Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Leo shakes his head. “Definitely not. This is Titan House fucking with us.”
I see doubt on his face, though. “Would another society house go to such lengths just because your parties are better?” I ask doubtfully. “They wouldn’t assault a woman, would they?”
A muscle jumps in Leo’s jaw. “Well, she’d be the one to pick if they wanted to be sure we get permanently closed down and prosecuted.”
He muses some more. “Or it could be her father’s political opponents trying to make him look weak.” He shakes his head. “No, that doesn’t make sense. It has to be a set-up to get at Baron and our house.”
He returns to his phone, scrolling through video footage. “Here, look.” He shows me the video of Anders escorting Lara out to a security cart–one of the open-air electric carts the campus security patrol in. He gives her a kiss before helping her into the back seat then stands and watches as the cart drives away. “Did she look drugged to you?” Leo asks.
I shake my head, drawing in a much-needed breath.
Leo has evidence. Everything is going to be okay.
He stands and walks up to the counter. “I’d like to speak to the person in charge of the Melinda Tracy case,” he says, showing the screen of his phone. “I have time-stamped video evidence of her leaving our party.”
Baron
They grill me for what feels like hours. I don’t second-guess not calling my mom. If I get formally charged, she’ll probably kill me for not bringing her in immediately, but for now, I’m cooperating. For Melinda’s sake.
Finally, they tell me I’m free to go. “Your wife is here to pick you up,” the detective says.
Surprise pours like warm liquid into my chest. “She is?” I ask stupidly.
Lara came.
It’s early morning, which means she probably didn’t sleep.
Which means she cares.
My wife is here to pick me up.
No words have ever meant more to me.
“Don’t leave town,” the officer warns me.
I nod and walk out to the lobby of the small police station.
Another dose of warm liquid floods my limbs when I see her. Lara surges up from a waiting chair to meet me. She’s in a pair of teal sweatpants with branding down one leg and a pale cropped pink t-shirt, fitted tight around her braless tits.
“Malyshka,” my voice sounds rough. I stumble toward her. “You came.”
She meets me halfway, throwing her arms around me. I catch her waist, lifting her off the floor for a long, tight embrace.
My eyes smart.
Leo stands nearby, and Anders emerges from the interrogation room, looking haggard.
“Let’s get out of here,” I say, and the four of us walk out.
When we’re safely in Leo’s SUV, I say, “I don’t know what the fuck just happened. They said Melinda was drugged and sexually assaulted at our party.”
Anders looks like he’s going to be sick. “Can you take me to the hospital, Leo? I need to see her.”
I nod. “Yeah, me too.” I reach for and squeeze Lara’s hand. “Is that okay with you?”
Her brows lift in surprise, but she nods.
“I showed them the video of her leaving the party, clearly not drugged,” Leo fills us in. “And I verified that I personally saw you and Anders in the house the entire time after she left.”
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
“I told them I’d comb through all the footage from the party to find everything with Melinda in it. I can find footage inside the house of Anders after she left, and Lara was your alibi.”
I turn to look at Lara, suddenly sick.
She nods. “They questioned me, and I told them we were together during the last hour of the party.”
I grind my teeth. One thing I would never wish for is my wife being interrogated to corroborate my story.
“They questioned you? I’m so sorry, Lara.”
She lifts her chin. “I volunteered.”
Another wave of warmth washes over me. I bring her hand to my lips and kiss the back of it. “I’m sorry,” I murmur again.
“Not everything is under your control, Baron.” She holds my gaze steadily with her blue one, and it feels like I’m somersaulting. “You’re not responsible for all the bad things that happen in the world.”
“I’m a prime suspect,” Anders says tightly from the front seat. “They’re going to find my DNA all over her. But it was consensual.”
“Of course it was,” I say. “She’ll tell them that when she wakes.”
He turns to look at me. “Dude, what if she doesn’t remember? She was covered in marks–everyone’s going to think I’m some kind of heinous sexual predator.”
That’s when it becomes crystal clear.
“This was all a setup,” I say, working it out in my mind as I speak. “Everyone knows or thinks they know that we have a dungeon. It might also be known that Melinda Tracy frequented it last year. Maybe that she frequented it with me.” I dart an apologetic glance at my wife, but her face remains sympathetic.