Page 60 of Sheltered by the Lawman

Chapter 19

THE SOUND OF his phone vibrating woke Cull. He jumped up from the too small couch, feeling aches all over his body as he reached for the intrusion. “Yeah...Okay…I’ll be there in an hour.” He hung up with Deke and darted a glance toward the closed door to the bedroom. Monica was really mad at him. Could he blame her? He’d basically told her what she feared. That he believed she was a dangerous woman, but that wasn’t true. He’d only been caught off guard. This was all a confusing mess.

Dialing another number, Kiersten’s voicemail picked up. “Hey, I have to go into Cheyenne. Keep an eye on Monica for me.” He clicked off and dropped the phone into his pocket. Thankfully he had a clean shirt and boots in his truck. If he dared walk into the bedroom, he was certain she would shove his size thirteens up his ass.

He certainly wasn’t in a good mood when he walked into the precinct later that morning.

“What the fuck is that sour look about?” Deke waved at Cull from down the wide hallway.

“Don’t ask,” he growled. He gave his buddy a once over. “You look like shit. Did you have the flu?”

“Hell yeah. It kicked my butt. I’ve got news for you.” The detective stepped into his office and pointed at the chair in front of the desk. “Take a load off, my friend.”

Even though he didn’t feel like sitting because he had restless energy, he dropped into the chair anyway. “You said you needed to see me.”

Deke dropped a folder on the desk in front of Cull. “Take a look.”

Reluctantly, he opened the folder. “Who’s the dead girl?”

“You’re looking at Monica Warren. She was found in some brush by a jogger early this morning. We used her prints to identify her.”

Swallowing hard, Cull leaned back into the cushion of the vinyl, trying to keep a straight face, which wasn’t the easiest for many reasons. “Are you sure it’s her?”

“Yeah, we’re sure. She was positively identified, and you’ll never believe how she was killed.” He steepled his fingers and looked at Cull over the tips.

“Strangulation?”

“With a piano wire.”

With a tight chest, Cull slid the top picture off and looked at the next. Guilt pounded through him. Not just because he’d made Monica—or whoever she was, feel like shit because he hadn’t been truly sure her memory was correct, but also for the real Monica who was now dead because he’d fucked up. If he’d found her, and he knew he would have if he’d been looking for her, she wouldn’t be dead now. So, he’d screwed up double. Although her lifestyle didn’t put her safety as top priority, she didn’t deserve to die.

“Sorry about the reward, buddy. I guess next time.” Deke closed the folder.

“Damn. If I’d only found her.” He rubbed his eyebrows.

“Hell, man, you can’t blame yourself on this one. You’ve been in this biz long enough to realize no matter how hard we try, we’ll never save everyone. And we’ll never solve every case.” He dragged the file back across the desk and tapped his fingers on the folder. “Move on to the next fugitive, my friend.”

“That’s it?”

Deke shrugged. “Yeah, that’s it.”

“I have a woman living at my apartment who I thought was Monica, but she’s not.”

“I’m confused, buddy. Did she lie to you and tell you her name is Monica?” Deke asked.

“She has memory loss—doesn’t remember anything. Not even the night of the fire.”

His brows scrunched. “Let me pull this together. You rescued a woman with memory loss who can’t remember one damn thing about the person who tried to kill her? All this time you thought she was this girl.” Deke stabbed the folder with his finger. “That’s a lot to absorb.”

“She’ll remember everything.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because each day she gets more of her memories back.”

Deke’s phone buzzed. He read the screen and sighed. “I’m sorry, buddy, but I have a meeting.”

Standing, Cull nodded. “You find anything more regarding this case, let me know, okay?”

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