Chapter 25
Olivia was jolted out of sleep by a loud pounding at her door.
Untangling herself from Theo’s arms, she swung her feet over the side of the bed, wincing as her bare feet made contact with the cold floor.
Cursing silently, she made a mental note to find where her aunt had stored the rugs so that she could put them down on the hardwood floors now the cold weather had set in.
The impatient thumping sounded again, and this time Theo poked his sleepy head out from under the bedding.
“What’s going on?” he murmured, glancing at the clock, and rolling out of bed reluctantly.
“I don’t know.” She frowned, looking around.
Leaving Theo as he pulled on his clothes, and unable to find her robe or her slippers, she left the room and headed downstairs. No doubt she’d find them slobbered on in Beau’s bed. He seemed to like to sleep on anything that smelled like her.
She stifled a yawn as Beau danced playfully around her bare legs. Raising herself up on tiptoes, she looked through the peephole and sighed.
“This should be interesting.” She grimaced and opened the door. “Chief.” She shot him a glare. “What is it this time?”
“Olivia West”—he reached out and grabbed her roughly—“I’m placing you under arrest for the kidnapping and murder of Lucas Campbell.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she replied in complete disbelief.
The chief spun her around and slammed her roughly against the door as he yanked her arms behind her and handcuffed her so tightly she felt the blood cut off from her hands.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Theo growled as he stormed angrily down the stairs.
“This is none of your concern, Mr. Beckett, unless you want to be charged as an accomplice.”
“The hell it isn’t.” He glared at the chief. “Take your hands off her now.”
“Deputy,” Walcott called as he marched Olivia off the porch into the freezing cold air, wearing nothing but her nightshirt. “Deal with him, please.”
Cameron and Helga both stepped forward to block Theo’s way.
“You have no right.” Olivia tried to pull away, but he simply tightened his grip on her upper arm.
“I have every right, Miss West,” he sneered. “I have a search warrant for your car and your house.”
“What?” Her eyes widened as she saw a forensic tech with his head in the trunk of her car. “But you won’t find anything.”
“We already have.” He smiled smugly. “Blood was discovered in the trunk, which tested positive as human. It will need to be analyzed, but I’m confident it will be Lucas Campbell’s blood.”
A feeling of dread curled in her gut. “What did you do?” Her voice was little more than a horrified whisper.
He slammed her up against the side of the squad car, leaning in close to ensure no one else could hear their conversation.
“What I had to do to catch a cold-blooded killer. You’re going to prison, Olivia, for a very long time, and when I find your father, he will join you there, which is where he should have been the last twenty years. No more cushy hospitals, no more insanity pleas, it’s time to pay the piper.”
“You bastard,” she hissed.
“When we search your property, I’m sure we’ll find enough evidence to convict you of Adam and Brody’s murders as well.”
Knowing there was no way out of this, she knew she had to warn Theo. She couldn’t risk letting them get their hands on Hester’s Grimoire, not that they’d know what to do with it anyway, but it was still their best shot at preventing the demon from rising.
She shoved the chief as hard as she could and rushed past him toward Theo, but he simply spun and grabbed her, painfully wrenching her shoulders.
Theo roared in fury as Helga and Cameron tried to restrain him. He threw Helga to the ground before turning. He punched Cameron in the face so hard it took his feet out from under him, and he landed on his back on the hard ground with the wind knocked from him.
Olivia struggled with the chief as he fought to restrain her. “Theo,” she called to him.
Helga reached out and grabbed his ankles tightly, forcing him to the ground. Before he could get back to his feet, she climbed on his back and pinned him down. Cameron crawled over and helped her yank his arms behind his back.
“Should we arrest him, Chief?” he panted.
“Not yet.” He shook his head. “Let him stew for a while.”
Theo growled as the cold gravel of the driveway bit into his cheek and neck.
“Theo.” Olivia struggled against the chief again. “Don’t let them search the house.”
“Why?” The chief slammed her back against the car once again, causing her to cry out in pain. “What’s in the house?”
“Go to hell,” she spat at him.
He grabbed her by the throat and raised his hand to hit her. Knowing there was no way to protect herself with her hands behind her back, she closed her eyes and waited for the blow.
“Chief!” Helga’s voice cracked like a whip. Even Cameron looked up, slightly surprised. “I’m sure you wouldn’t want people to think we mistreat our prisoners,” she told him pointedly. “Perhaps you should allow Miss West to put some shoes and a jacket on.”
