Page 33 of Forged in Steele

“Go ahead and make those calls, but I can’t have you in King’s interview.” He widened his stance as if expecting her to fight.

“No worries. I figured that would be the case, but can you share what Aaron has to say?”

“Sure,” he said right away, but paused, and his gaze lingered on her. “That is if I don’t think it will conflict with your interest in Steele Guardians.”

Ah, yes, that conflict.It was starting to get in her way, but there wasn’t a thing she could do about it so no point in wasting time thinking about it.

She leaned down to her mic and called dispatch. As she waited for them to confirm an officer would be assigned, her grandad’s repeated warning flashed into her mind. He told them over and over to make sure someone bent on harming her couldn’t use the cord running from the mic to the radio on her duty belt to strangle her. She always threaded the cord inside her shirt as her grandad instructed, and of course, every time her grandad saw her in uniform, he had to find a way to make a fishing reference to drive home the point.

Dispatch came on and confirmed the officer was already en route.

“Roger that.” She released her mic and called Teagan to share the information about Aaron. “Did you fire anyone lately?”

“We let a guy go for coming to work under the influence a few days ago,” Teagan said. “A Nelson Osborne. We think he was high on pot. But still, how would anyone outside of our team know to approach him?”

“Where was he assigned the day he came to work stoned?”

“First Savings Credit Union. Zeke got a call from the branch manager telling him about the guard. Zeke assigned another guard and told Osborne he would drive him to the lab for a blood test. Osborne refused, so Zeke fired him.”

“Maybe our kidnapper has a connection to the credit union.” Bristol made a mental note to watch for that. “Get me Osborne’s address pronto.”

“Will do.”

Bristol hung up and returned to the room. “Officer en route.” She shared about Osborne.

Aaron frowned. “I know him. Worked a few jobs with him in the past.”

“Would he have known about your placement at the hospital?” Bristol asked.

Aaron narrowed his eyes. “There was a lot of talk among the guards about the new hospital contract and our assignments. I got razzed about making sure I knew how to birth a baby, so it’s possible.”

“Could he be the guy who tied you up?” Jared asked.

Aaron tilted his head. “He fits the build, so maybe.”

Jared looked at Bristol. “As soon as you get his address, we need to bring him in for questioning.”

She nodded.

“I won’t be able to stay here, will I?” Aaron asked.

She wished they didn’t have to displace him, but it couldn’t be helped. “You’ll be out of your apartment for at least a few days while it’s cordoned off and forensics processes it for leads.”

Aaron rubbed a hand over his face. “Am I free to pack some things?”

“After the officer takes your statement.” Jared stepped closer. “And under our supervision. Then you’ll be taken in for a more detailed interview.”

Aaron clamped his hands on his knees. “Glad to help in any way I can, but I don’t know what else I can tell you.”

Jared opened his mouth as if to answer, but his phone rang, and he looked at it. “Excuse me.”

“Sir,” he said and stepped into the hall.

Okay. What did Bristol do with Aaron while Jared talked on his phone? She didn’t want to babysit him. She wanted to listen to Jared’s conversation.

“I’m not in trouble, am I?” Aaron asked. “I mean, I won’t lose my job, right? I love working for your family.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” she replied, resisting the urge to step into the hall and eavesdrop on Jared’s conversation. “If you’ve done nothing wrong, you won’t be in trouble, but you’ll remain a person of interest until we can clear you.”

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