Page 3 of I Ain't Lyin'

“It would be easier for you if you cooperated with us.” Officer Jackass refused to back down from his questioning. His badge had read Johnson, but to me, Officer Jackass fit better. “Did you catch him cheating? Did he dump you, and you refused to take that as the end? What caused you to go to his apartment, torture, and kill Mr. Larson?”

“I request the presence of my lawyer.” I ground my teeth together and shut my lips. I tried to ground myself and not let this tension cause me to say more as I dug my nails into the legof my pants. Being handcuffed, there was only so much I could do to keep myself from getting overwhelmed by the pressure of the situation.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Come in.” Officer Jackass called to whoever was disturbing his attempts at getting me to confess. He scowled at the door and then turned back to me. “I will get the truth.”

Goddess, I hope you do. Because I know the truth will be that I didn’t kill my ex-boyfriend.

I remained silent as the dark-brown door of the interrogation room opened, and the spiciest, most delicious scent of cedar and cardamom wafted in from the hallway. I said no words as the sexiest alpha I had ever seen entered the room with a confident smile and the warmest brown eyes, which widened just a fraction as they locked with mine. And I fought against my lion’s internal roar ofmate!when he realized fate had given us this gift at a ridiculous moment. Who meets their fated mate while in custody for a crime? Me, apparently.

“I’m Agent Ashton Carrington from the Global Shifter Council.” My mate held out his hand to Officer Jackass as he introduced himself. “I am here to take over the investigation and find out what happened.”

“What happened is that this omega killed his boyfriend and now thinks he can get away with it by claiming amnesia.” Officer Jackass stood and dismissed Ashton’s extended hand. “Since we can’t dismiss humans were involved, we will remain in command of the investigation. But we will follow the agreement with the GSC and work with your team. Just don’t try to play us. We aren’t stupid.”

“We are both after the same thing.” Ashton sat in the chair across from me at the small mahogany table. “The truth.”

Officer Jackass rolled his eyes. “Of course.”

“So, has the lawyer representing Mr. Wilson arrived at the station yet?” Ashton raised his brows. “I believe I did see Attorney Jeffries sitting in the chief’s office as I walked by. From my file, she is the shifter picked to handle the case. Why don’t you bring her in? I’m sure you were just about to, right?”

“Fine. I’ll be back.” Officer Jackass stormed out of the room.

“That guy has some anger issues he needs to address.” Ashton flashed his brilliantly white teeth. “Are they treating you well?”

“After I almost passed out from lack of water? Sure.” I closed my eyes. “Is your beast trying to get out, too?”

“He is, mate,” Ashton whispered. “They will be able to meet soon. Trust me to get you out of this.”

“You haven’t even heard my story.” I leaned closer over the table. “I didn’t do this. I can’t access my memories from last night, but I know I wouldn’t have harmed Harvey. Or anyone else.”

“I know.” Ashton reached out and cupped my cheek in his massive palm. “I know fate wouldn’t mate me to a killer. I will get your name cleared. Tell the lawyer what you can remember, and my team will also work from any angle to determine what happened in that apartment.”

“I trust you.” I did.

Knock.

Without waiting for Ashton’s response to the knock, Officer Jackass opened the door and entered with a tall and slender female shifter who scented like a type of big cat. “I hope we weren’t interrupting anything.” Officer Jackass plopped down in the chair next to Ashton.

“I’m Lillianna Jeffries, your assigned attorney from the Global Shifter Council.” Lillianna shook my hand and took the seat next to mine. “Now, let’s get the details as we have them down and figure out the best way to clear my client’s name.”

“The evidence clearly shows that Mr. Wilson killed—”

“No, Officer Johnson.” Lillianna’s voice was firm and authoritative. “As far as I’ve seen, the evidence shows Mr. Wilson was at the crime scene. That is it. His fingerprints were not on the weapon that was next to the body. I did see that your team thoroughly examined the knife, correct?”

“We did.” Johnson’s posture deflated at my attorney’s knowledge of what the file held.

“You could not trace the anonymous call that reported the crime.” Lilliana flipped through the notes she had in her journal. “I see that my client has also never wavered in his walk-through of the events he does remember or can’t remember past the same point in time. So, it does not determine what took the victim’s life. It does make me wonder what happened that the other person in the apartment besides Mr. Larson can’t remember the events of the evening. Did anyone perform a drug test on my client or do a magic scan on him?”

“Well, no—” Johnson looked around, panicked. “That isn’t protocol in human cases.”

“It is in shifter cases where the suspect reports memory loss.” Ashton nodded. “I’ll call in the nearby shifter lab to come in and collect the sample. And my team member that arrives tomorrow can scan Mr. Wilson to determine if a spell is attached to him affecting his memory.”

“Sounds satisfactory to me. Officer Johnson, please inform your chief of the case so far. I will discuss some things with my client and Mr. Carrington.”

“Oh, okay.” Johnson rose from the chair and exited the room.

“Now that he is gone. Let me advise you, Mr. Carrington, to get the rest of your team down here now. I can see the mate bond between you two, and I refuse to let my client go down because some human officers accuse you of mistreating evidence to getyour mate freed. I know you wouldn’t, but I have seen human police officers try that angle before, and I will not let this be one of those times. Officer Jackass over there doesn’t feel right to me.”

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