Chapter 29
Link didn't want to leave the beach and head home, but they'd been here for ten days, and he needed to get back home and take care of a few things before he went back to work. Also, Ansley would be starting her job teaching online in a few days, so she needed to get settled, too.
“You all ready?” Ansley asked as she stepped out of the bathroom.
"I am. I just need to turn off the ice maker. I left it on once and came back to an ice-packed freezer."
“Oh my. It didn’t stop?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know why, but no, it didn’t. It took me hours to clear out the freezer. It was funny, in a way, but I don’t want to do that again.”
“What can I do?”
“Check the windows and make sure the locks are secure. We’re on the third floor, but I never take security lightly.”
“That’s good to know. I appreciate it. I know someone breaking into the third floor would be wild, but sometimes people do weird things.”
Ansley went up to the loft first, then headed into the bedroom, checking the windows as Link made sure the kitchen was in order.
There was one frozen pizza left in the freezer, but he figured that with Ansley around, they would come back here in a month or so.
Also, if any of his buddies wanted to rent it out, they would appreciate having a pizza in the freezer.
Before they left, Ansley pulled him close and lifted up on her toes for a kiss.
He didn't make the kiss too deep, or they would get distracted and stay here again tonight.
That's how they'd stayed for ten nights instead of seven.
There was always something he wanted to explore with her, and that usually meant they ended up in bed, their bodies tangled in the sheets.
He stepped back and took her hand. "You ready?"
Ansley nodded. “Yes, let’s go.”
The drive to Fayetteville didn’t take too long, and they were home before dinner. They dropped off their bags before heading out to the grocery store to restock for a few days.
Shopping and doing normal life stuff felt brighter with Ansley by his side. He enjoyed picking out vegetables with her. She grabbed ingredients for the food she wanted to cook for dinner.
Once they were home and the groceries were put away, he checked his email, seeing something from Mick. Pete had gone on a podcast and was telling anyone who would listen that Ansley had killed three people.
“Shit.” The word slipped out before he could think.
“Something wrong?” Ansley asked as she stepped into the bedroom.
He turned, warring with his desire to keep her safe and not tell her about the podcast or reveal everything to her. Keeping her in the dark wouldn’t help.
“Got a note from Mick. Looks like Pete has captured the attention of the true crime podcast circuit. He is going on podcasts and telling people that you murdered three people.”
Her eyes went wide as shock settled in. “Fuck.”
"Yeah, apparently, he is twisting the truth.
From what Mick said, Pete straight-up lied and said there is video of you on that pier pushing Craig off.
That the police were against him, and that you were manipulating the cops.
Apparently, he infers you were sleeping with the police officers and using your position as a Marine to force the police not to reveal the true video that he has. "
“What the hell?”
“I’m going to talk to Mick. Maybe it’s not that bad.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, it’s probably worse.”
He stepped to her and wrapped his arms around her. He wanted to keep her safe, wanted to protect her, but this seemed so big that she was bound to get burned in the process. "We'll see what we can do."
She nodded. “I’m probably going to have to contact a lawyer.”
Link blew out a breath. "Probably." He opened his phone and dialed Mick, who answered on the second ring.
“Hey, buddy, what’s up?”
“Calling about that email you sent. Ansley is here with me. I’m going to put you on speaker.”
“Hey, Ansley. So I did some digging. Pete paid someone to create an AI video of you on that pier, but the thing in the video doesn’t look like you.
Honestly, it barely looks human. That doesn’t mean people won’t believe it.
But there are laws against fraud and impersonating someone or creating deep fakes. ”
Ansley shook her head. “This is bad.”
“It is,” Mick said. “But there is this guy from basic who is FBI now. He left the Army and joined them. I’ve sent him the information about you and about Pete.
He contacted me last night and said it was right up his alley.
He’s on the cyber crimes unit, and this is the type of thing they are looking into. ”
“Nice.” Link had felt a little hopeless before, but now he had hope that they could stop this jerk from ruining Ansley’s life.
Learning that Pete was trying to destroy her felt miserable, but after Link called Mick, she felt a little better knowing that they might have the help of the FBI. Maybe this would shut Pete down.
“So what do I need to do?” Ansley asked.
"My friend will probably be contacting you soon.
His name is Ryan Lane. He's a good guy, a bit of a nerd.
He caught hell in basic, and I stepped in when a group of guys started picking on him.
He's a good buddy. Anal retentive as heck, but he's the kind of guy who will shake this down until there are zero questions unanswered. "
“That sounds good,” Link said.
Ansley sighed. “Thank you, Mick. I appreciate your help.”
“Hey, you’re family now.”
His words made her smile. She glanced up and caught Link’s gaze. He flashed her a smile and pulled her closer. “Thank you for looking into this. I owe you.”
“No problem. I know you’re good for it.” Mick grunted. “Sorry, I have to head out. I’m meeting up with someone and I’ve got to get on the road.”
“Sure. We’re having everyone over for a cookout on Sunday,” Link said.
“Sounds good. See you later.”
The call ended, and Ansley blew out a breath in relief. "I feel better now."
“Good. We’ll talk to this FBI agent and see what we can do.”
“So we’re having everyone over on Sunday?”
He shrugged. “I thought it would be a good idea. You know, make sure they all know that we’re a couple before I head back into work with them.”
“They’ll all be cool with it, right? I know some guys in the Marines got jealous when their buddies got into relationships.”
Link snorted a laugh. "They will be good with us being together. They're all secure with their masculinity, and they won't feel threatened if one of us gets with a woman. They'll welcome you in like family."
“That’s good. I think I’m going to like your friends.”
Link’s gaze drifted, and he nodded. “They can be a lot. The guys are intense. Can’t make it in this job if you aren’t. But they are good guys.”
She understood what he meant. In the Marines, she knew guys who were good people but very intense. The intensity scared some people away. Not her. "I'm looking forward to spending more time with them. I want to get to know them better."
"Good. They'll want to get to know you better, too."
Ansley didn’t know how she’d gotten so lucky to find a guy like Link. He was a great guy who had really good friends. Bringing him into her life had been one of her best decisions. She hoped they kept growing closer, because losing him would be awful.