Chapter 22 #2
I didn’t get the chance to finish my sentence. “Mr. Adams?”
It was the voice from the phone, only a little deeper than it had been in my phone speaker. I jumped to my feet and almost tripped over my own toes in an effort to turn and face him.
Clearing my throat loudly, I stuck my hand out. “Detective Barnes.”
It took him a moment to grip my hand, but he did it in a kind way. “Thank you for coming down. I promise this won’t take too long.” I heard Hugo start to stand, but Barnes made a soft noise of protest. “For now, I’m afraid Mr. Adams needs to come with me alone. Unless you’re his attorney?”
“Does he need one?” Hugo demanded.
“No. As I assured him on the phone, he’s not a suspect. We’re gathering evidence right now, and from what we have, it seems, Mr. Adams, you have some messages on your phone you might want to show me?”
Oh. Oh fuck. They did have Hunter.
Swallowing thickly, I dug my nails into my cane handle and forced myself to take a few breaths. “I’ll be alright.”
“If you’re sure,” Hugo said.
“Just don’t leave, yeah?”
He laughed. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I wanted to hug him, but that probably would have made me look pathetic in front of the nice detective who was trying to solve my case, so instead, I turned toward Barnes’s voice and put out my hand.
“If I could take your elbow?”
He stepped up close and was careful as he guided me toward a long set of stairs, warning me right before we reached the top.
“You’ve done this before,” I said as I followed him down what my cane told me was a narrow corridor. “Most people forget, and I end up nearly falling on my face at the top of the stairs.”
“This isn’t my first rodeo,” he told me.
He came to a stop, and then I heard the click of a lock and the smell of something like leather.
“I’ve had all sorts of victims and suspects up here.
” He walked a few more steps, then said, “There’s a chair right in front of you.
It’s at a small, round table. There’s a bottle of water also if you’re thirsty. ”
I found the chair, then sat, folding my cane and keeping it on my lap so I had something to do with my hands. This was all a lot.
“I’m not going to have to see him, am I?” I asked. “I figure you have Hunter here.”
“He isn’t here,” Barnes said. His chair squeaked as he sat. “We had enough to arrest him last night. He’ll be arraigned either this afternoon or first thing in the morning, and he’ll be able to post bond.”
My stomach swooped. “Will he know I was here?”
“We won’t tell him, but it’s safe to assume that he’ll know you were brought in for questioning,” he answered matter-of-factly. “I can fast-track a TPO—”
“A what?”
“Protective order,” he explained.
I blew out a puff of air. “I mean, considering what he did to my condo, that’s probably a good idea.”
Barnes was quiet for a moment, then asked, “What did he do to your condo?”
“How much do you know?”
He cleared his throat. “Ah, well. We know about the texts. We know he’s been stalking you, sending you threatening messages talking about revenge porn—”
“Does it count as porn if we didn’t actually, you know, go all the way?” I blurted, then fought the urge to slap a hand over my face. Fuck, did I really have to say that?
“Ah, yes. I mean, any sort of retaliatory video involving any kind of sexual contact—even if it wasn’t full intercourse—counts as revenge porn. And it’s a felony.”
“Did you see the video?” I asked him.
“No. It wasn’t on the devices we confiscated, but we’ll be getting a warrant for any other phones, laptops, tablets, or computers he has before he’s released. You were in his place, yes?”
“Uh. Twice,” I admitted, feeling like a jackass for ever giving this guy more than one chance. “Sorry. I know that makes me sound like the world’s biggest dipshit.”
“It absolutely does not,” Barnes said, his voice low and fierce. “None of this was your fault. And I know he’s been keeping a verbal knee on your neck about being able to turn him in. That’s what people like him do. They use fear, and it makes their victims feel shame.”
I swallowed heavily. I knew that. Logic had told me all along that Hunter was manipulating me into keeping quiet. But hearing someone else say it like that?
“So yeah. Where would you like me to start?”
Barnes let out a tiny, puffing breath. “How about from the beginning. The more details we have, the bigger case we can build against him. Because this sounds like it’s going to be a lot more than attempted vehicular homicide.”
I almost choked on my tongue. “Is that what you charged him with?”
“For now,” Barnes said. “We have everything on security camera, and we have an officer at the hospital right now speaking with Mr. Maximov.”
Fuck, I wished I were there with Vanya right now. But being here meant being able to tell them everything. It meant finally getting Hunter’s ass locked away.
I didn’t care if he had some fail-safe button that would make all the videos go live the moment he was incarcerated. I didn’t care if the whole world knew I was different.
The only thing that mattered in this moment was knowing it was nearly over.
I was still shaking by the time I made it back down to the lobby.
I had Barnes’s card tucked in my pocket, along with some pamphlets about what to do when someone is the victim of all the crimes Hunter had committed.
They were all in print, of course, so useless to me, but Vanya could read them aloud if I really wanted to know what was in them.
