27. Murderous Accusations
Murderous Accusations
Calista
I’m so tired. So fucking tired. My consciousness struggles to hold onto reality. What happened to me? I remember a park and…
My head spins as the pressure of something cuts across my wrists. It’s like the shock of reality zaps me awake, yanking me from the thoughts whirling over and over in my mind. Where am I? Why can’t I move? Where are Nolan, Lucas, and Jensen?
Fuck. What’s wrong with me? I feel sick.
A silhouette hovers over me, obscured by the halo of light beaming down from overhead. I try to wipe the hair from my face, but I can’t move my arms. The sound of metal clanking sends my soul reeling. What’s happening?
“Nolan?” I ask with a hoarse voice, trying to fight through my confusion. I need to open my eyes. Why won’t my body listen to my mind’s commands?
“Watch the restraints. She’s waking up,” an unfamiliar voice says, prodding through the haze until I see his figure.
“She’s sure strung out, isn’t she, detective?” It’s another man. “What do you think she’s on?”
I scream, trying to sit upright without success. They’ve bound my ankles too. There’s something about this position that scares me. I’ve never felt so helpless. So vulnerable.
Tears well in my eyes, and I can’t stop the sob wracking my chest. The tears burn down my cheeks, feeling as if they brand my skin.
A clammy hand slaps over my mouth, silencing me. The shock of the gesture startles me, and I glimpse… My pounding head steals the thought. I struggle to remember who, but this happened before. Someone covered my mouth. I taste the bitterness of—fuck!
I thrash against my restraints. Have I been kidnapped? Why can’t I remember anything except for the park and a gross hand?
“Shut your goddamn mouth. You’re not in danger.” A man hovers over me, snapping his fingers to grab my attention. “You’ve been detained and are in police custody.”
My eyes finally focus on him, and I spot a metallic badge. He’s not a kidnapper. He’s an officer.
“Why? What happened?” I mumble, wishing he would remove his palm from my mouth. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Are you going to be reasonable and stop screaming if I move my hand?” The officer gently raises his palm, testing me. He looks away and toward someone else who is just out of my line of sight.
I remain silent.
He takes my silence as a response and adjusts the medical bed, sitting me upright.
The dirty dress triggers some clarity, and I remember why I had gone to the park—not the park—but City Hall.
The driver dropped me off there so I could interrupt the Pack Kismet meeting with my proposal.
After that? It’s all lost. All I can remember is feeling scared.
I notice the dried blood on my fingers and legs immediately, drawing my attention from my fuzzy memory and back to the present. Subtle pain radiates from my side, and I try to twist to get a better look.
More blood. A lot of it. By the stickiness of my back, I think I’m covered in it. The thought makes me gag and tilt my head down, releasing another cry. “What happened to me? Why am I here? I can’t remember anything,” I repeat, hoping the officer answers my question.
“Let’s start with your name and your pack,” another voice says, speaking before the officer who stands beside me can answer.
“Cali…” My head throbs as I once again try to remember what happened before I woke up here. I can’t get my mind to cooperate, and I close my eyes. “Please, tell me what happened. I don’t understand. Why am I here? I need to call my pack.”
“How convenient that you’re so tweaked out that you can’t remember anything.
” The officer releases an exasperated laugh.
He turns to the other guy who is dressed in a suit and tie.
His authoritative air screams that he is part of the police force, and his attire tells me he’s someone higher up.
He should be the one I’m talking to, not the guy looking at me as if I’m stupid.
“You’ll need more than a phone call to your pack.
You murdered someone. Was it over drugs?
Money? Did the guy not pay you for your services? ”
Murdered? I murdered someone? No. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t.
But the blood?
“Don’t put words in my mouth. I didn’t kill anyone,” I say, my sudden annoyance drowning out my fear.
“The knife you had on your person says otherwise. It takes a lot for an omega to do something like this. The state takes alpha abuse seriously. You should’ve filed a report instead of taking it into your own hands.
” The uniformed officer gets in my face.
Though his voice remains even, his body language says that anything I say will be the wrong answer.
“If you tell us what really happened, we can help you.”
I flare my nostrils and glower. “I would like to call my lawyer. Also, please notify my pack. They’ll be distraught if they think something has happened to me.
” If there was one thing I learned from my mom and Henry, it was that it was important for me to never give information without someone who knows the law better than I do.
“What you need is—”
“Call Pack Kismet!” I scream, fighting against the restraints. “Call them now!”
Both men freeze in place, and silence deafens the small room. My pack name startles these two men into shock. They’re not so tough now that they realize I’m not some random murdering omega. They have to know that I’m not a criminal.