Grating his teeth, his eyes flashed dangerously. “She’ll be fine.” He opened the door and shoved her into the car.
Waiting for the tech to pack up the evidence bags and climb into the passenger seat, the chief slid into the driver’s seat and pulled out of the drive. Helga and Cameron released Theo and headed toward their own car.
Theo climbed to his feet and brushed the gravel from his clothes, watching the retreating cars with dark eyes. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he did the only thing he could… he called Jake.
* * *
Olivia sat quietly, shivering in the back of the car. The sadistic son of a bitch didn’t even put the heater on as he read her rights. She watched him carefully as she listened to the inflections in his voice.
He was different. There was something in his eyes, a kind of madness.
To him, everything he’d done was by the book and completely rational.
Olivia didn’t believe for one second that he could make the charges stick; in fact, as soon as Erica found out, she’d have his balls for breakfast. He’d crossed so many lines there was no way he could get away with it.
They pulled into the station parking lot and moved around the back to the bays in front of the rear entrance.
She found herself roughly pulled from the vehicle and winced as the cold, hard ground scraped up the soles of her bare feet.
Damn it, they’d only just healed from the last time.
She could feel the temper simmering under her skin and resisted the overwhelming urge to use her powers to throw the chief through the wall.
Do no harm... do no harm... she repeated in her head as she was marched into booking and subjected to the additional humiliation of being fingerprinted and photographed.
Okay, so maybe she’d cheated slightly and allowed the heat to pool in her fingertips, leaving not only little black burns on the card, but also a very baffled Deputy Carl.
They finally threw her into a cell and left her there in the freezing cold.
She curled up against the wall on the small cot and wrapped her arms around her legs, trying to find some warmth.
She was lucky that her body ran at a higher temperature than the average person, or she’d probably end up with pneumonia.
She lost track of how much time had passed, looking up only when she heard someone else enter the corridor and approach her cell. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as Deputy Helga appeared in front of the bars and pressed a folded blanket through the metal.
“Here,” she spoke quietly. “Take this. It’s freezing in here.”
Olivia uncurled herself from the narrow cot and walked cautiously over to the door. She watched the tall blonde woman suspiciously, wondering if it was some kind of trap.
“Take it,” she repeated, holding the blanket out further.
“Thank you,” Olivia murmured, her icy fingers wrapping around the coarse material.
Helga watched Olivia with troubled eyes before leaning in close to the bars. “I’ve called the mayor’s office,” she whispered.
“What?” Olivia’s brow folded in confusion. “Why? Why are you helping me?”
“I wasn’t watching you just because the chief ordered me to,” she replied cryptically.
Before she could ask any more questions, a sudden commotion startled them both and drew their attention. The door crashed open, and Mayor Burnett swept in imperiously, followed by a tall, well-built man with a couple of days old stubble and slightly graying hair.
“What the hell is going on here?” Mayor Burnett demanded. “Release her immediately.”
Helga moved to unlock the door.
“As you were, Deputy.” Chief Walcott stalked belligerently into the room.
“I said, release her,” Mayor Burnett repeated.
“You have no right,” he growled.
“I’ll deal with you in a minute.” Her eyes flashed dangerously as she took in Olivia’s appearance. “You,” she beckoned Helga forward. “For God’s sake, go and get the poor girl some warm clothes before she freezes to death.”
“Olivia West is my prisoner, and I will deal with her as I see fit.” Chief Walcott stepped toward her but found his path blocked. “Who the hell are you?”
“Captain McCallister, Philadelphia PD,” he introduced himself. “And you are under arrest, Chief.”
“What?” Walcott roared in disbelief. “On what charges?”
“The physical assault of Judge Andrew Lloyd, falsifying evidence, wrongful arrest, harassment, basically anything else I can make stick,” Mac told him pleasantly.
“You have no jurisdiction here,” he spat.
“I think you’ll find you’re wrong, Chief Walcott,” Mayor Burnett answered coldly.
“I told you to do your job or I would find someone else to do it. I spoke with the Commissioner this morning, and he has agreed that Captain McCallister here will fill in for you temporarily until we can straighten out the diabolical mess you have created.”
“I did my job,” Chief Walcott hissed in contempt. “I caught a murderer.”