What really mattered was that I had a court date in three days to finalize what he’d called a TPO—and there was one for Vanya as well. Neither one of us was required to attend, which was a relief, because I didn’t think I’d be able to handle it.
Yes, it was almost over. But it was also just beginning. If Hunter was charged with everything, there would be a hearing. There would be a trial if he didn’t plead guilty. And there would always be a fear that he’d come and find me the moment he was able to break free of being watched.
I felt sick to my stomach, but the nausea eased a little when Hugo’s hands found mine and he pulled me into a fierce hug.
“Your brother and Alexio are here,” he murmured against my temple. “They’re waiting outside. I guess they were at the hospital when Vanya was talking to a detective.”
Jonah already knew everything. I’d spilled my guts on the floor, right at his feet, when we were at Caleb’s, but I’d kept some of the details to myself when I told the rest of the boys, and I had no idea if Jonah had told Alexio all of it.
Still, it was nice to be unburdened. I was angry at myself for letting it get this far, but I was going to beg Vanya for forgiveness and promise I would never be this foolish ever again.
“Can we go?” I asked.
“You’re free?”
“Yeah. I’m done here.” I pulled back and took his arm, keeping my cane close to my body because my arm felt too weak to use it. Hugo was a good guide and got me outside the building, and I had ten seconds to myself before I was overwhelmed with familiar arms.
“Since he’s in jail,” Jonah said, “that means we can’t kill him, right?”
“You probably don’t want to say that in front of a police station, my love,” Alexio warned him.
Jonah pulled back. “Why? Are there cops around? Is someone listening?”
“There could be.”
Jonah scoffed and pulled me into another hug. “I can’t fucking believe he tried to run Vanya over with a truck. God, the entire team is going to go feral on that fucker if he ever shows his face in Boston ever again.”
I took a breath. “Mm. I mean, he has to stay here for his hearings and stuff, but yeah. Hopefully, he’ll be under some kind of house arrest or something.”
Jonah began to tug me along toward the parking lot, and I assumed that Alexio was leading the way. “Did they say how the fuck he got past security?”
“No. They’re working on that, I guess. But they found messages on his phone to someone. It was obvious he was going after me, but I think he saw Vanya and took the chance to get him out of the way.” It was hard to say those words. They made me furious.
If I could have breathed fire and set that fucker ablaze, I would have.
“Mr. Adams!”
Jonah and I both froze as the sound of our last name, but I was the one who recognized the voice. It was Barnes, and it sounded like he was running.
I turned just as his footsteps came to a rapid halt.
“I’m so sorry. I forgot to give you the report you’ll need to keep on hand in case you need to speak to another officer about anything.”
Hugo made a soft, curious noise. “Another officer about what? Do you think Micah’s in danger?”
“We will do our absolute best to ensure nothing happens, but it’s very likely Mr. Farth won’t be on house arrest, and it’s better to remain vigilant.”
Jonah stiffened. “He’s getting out?”
“He has an arraignment,” I murmured. “It’s normal.”
“He fucking tried to kill someone!” Jonah all but shouted. “And we’re just supposed to sit around doing nothing, eh? Just shove our thumbs up our assholes?”
“My love,” Alexio said very quietly. I had a feeling he was probably touching Jonah in some way to attempt to soothe him.
“Look, Hunter doesn’t know where I’m staying right now. He can’t get to Vanya, and he won’t get to Vanya even after he gets discharged.” I took a deep breath, wondering if I was trying to convince them or myself. “We’ll be together.”
“I know this is nerve-racking,” Barnes said, his voice low, “but we’ll be moving on this as quickly as we can. With the information we got last night—”
“I was meaning to ask,” Alexio cut in, “how did you find him so fast? By the time the ambulance arrived for Vanya, he was long gone.”
“We had a tip with video surveillance,” Barnes said.
“It wasn’t…officially obtained, so we legally can’t use that, but it was enough to track the vehicle.
He was found about two miles from the arena, and the management at the arena have turned over all security footage to help corroborate the witness statements. ”
“Interesting,” Alexio said. “Is that all?”
“Yes. I—here. Mr. Adams. The papers.”
I stuck out my hand and took what he gave me. They were folded neatly, and I could feel a staple in the corner. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure. And please, if you need anything, call me.”
I probably wouldn’t call him. Not unless it was a life-or-death situation. I didn’t want to think about any of this for a good, long eternity.
“We’re heading back to the hospital,” Alexio said when Barnes’s footsteps started to fade. “You want to ride with us?”
“Hugo?” I asked.
“I promised Boden I’d pick him up some lunch. He’s at the practice rink all day today. But if you want me to go with you—”
I cut him off, reaching for him and pulling him into a firm hug. “No. But thank you. I love you.”
His grip on me tightened. “I love you too. Call me if you need me, but when Vanya’s out, let us know. We’ll all come by. Safety in numbers and all that.”
I breathed a little easier and fought off the urge to cry. These people were everything to me, and I felt like such a fucking moron for pushing them away for so long. But I was fixing it now.
I was fixing all of it.