Page 61 of Top Secret Vampire

I stroked her spine. “I’m glad she came to the station.”

She smiled up at me. “Me too.”

The three of us moved to the far side of the parking lot where we wouldn't be overheard.

Brandon exhaled, rubbing his jaw as the three of us stood close with the wind whipping around us. “Alright, here's what we do now. Reese, I want you to go about your normal business but remain at home as much as possible. Don’t give them any reason to question you again unless absolutely necessary. If they call or show up? Tell them you can't answer any questions without me present and notify me immediately. I'll come to you right away.”

Biting down on her lower lip, Reese nodded. “I will.”

“I know it feels awful.” His eyes softened before his lawyer side took back over. “But I’m on top of it. We’ve got them questioning their case, which means we’re on the right track. You need to trust the process and not panic. We know you didn’t do it, and we’re proving it already.”

Her shoulders loosened. I gave her hand a soft squeeze, showing her that I wasn’t going anywhere. Not now, not ever.

“What do you think their next move will be?” I asked.

If only I knew where the enemy could come from next. I always needed to know. A hunter had to watch the shadows to determine which might bite.

Brandon shook his head. “Detective Carter’s smart. He’ll verify everything twice. He’ll probably interview you both again, so make sure your stories continue to line up. But that’s standard protocol; it’s just him being thorough.”

I growled low in my throat, angry with the whole situation. “He's seen the footage from her home. It’s conclusive.”

“Exactly.” Brandon scanned the space behind the station. “Now, for the tricky part. Someone’s gone to great lengths to make you look guilty. We’re talking about layered manipulation—footage, magic, evidence placed carefully inside your home. A tip-off, I’m sure, about the theft. None of this is random.”

Reese rubbed her temples. “Do either of you know who has the magical ability to do something like this?”

I turned my gaze to Brandon. “A shifter would’ve been my first guess, but even they don’t have the skill to impersonate another this well. I've only interacted with one witch in the area, and I'm confident no one could pay her enough to do something like this.”

“Magic like this is difficult to pull off but not impossible.” He glanced at Reese. “There must be other witches in the area.”

“Someone's been carefully studying Reese. I would've believed it was her.” I thought back to the footage, and while I hadn’t let it show on my face, the precision of the impersonation had chilled me.

“Why me?” Reese’s voice wavered. “I don't understand why they're targeting me.”

I told Brandon about the prior incidents. “We believe someone's trying to drive Reese from town, though we don't know why.”

“Our best guess right now?” Brandon said. “Is that this person is trying to isolate you, make sure you’re out of the picture or that you feel helpless. Whoever this is, they’re scared of you.”

I gritted my teeth. The idea that someone out there saw Reese as a threat enough to try to derail her life . . . they had no idea the storm they’d invited.

Reese leaned into my side. “I haven’t done anything to anyone. I’ve only been here two months. Sure, a couple of people haven’t been thrilled to see me back in town, but sabotage like this? This takes things to a new level. What do they want?”

“That's what we need to find out,” Brandon said, his gaze locking with mine.

They were playing a dangerous game, and it was only a matter of time before they made their next move.

I had to expose them before that happened and end this for good.

This person would soon find out what happened to someone who threatened a vampire's true mate.

Chapter 29

Reese

We settled in the living room, snuggling together on the sofa. I cradled a glass of wine, the crimson liquid swirling under the lights, feeling its warmth as I took the first sip. Wolf held his own glass filled with the rich ruby of his version of fine dining.

Despite everything, being here with him made me feel almost normal. Safe.

A relative thing after being credibly accused of theft.

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