Page 31 of Hacker Salvation

“I was being accused of murder. And that woman wasn’t as nice to me as she was to you.”

John chuckled. “You almost sound jealous.”

“I’m not jealous.”

He squeezed my hand. “You have nothing to worry about, Beautiful.”

The door to the back swung open, and the sheriff walked out. “Thank you for coming down. Let’s go back to my office.”

Once again, the walk through the back area was the same. The room was full of deputies watching each step I took. A few turned and whispered to each other. My feet stopped a few steps outside the sheriff’s office door. I could see Nate sitting in the chair. His shaggy blond hair was tousled, and he was wearing one of his signature polos with jeans.

No matter how angry I was at him, I couldn’t hold the happy tears back for seeing my friend again. I rushed into the room, and Nate jumped up from the chair and wrapped his arms around me. It wasn’t until I heard someone clear their throat that I noticed Pedro was in the room. I dropped my arms from Nate and stepped back.

Pedro stood up and held out his hand. “It’s good to see you, Annabella.”

I grabbed his hand and shook it. “I’m so happy you guys are okay. Nate, I would like you to meet John.”

John held out his hand and wrapped his other arm around my waist. “Nice to meet you, Nate.”

Nate raised his eyebrow at John’s hand. “Looks like I missed some news.”

I grinned shyly. “Let’s talk later.”

Everyone sat down.

“Ms. Harper, we are sorry for the accusations and what we, the department, put you through. Here is your passport.” The sheriff turned toward Nate. “Now, can you explain where you’ve been for the last week?”

Nate shifted in his seat, and Pedro grabbed his hand. “It wasn’t Nate’s fault. It is all a funny story. I accidentally cut my hand on a knife at Nate’s house, and Nate here rushed me to the ER. If you call Los Angeles Community Hospital, they have records of me coming in.”

I glanced at John, and he shook his head.

Pedro continued his story. “After my hand was fixed, I begged Nate to go to our house up in Santa Clarita for a few days. We needed time to ourselves. He had been so busy at work. We turned off our phones and the TV and spent a few days vegging out. When we turned on the TV yesterday and noticed the reports, we called Annabella immediately.”

“This is the story you’re going with?” the sheriff asked. “You cost the department a lot of money.”

I shifted in my seat. John placed a hand over his mouth. I could tell he was trying not to laugh. The sheriff’s eyes were locked on Nate and Pedro, and they both shifted in their seats.

Sheriff Clark tapped his pen on the desk before he leaned back. “You know I’m going to have to charge you with obstruction of justice.”

“Will he have to go to jail?” I asked.

The sheriff couldn’t hold his composure anymore. “Brock called me this morning and let me know what was found. I have to admit Nate you told a good story.”

“But now the mafia is going to come after Pedro and me. Hell they might come after Marta again. We promised not to tell them they were behind it.”

“The evidence Neal and John’s sister pulled was done illegally. I can’t use any of the information against the mob. Most everything they pulled, we already know about. You still need to pay for the man hours we used to find you.”

“I can do that with an additional donation to the sheriff’s office,” Nate said in relief. “Thank you for everything. Can we go now?”

John shifted forward in his chair. “I have one further question. Who kept calling and pushing the accusation that Annabella was guilty?”

Sheriff Clark scratched his beard. “Brock asked the same question. We kept getting tons of anonymous calls. Then people started calling and telling us all these things she had done. Sorry, Annabella, but you sounded like a bitch. Brock and I talked most of the stuff out. It seemed someone has been watching you. When Nate left town after being beaten up, whoever this is used the opportunity to pin the murder on you.”

John stood and shook the sheriff’s hand. “We’ll be in touch.” When I stood up, he placed his hand at the base of my back and guided me out of the room.

The sheriff nodded as everyone left the room.

Nate stopped me when we exited the building. “Bella.” Usually, I would forgive him in a second, but I wasn’t ready to forgive him.

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