Chapter 34
Chapter thirty-four
Luna
Ican’t stop staring at my hands. Caleb’s blood is gone, but I can still feel the sticky, viscous sensation of it beneath my fingernails. Karen sits in front of me with her notepad and pen in her hand while Damien and Cade work on making sure the front door can be closed and secured for the night.
The speed with which they cleaned up and staged the scene to match our story is a little disturbing, but I refuse to dwell on that.
“Luna?” Karen’s voice pulls my attention back. “I need to go over your statement one more time.”
I look up from my hands to meet her keen gray eyes. Her gaze feels like it’s stripping away layers of me, searching for the lies beneath the truth. Or is it the truth beneath the lies? I’m not even sure anymore.
“Of course.” I sound steadier than I feel. “Whatever you need.”
We’re sitting in my living room, the same space where hours ago Caleb broke in and threatened me. The same space where Damien…
No. Don’t think about that now.
“So, Caleb arrived around seven.” She reads from her notepad. “He attacked you, shot Shadow, and then Mr. Wolfe showed up unexpectedly, scuffled with Caleb, and then he fled the scene without either of you realizing he left until after he was gone? Is that correct?”
“Mostly.” The lie we’ve constructed feels wrong as it leaves my lips, like I’m choking on words that don’t belong to me. “I was expecting Damien at seven, so his arrival wasn’t unexpected, but Caleb showed up a few minutes before.”
From his position by the door, Damien watches me with those intense blue-gray eyes that see straight through to my soul.
“And he said he was here to take you with him?”
“Yes. I have no idea why he thought I’d go anywhere with him. I guess that’s why he pulled out his gun.”
“Was that before or after he struck you?”
I grab the ice pack on the cushion next to me and place it against my bruised cheek. “After.”
“She’s answered these questions multiple times, Sheriff Mills.” Damien’s voice comes from behind her, only it’s his wolf voice, low and dangerous. “Must you make her keep reliving the events from this evening? Shouldn’t you be out trying to find the bastard?”
I look up at him, and he’s scowling, and for some reason, it makes me want to smile.
“We’re almost done, but let me ask you.” Karen stands to look at him. “After you shoved Mr. Hunter’s head into that wall and he fled, you immediately called your security consultant—” Karen checks her notes again, “—Cade Crawford?”
“Cade isn’t my security consultant. He’s the COO of my company, and he oversees our security division. I asked him to pull the security footage. I figured you’d need it. But when he discovered Luna’s system was offline, I instructed him to come up here immediately to assess it on-site.”
Karen raises a skeptical eyebrow. “In a helicopter?”
“My company maintains a rapid response team on standby at all times. Standard procedure when there’s a potential threat to my person or property.”
“And Dr. Foster is your property?” Karen doesn’t bother to hide the edge in her voice.
Damien’s eyes go cold and flat, but I cut in before he can say whatever lethal thing is forming on his tongue.
“Damien and I have been dating for a few weeks, Karen. I told you that. I—”
“Luna’s safety is the most important thing to me, Sheriff Mills. I always have a helicopter on standby to get me or my team to her at a moment’s notice.”
I don’t know whether he’s lying or not, but something tells me he’s telling the truth. A warm shiver ripples through me, and the way his eyes snap to me, I know he saw it.
“And where is this helicopter now?” Karen asks.
“Parked on my helipad next door. I’m more than happy to show it to you if you need to see it.”
“Not at this time, but thank you.”
Karen makes another note on her pad. “Convenient that Mr. Crawford arrived so quickly. Even faster than I was able to get here.”
“Not convenience, Sheriff Mills. Efficiency.” Cade steps forward from his position near the door. Unlike Damien’s calculated charm, Cade exudes an aura of military discipline and barely restrained power. The perfect attack dog for a man like Damien Wolfe.
Outside, a forensics team photographs the front porch and driveway, their flashlights dancing like fireflies in the darkness. Police radios crackle, voices too low to make out the words.
The clock on the wall reads 10:57 PM. Has it only been four hours since Caleb stumbled into my life for the last time?
Since I watched Damien kill him with his bare hands?
Since I agreed to lie to protect him, a killer, the same killer who’s been in my bed for months and in my heart for almost as long?
My hands shake. I press them flat against my thighs, hoping no one notices.
“Luna!”
Maren bursts through the front door, shaking off the deputy who tries to stop her. Her dark curls are wild around her face, and her eyes are wide with panic. She rushes to me, dropping to her knees in front of my chair.
