Page 11 of Toy

3

Mason

“Ready to go?”

Jolie held out her hand and smiled at me. I reached for it and stood, carefully holding the area around my stitches just in case.

Another week had passed, and I’d finally been given the all-clear to walk again, among other things. My stitches were also due to be taken out this afternoon.

All in all, I was happy with the progression of the wound. I’d been fortunate enough to avoid infection and any other serious issues, and all that would be left was a thick pink line on my abdomen where the doctors had removed the bullet and stitched me up. I was used to having scars, so having one more didn’t bother me. Especially when it came from saving Jolie.

“You sure you’re okay?” she asked as we headed out of her apartment, brows knitted with worry.

I nodded. “Yeah, I feel fine.”

I wasn’t just trying to sound macho for her sake. While the area where I’d been shot still ached sometimes, especially when I bathed it in warm water, it was nothing compared to the pain I experienced after I was burned eight years ago.

Jolie squeezed my hand as we headed down to her car. I squeezed hers too, then moved my hand to the small of her back, surreptitiously sliding it up her top so I could run it over her bare skin. It never ceased to amaze me how soft and smooth she was, even with all the thin scars on her back and sides. Scars she’d been given by the cult many years ago, and later, scars she’d been given by me.

If I was being honest, I still hadn’t forgiven myself for how I’d treated her in the past. I’d quit with the noble act of letting her go for her own sake, though. The second I saw Tom Anderson walk into my house a month ago, I realized that the only way I could truly keep Jolie safe was to be right by her side at all times. There was no end to the amount of danger she was in even after I killed Tom. As long as the rest of the cult was still out there, they would keep sending guys for her, and I would need to be there to protect her from them.

Besides, Jolie had forgiven me wholly and unconditionally. I figured if she could do that, then I could try to start forgiving myself for some of the shit I’d put her through. Not today, but one day. For now, I had to focus on loving her as much as humanly possible and making sure she never had any reason to doubt that love ever again.

Right now, it certainly didn’t seem as if she had any doubts about me. Trust and warmth glimmered in her eyes as she looked up at me before turning her gaze to the brown bricks of the Sixth Precinct police station.

“Let’s go, baby girl,” I said, patting her on the back.

We stepped inside and headed for the main administration area. “We’re looking for Detective Beck,” I explained to the harried-looking woman behind the counter.

“Sorry, I think she’s out at the moment. I’m not sure when she’s getting back,” she replied.

Before I could ask her to take a message for us, her face brightened. “Oh, wait. You’re in luck.” She gestured behind us.

I turned to see Beck stepping into the building. As soon as she spotted us, she cast a wary glance my way, pressing her lips thinly together.

“Detective,” I called out, flashing her a genial smile. “We were hoping to speak with you.”

She briskly strode toward us. “What’s this about?” she asked.

I gestured for her to follow us to an alcove on the other side of the admin area so that we could be afforded some privacy.

“Sorry to drop in on you unannounced, but we were hoping you could tell us how the investigation into the Path of the Covenant cult is going,” I said.

As expected, she narrowed her eyes. “I can’t release details of an open investigation to members of the public.”

“But when I called a couple of weeks ago, someone spoke to me and gave me a status update on the Tom Anderson identification process,” Jolie said in the timid tone I’d asked her to feign. “They said they hadn’t actually done it yet, but they were flying his sister in to provide a DNA sample.”

“Well, you probably shouldn’t have been told that,” Beck said coolly. “Like I said, I can’t discuss an open investigation with you. Sorry.”

I cleared my throat. “Look, the reason we asked about the case’s progress is because Jolie has finally remembered some things about the men who took her. She wants to talk to you about it.”

Beck’s eyes widened. “Really? Jolie, that’s great news. You should’ve said that from the start,” she said. She tilted her head to the left. “If you want to follow me, I can take a statement from you right now.”

I held up a palm. “I need to be there.”

“Sorry, Mr. Ashwood. I need to take her statement alone.”

Jolie glanced up at me with wide eyes. Her expression was the exact mix of faux unease and apprehension we’d discussed earlier.

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