Chapter 39 River
THIRTY-NINE
RIVER
I’m still in yesterday’s clothes.
My hair’s a mess, my eyes burn from lack of sleep, and I’m cradling Gage’s hoodie like it might be the only thing holding me together. I can still smell him in it. Soap and heat and something that’s just… him.
I don’t know what time it is. The light filtering through the blinds looks like morning, but I haven’t slept. Not really.
Not since the cops showed up.
Not since they shoved Gage against the wall and handcuffed him right here in his apartment like he was some kind of monster.
Their words still echo in my skull.
“River,” he said, calm and careful, even with panic dancing in his eyes. “Stay strong, okay?”
Then he was gone.
Just like that.
Now I’m curled on the couch, arms wrapped around my knees, staring at the spot where he stood. I can still feel the heat of his body, still hear the way his voice dropped when he told me I was his. That we were real.
How can someone like him be accused of murder?
He was with me all night. I know he didn’t do it.
But the police claim they have video evidence. That they saw him leaving the warehouse near the river where the bodies were found.
Another deep fake.
Obviously.
There’s motion at the front door. A key. Unlocking.
Arrow barrels in through the door, followed by Juno, Knight, and Lark. When Gage was arrested they went to the station to try to bail him out. To figure out what could be done. I stayed behind, they said it was safer. I still don’t agree.
“Anything?” I ask as soon as the door shuts. My voice sounds so small. “They said there’s footage—proof. But it’s fake. It has to be.”
Arrow kneels beside me, resting his hand on my arm. “We’re gonna fix this.”
Knight paces behind the couch, furious. “What’s the chain of custody? Who gave them the footage? Who leaked it?”
“That’s what we’re working on,” Arrow says.
“But we need something solid,” Juno adds. “We need you, Riv.”
“I was with him all night,” I say again, the words tumbling out. “We didn’t leave Riverside. Not once.”
Knight looks at Arrow. “That’s not gonna be enough. The cops will say you’re covering for him. Alibi bias.”
I blink. “No. No, they can’t just ignore me. I’m not lying.”
Arrow’s expression softens. “We believe you. We know he didn’t do it. But we need independent verification. Something they can’t refute.”
I straighten, a sudden burst of hope flooding my chest.
“The cameras,” I whisper.
Lark leans forward. “What cameras?”
“In Riverside,” I say, standing now, adrenaline kicking in. “The guys put up cameras. If Gage and I were inside all night. We can prove it.”
Knight’s already pulling out his phone. “I’ll get on the footage.”
I stop him. “Uh, there’s some…” I don’t even know how to finish my thought. Of telling Knight that Gage and I were doing very indecent things to each other last night.
Knight holds up a hand, stopping me. “Don’t worry, I’ll blur it all before we give it to the cops.”
I breathe a sigh of relief.
“I’ll get the security team at Maddox Security to prep a secondary server to host the evidence,” Arrow says, tapping away at his phone. “That way we can submit it to the precinct directly. They’ll have no excuse not to clear him.”
Lark moves beside me and squeezes my arm. “We’re gonna get him out.”
An hour later, I’m staring at video playback of the Riverside safe house.
It’s clear as day. Timestamps. Us. Alone. Never leaving. Not once.
Just two people curled up in an apartment that has become the only place I feel safe.
I hit pause.
“There,” I say, my finger shaking as I point to the timestamp. “He didn’t do this.”
Arrow nods. “Let’s package it. Get it on the record.”
“Do you think this will be enough?” I ask.
Knight stares at the screen. “It’ll raise enough doubt to get him released, at the very least. And we’ll use it to go after whoever sent the fake video.”
Arrow nods toward my laptop. “Can I borrow your rig for five minutes? I’ll scrub the metadata, layer in third-party verification, and route it to the department’s main line.”
“Yeah,” I whisper, stepping aside.
Lark stays close. “We’ll get him out,” she says again. “I swear.”
I nod, even though I’m holding back tears.
Because I’m not just scared.
I’m angry.
Whoever did this wanted Gage gone.
Which means they think I’m alone.
But they’ve made one critical mistake.
They underestimated what I’ll do to protect the man I love.