Husband? Lord, these people had seen us together and thought we were married. I realized they’d been at the blackjack table with us when that crazy kiss happened. “Ah, he’s busy this morning.” I gave them a smile and pushed past to keep walking.
Who was I to correct them? Besides, they’d seen us kissing and no doubt having an amazing time, which I wished I could remember, so whatever. There was no harm in letting them believe it. It wasn’t like they were someone from the company or even the police for that matter. The police? Holy mother. What the hell had happened? I had to get to my room.
As I rounded the corner, a man bumped into me, and before I could even get a good look at him, he apologized and kept on going. Right outside my room, there were three men and an older woman; they seemed to be waiting for me and as one turned, and I noticed his camera, it occurred to me that they were reporters.
I took a deep breath, as if I was about to go underwater, and that’s exactly what it felt like as I approached the door to my room.
They crowded around me as I took out my keycard. “Ms. Spencer? You’re the assistant to Gabriel Grant, right? We have a few questions for you, if you have the time?” The woman was pushing her way between me and my door and I knew if I opened it, she’d push her way inside, as well.
“I have no comments. I’m not even sure what’s going on.” I tried to push my way to where I could get inside once I opened the door.
“Your boss has officially been placed under arrest for the murders of Cindy Clarke and Stacey Boyd. Do you have a statement for us now?”
Arrested? He’d only been taken down for questioning, hadn’t he? With my head still pounding from earlier, my entire world started spinning again as they crowded around me. Their body heat combined with my nerves made me break out in a sweat, and I knew this situation would only get uglier.
“Please, I have no statement at this time. It’s all very new to me
.” I pushed the woman out of the way and opened the door, barely squeezing myself and the briefcase in before slamming the door. I pressed my back against it and waited for their steps to go farther into the distance as they gave up and went away.
Knowing how these things went, I was sure not all of them had gone. One peek out my peephole proved I was right. One of the men had stayed behind and I had a feeling he wasn’t going to be leaving anytime soon.
But then again, neither was I.
Chapter Four
Gabriel
Where the hell is Mason? I couldn’t stand being held up in the interrogation room for hours, and my lawyer had more than enough time to get his ass over to Vegas from LA.
This day had started off as a complete nightmare and turned into a personal apocalypse. I didn’t think that my life could spiral down the drain any quicker until Detective Hatcher came in to interrogate me.
I’d gone over the same damned story three times. I raked my hand through my hair and scrubbed my face with my palms. How could I have done it?
Knowing full well I was on camera, I wasn’t about to take the rings or the certificate out of my pocket in case any footage got leaked to the media, but the weight of them had been a burden the entire morning since I’d slipped Luna’s ring off her finger. I knew I was taking a big risk; she could have woken up wondering where it was, but I decided to take a gamble. It was Vegas, after all.
I’d hoped she’d remember the mistake we’d made and want to amend it with an annulment, but just in case, I thought it best to take charge of the situation. It was pure dumb luck that she’d been so drunk she didn’t remember anything, and I held my breath that she’d continue in her fog at least until I had a moment alone with her.
Keeping things to myself seemed my best bet. If there was someone out there targeting the women in my life, I’d put a huge bulls eye on Luna’s back. My gut soured thinking about it.
The door was thrown open and Mason strolled in casually. “You look like shit, Gabe. How’re they treating you?”
“You could have been here two hours ago. I’ve been sitting here all fucking day.” I bit the words out like they had teeth of their own, and he recoiled regarding me with a cocked brow.
“Contrary to what you think, I do have a life of my own.” He put his briefcase on the table and took a seat as the detective entered the room.
Detective Hatcher placed his palms down flat on the table and stared directly into my eyes as he leaned in. For a moment, I thought he’d try to get tough or slam me with new evidence, but instead he flashed a sympathetic smile. “Can I get you anything? How about some coffee or a soda?”
“Now you want to get me something? My lawyer shows up and suddenly you’re the fucking snack bar?” My throbbing migraine reminded me of Luna. I could only hope the poor girl got the hell out of dodge while she could and wondered if anyone had taken her in. Was she in another room going through the same hell?
Mason’s hand landed upon my arm. “Relax, Gabe, and tell the man which you’d like.”
“Coffee. Black.”
“Now, was that so hard? Let’s be gentlemen here, shall we?” Mason’s act grated my balls, and I was ready to get my ass back home to Cali.
Detective Hatcher went to the door and told someone on the other side to grab my order. It didn’t take two seconds for a hot cup of black coffee to be placed in front of me. I was fully aware of the cameras and two-way glass. Hell, that kind of thing was my business, and the department had used G2 equipment for years.
Hatcher took his seat at the table. “We’ve taken your statement. I strongly encourage you to stay in the city until you’re cleared to leave. We’re not placing you under arrest just yet – despite what the press is leaking – but I’m not going to lie: the evidence is mounting. We’re only waiting for the sake of protocol, so consider yourself lucky you’re being locked down instead of locked up. Are you feeling me?”