in the clear. I’ve got one of my guys checking through her husband’s records. He’s been written up for excessive use of force multiple times. That dude should not have a badge or a gun.”
He nodded. Until he knew the truth, he had little to say. The entire drive into Denver, he’d gone back over everything she’d said and done, trying to determine what was true and what was false. And it was the last image of her tear-stained face he couldn’t erase as much as he tried.
No matter what happened, that image would live with him. All of it would, if he was honest.
Inside the bank, Asher flashed his badge since his name wasn’t on the deposit box. The manager let them in. Sure enough, the cell phone was stored in the box with its charger. She hadn’t lied about this.
“We need to charge it.” He couldn’t stop the glimmer of hope bubbling in his chest.
“Let’s head back to my office. It’s not far from here. We can charge it and then check to see if that stuff is really on it,” Asher said on their way toward the bank exit.
“Good call.” Jasper followed Asher to the FBI building.
“I charged it in the car, but it’s only at ten percent,” he said as they headed up to his office on the second floor.
They entered his office, and Asher nodded toward one of the chairs. They sat at his desk, and he held out his hand for the phone. “Let’s take a look, shall we?”
They brought up the videos. The last one was dated a day before charges were issued against Freya. “That must be the one.”
Asher hit play. And then they watched in dawning horror as Freya’s husband beat the shit out of her. It was all caught on camera—Freya begging him to stop, promising to be good, to be better. And then he watched Ian go after a screaming Maddie. The look on his face, fuck, he was going to kill the kid. Freya wrestled with him, trying to turn his attention her way, taking a few more punches as she tried to save Maddie.
And then she took his gun out and pointed it at him. Blood poured from her nose and a split lip. Her left eye was swollen shut. She stood in front of Maddie, defending her with her life as she held the gun on him and told him to leave. But the fucker advanced.
Desperate, she shot him. Then she grabbed her kid, her purse, and her phone, whatever she could carry. That’s where the video left off.
Asher swore. “Well, fuck. I’ve seen a lot in my day, but that—I’ll see what I can to bring charges against this motherfucker. And he’s a fucking cop. I hate bad cops. They make law enforcement an even harder profession. Asshole.”
“There’s more.” Jasper went to another video and pressed play. Noting the date and time stamp was ten days before the last one. Freya recorded herself. She had a split lip and a black eye. She spoke into the camera, saying in case he killed her, the police and whatever judge assigned knew not to give Ian custody of their daughter.
There was another of her locked in the bathroom, pleading with him to stop. To go away and cool down, while she tried comforting Maddie. She did a shot of her face. And once again, she was bloody and bruised.
Asher shook his head in disbelief. “Jesus Christ. She documented her abuse. We can use this to get her charges dropped and to arrest him for domestic assault.”
The next one they came to, she was pregnant and looked sickly. Her face was all banged up. And she said, “I got these because I served him divorce papers.”
Jasper snarled. “Goddammit. Why didn’t she tell me about all this?”
“Because she was scared, and rightly so. Look at it from her perspective. Her husband regularly beat her. When she tried to report it, the charges were suppressed and evidence disappeared. No one in authority helped her or her kid. Then she had to flee for her life. You saw that video. If she hadn’t shot him in the leg and gotten out of there, he would have killed her. There’s no doubt in my mind after watching these videos. And I’m going to comb through the rest of them so you don’t have to. It will be my case against the husband. And I’m going to have my department launch a full-scale investigation into their department. Because this type of shit cannot be allowed. It tarnishes everything we stand for in law enforcement.”
Jasper swore.
Oh, Jesus, his sweet lass! Seeing the evidence, that everything she’d told him had been the truth. What she’d kept hidden had been out of survival. All his anger was redirected at the man, her soon-to-be ex-husband—because Freya and Maddie were his.
“It’s obvious to me that you care about her. If you want her that badly, you’re going to have to fight for her, dude. And you’re going to have to forgive her for not being totally honest. I understand your fury and rage—”
“Like hell you do.” The woman he loved had lived through hell. And he’d been a total ass earlier. He prayed she would forgive him.
Asher shot him a cold glare. “If you’ll recall, I had to watch my wife be terrorized and almost killed by a stalker. I understand more than you might imagine.”
Jasper winced. He was right. “Bloody hell. Sorry. I didn’t mean to take my frustration out on you. It’s been a trying day.”
“I know. So go home. Talk to her and figure out what the hell you want from her. Because that woman has been through far too much. If you’re going to be an asshole and want nothing to do with her, let me know, and I’ll get them set up in a safe house.”
He flexed his hands. Freya and Maddie were his. He would not let them go, not when he’d just found them. “No. I don’t want that. Do we know where the husband is at right now?”
“Yeah, and you’re not gonna like it.”