“Please,” I murmur, still shaking my limbs against the restraints. “I’m not a murderer. Something happened…but I can’t remember. I was going to City Hall to…” I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to force memories to the forefront of my mind to no avail.
The uniformed officer wrings his hands together. “I think she was drugged.”
“Call medical. Now,” the other man says, pushing the officer toward the cell door. He yanks a set of keys from his belt and rattles the ring of metal, searching for the key to unlock my restraints. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Kismet. I had no idea. You must understand that—”
“What the hell are you doing to her!”
The uniformed officer skids across the floor. No one has a chance to prepare for Nolan storming into the small, concrete-walled room.
“I’ll take your fucking job! Cut off your fucking hand for touching her.” Nolan grabs the man in a suit by the back of his collar and hoists him off his feet only to drop him away from me.
Tears burst from my eyes, my anger melting away completely.
I don’t even know how to handle the situation.
How on earth could they think I’m a murderer?
Why would they try to question me and coerce me without my pack?
Is this how it is outside of the Omega Resort?
Is this what my mom went through? She never hurt my dad, but I’m sure they made her uncomfortable and accused her of things.
They probably asked her what she did to deserve his malice.
I hate this. I fucking hate this. This was supposed to be an amazing day. I was going to propose. But then…
Why can’t I remember?
“Are you hurt, Calista?” Nolan inspects my face and drags his gaze along my body to my restrained ankles. He tightens his jaw with a growl and turns toward the two men. He doesn’t even have to say anything for the one in the tie to hand him his keys.
“Mr. Kismet, you have my sincerest apologies. We didn’t know she was Calista.
Had we known, we’d have taken her to you immediately.
We just did what we thought was right, taking her into custody.
She was covered in blood with a knife. There was a dead man beside her.
She was speaking deliriously. We thought she might have killed him under the influence.
” The uniformed officer swallows, his hand shaking as he tries to compose himself.
“Don’t even talk to me. Get out of here before I kill you.” Nolan heaves a couple of breaths, releasing me from the binds.
Nolan scoops me off the bed and cradles me in his arms. I hide my face against his chest, breathing in long breaths, trying to slow down my racing heart.
My whole body buzzes, the adrenaline still pumping hard through me.
I hate being so confused. I need to know what happened and how this blood got on me.
I know I’m not a killer. I’m certain of it.
“Everything’s going to be okay, omega. I have this handled. I just need you to try your best to stay calm and let me take care of you. You don’t have to be independent right now.” Nolan breathes the words, his voice a mixture of heat and air against the top of my head.
“Where are your brothers? What happened at the meeting? Please tell me it was something good.” Because now that I’ve had a moment to think, I realize that this situation could put our bonding at risk.
Packs don’t like criminal omegas. That’s why things get investigated thoroughly.
Though this police station hasn’t done a good job.
They were more concerned with treating me like a monster than trying to figure out what really happened.
Fuck. What happened?
Come on, brain. Come on!
Nolan adjusts me in his arms and grabs the back of my neck, holding me so that I have to look at him.
“Hey, don’t panic before I have a chance to speak.
Everything is fine. The pack approved us.
We’re set. Let’s just think about you right now.
Our security said you went missing. We tracked your location and it bounced to City Hall and then to here.
What were you doing? You weren’t supposed to leave home. ”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.” Tears burn my eyes, and I close them, not wanting to see Nolan’s expression. Because I did something stupid. I followed my heart. I wanted to do something, anything, to prove that I’m in this for life.
Nolan squeezes me tighter, picking up his pace as he navigates through the police station and out to his waiting car, still running while being parked in front of the door with the door wide open.
“Oh, Cali. I’m not mad. Far from it. I’m so relieved that you’re okay. I don’t care why you were out. I just wanted to try to piece things together. I don’t understand what you were doing and what happened.”
“I wish I could explain, but I don’t remember anything.
All I remember is I wanted to get to you.
I wanted to profess my love to you and your brothers in front of everyone.
I wanted our pack to see exactly how much you mean to me.
” I keep my eyes closed, the adrenaline seeping away and turning into nausea.
A pit forms in my stomach, and I slump into the passenger seat.
Nolan shuts the door and runs around, sliding in behind the wheel.
He takes my hand. “Your arrest paperwork mentioned narcotics. I think someone drugged you.”
“I don’t feel so good,” I whisper. “I just want to go home.”
“Don’t worry, Cali. We’ll figure this out. I promise. I will not let anyone tear our pack apart.”
“Me either.” If only I knew exactly what to do.