“Jesus Christ, I know you told me not to come until tomorrow, but there is no fucking way I was waiting. Are you okay? What happened?” She lifts her hands, letting them hover just beside my cheeks. “Shit, your face.”
“I’m fine.” I catch her shaking fingers in mine.
Maren’s sharp gaze takes in the room. Karen with her notepad, the deputies hovering near the doors, the forensics team visible through the windows, Cade by the stairs, and finally, Damien standing beside my chair.
“You.” Venom drips from that single syllable. “Is this because of you? What the hell did you do?”
“Maren, stop. Damien didn’t do anything. He saved me. I told you, it was Caleb.”
“I’m going to kill that bastard if I ever see him again.”
Don’t say things like that right now, Maren. I’m barely holding it together.
“Maren.” Karen sighs her name. “This is an active crime scene. Who authorized your presence?”
“No one has to authorize my presence here. I practically live here.”
“At this time, I must insist that only family be present until forensics have finished their work.”
“Luna and I are family.” Red creeps up Maren’s cheeks, her temper rising to the surface. I need to intervene before she gets herself arrested.
“Karen, all this activity has stressed many of the animals. I told Maren she didn’t need to come, but now that she’s here, I need her to help settle them.”
Karen sighs but nods. “Fine. But she stays out of the way.”
Maren looks back at me. “Luna, what the hell is going on?”
“Caleb came here tonight. He was drunk and angry.” I motion to my face.
“He hit me, then tried to shoot Shadow. He’s okay.
” I reassure her again, squeezing her hands when her eyes flash.
“He was just grazed. But then Damien showed up, and he and Caleb fought. We thought he’d knocked out Caleb, but while Damien was taking care of me, he took off. ”
Even though we rehearsed this story, saying the words aloud makes them feel real.
“You let him go?” Maren turns her anger on Damien again.
“Taking care of Luna and Shadow was my priority.”
“Where is Shadow now?” She looks around, searching for the protector that rarely leaves my side.
“I put him in my bedroom because he was getting agitated with all the men around. Can you grab him and take him over to the wolf enclosure? Get him away from all these people? And then go check on the other animals to make sure they’re all alright?”
Maren nods as she stands. “Yeah. I’ll take care of it.”
Karen looks toward the door where one of her deputies is motioning for her to come outside. “If you’ll excuse me. I need to check in with my team. Don’t leave the premises.” She gives Damien a pointed look. “Any of you.”
As soon as Karen is out of earshot, Maren whirls on Damien, her eyes blazing.
“This is all your fault.”
Damien raises an eyebrow. “How exactly is Hunter coming after Luna my fault?”
“Everything was fine until you came into her life.” Maren looks around and lowers her voice. “First as her creepy masked stalker, then as her lying next-door neighbor. Luna’s life has been chaos ever since.”
My heart pounds faster. “Maren, please—”
“No, Luna, I won’t shut up this time. This asshole manipulated you and lied to you. God knows what else he’s hiding.” She squares off against Damien despite being almost a foot and a half shorter. “You’re a one-man apocalypse. Even your looks aren’t enough to make up for it.”
Damien’s expression doesn’t change, but his shoulders tense. He’s restraining himself. Because of me.
“Caleb coming here had nothing to do with Damien.” I stand and place myself between them. “He came because he thought I ruined his life. Maybe I did.”
“That’s bullshit!” Maren and Damien say at the same time before they glare at each other.
“I still think it’s his fault.” Maren turns back to Damien. “You broke my best friend’s heart, asshole. No matter what she decides, you and I will never be right. I’m going to be watching you.”
I love Maren for how protective she is, but now’s not the moment.
Cade steps forward. The air in the room seems to compress around him, molecules bending to make space for a presence that commands attention without asking for it.
“Ms. Rodriguez, I understand your concern for your friend, but this is not the time or the place for this kind of private conversation.”
Maren turns her fury on him. “And who the hell are you?”
“Cade Crawford, head of security for Wolfe Technologies.”
The energy between them shifts, crackling to life like a live wire touching water.
Maren’s gaze travels down his frame, studying him, over the network of white scars threading along his chest and throat where his shirt collar gaps open.
Then over the hands that rest at his sides, empty but coiled, like sleeping weapons waiting for a command.
Her attention lingers on the silver threading through his dark hair. Not the soft silver of age, but the hard-earned kind that comes from walking through fire.