Page 97 of Sinful Secrets

“Come on. You’re coming with me.” I pull her up into my chest and wrap an arm around her waist.

She gasps. “What? Why? How?”

“I’ll explain later, but you aren’t even in the system. No one even knew you were here.” I exaggerate because I’m sure several people knew she was here, but the chief of police didn’t.

The officers get pissed. Jacob Carter walks over to the door of the interrogation room, preventing us from leaving.

“You can leave, but she isn’t. We still have questions for her.”

“The fuck you do. She’s coming with me, and if you have a problem with that, take it up with the chief.”

His jaw clenches.

“Oh, and by the way, your suspension starts now.”

I push past him and lead Savannah out of the police station to my car. As I open the door for her, she wraps her arms around me and hugs me.

Her normal vanilla scent is muted and mixed with something less floral.

She lays her head on my chest and says, “God, I have never been so embarrassed in my entire life. Jacob Carter arrested mein the middle of class. How dare he? Oh, God, I need to apologize to my teacher. I need to get my things.”

I wrap my arms tighter around her and let her voice her frustrations. After several minutes, I help her get settled into my passenger seat.

I crank the car, but stay parked. “So, your roommate Justine called.”

“Yeah, I hope it’s okay that I gave her your number. She was in the hallway when they were leading me to the police car, and I didn’t know if they were going to let me call you. You weren’t in the middle of anything, were you?”

“Your safety is my priority. I’m glad you told her to call me because the Chief didn’t even know they brought you in.”

We’re going to have to keep an extra eye on the younger officers because it’s clear that they know about Arturo and have their eyes set on us.

She turns in her seat to face me. “How did you get them to drop the charges?”

“There were no charges because you weren’t under arrest. I also reminded the police chief about who runs this town and if he doesn’t shape up, he will be replaced.”

Her eyes widen and her mouth falls open. “You can do that?”

“I can’t, but Arturo can. He has allies in very high places, including the Governor.”

“Wow.” she whispers as I drive to her dorm.

She picks at the fraying hem of her shorts. I have to fight the urge to reach over and stop her, but this might be what she needs to process her thoughts.

Her day didn’t turn out as expected and she probably has a lot on her mind. She already confessed to being embarrassed. That could be weighing on her, too.

I park in a guest parking spot and reach over to hold her hand.

She glances at me before turning her attention back to the hem of her shorts. “So…”

“So?” I give her hand a supportive squeeze.

Her voice is quiet. “So what happens now that I know about the Marinos’ secrets? Will I be scared into silence? Killed?”

“What?”

Did someone tell her Arturo will kill her? He’ll have to kill me first.

I shake my head. “No. You’re mine, and we protect our own.”

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