Page 51 of All of My Life

I rolled my eyes.

This guy.

Stepping in front of him, I said, “Of course, we can speak.” I jerked my head Chasin’s way. “You’ll have to excuse him, as it’s been a rough night.”

Chasin snorted behind me.

Detective Tyler smiled kindly. “We understand. We won’t take up much of your time.”

“May we come in?” Detective Ramirez asked.

True to form, Chasin said, “Yes. However, if you start to upset her, then you’ll have to leave.”

“We’re not here to upset Ms. Morgan, Mr. Carver,” Detective Tyler assured him. “We’re just here to confirm what Officers Montgomery and Tisdale reported.”

Reaching out, then pulling me close to him, Chasin made room for both detectives to enter the house. Following proper etiquette, Chasin offered them a seat and even something to drink. When both detectives declined the beverage, Chasin wasted no time being Chasin Carver.

“Before you begin…” he said, pulling out his phone.

“Chasin? Is everything okay?” From the way that the detectives straightened, it was clear that they recognized Randall Carver’s voice on the other end of Chasin’s phone.

“Two detectives are here to speak to Jett,” he answered.

“I’m already onboard, so leave me on speaker,” he ordered, and that just changed the entire nature of this visit from the Carver PD.

“That’s why I called,” Chasin practically sing-songed.

Ignoring their ridiculous amount of testosterone, I turned towards the detectives. “Sorry.”

Detective Tyler waved away my apology. “We understand.”

The detectives each took a seat on the couch, so I took one of the armchairs, Chasin standing behind me like a sentinel, ready to protect me at a moment’s notice. His alpha-ness was too much at times, but it was also something that I was going to have to get used to. Chasin wasn’t about to change for the sake of polite society.

“How can I help you?” I asked, trying to make up for Chasin’s nonsense.

“We just want to confirm what happened yesterday,” Detective Ramirez repeated.

I felt Chasin’s hand on my shoulder as I told the detectives everything that’d happened yesterday. I even included how Doctor Horn had found signs of childhood physical abuse, and how Bridgette had picked the fight at Sierra’s behest. I’d been honest about David, too. While he deserved to pay for the part that he had played in the attack, he’d been the only one to try to stop it from going too far.

When I was done, Detective Tyler said, “Thank you, Jett. I imagine this has to be difficult for you.”

“Are they still in jail?” Chasin asked. “That’s all we care about right now.”

“They will all be arraigned tomorrow,” Detective Ramirez answered. “As your father already knows, we are keeping them in jail until then.”

“Can you do that?” I asked. “Aren’t they allowed bail?”

“I made a strong case for arguing against bail at this time,” Randall said over the phone. “I made it clear that your safety would be in jeopardy if they were released.”

“But you can’t…you can’t keep them in jail forever, right?”

Detective Tyler answered my question. “We will be making house arrest a condition of their release, in addition to restraining orders, and the removal of any firearms that they or their parents might own. Also, Mr. Oliver isn’t too…he seems fine with being in jail.”

A lot of this sounded like a civil suit waiting to happen, but I wisely kept my mouth shut. “Oh.”

“They’re all safer in jail anyway,” Chasin remarked, not caring that the police heard him.

“Jett, I just need them in jail long enough for me to make sure that they get the message,” Randall said. “A message that’s being read loud and clear as we speak.”

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