Colton's Killer Pursuit

CSI had arrived.

Clarke was talking to Troy.

His job—protecting her—was done.

One and done. That was what they’d said.

She hadn’t realized how horribly, horribly empty being “done” felt. On every level.

Where did she go now?

Funny, such a short time ago, Larissa had offered her house as a safe place for Everleigh to stay. And she’d actually considered taking her friend up on the offer. Betrayal bit into an already opened wound. She’d trusted so blindly...

Grace or someone would take her to Clarke’s to pick up her things. Or she could have them sent over. Except, no, she wanted them sooner than that.

But sent over where?

Her parents’ would be the obvious answer. No way she was going there. She just couldn’t. Not yet. Not then.

And Gram’s house... The thought of that was suffocating, too...being there alone, knowing Gram was locked up in prison because of her...

So...she could get a hotel room. The idea seemed so frivolous, but she wouldn’t be short on money after Tuesday. Not that she’d waste it. She’d never be that far away from the wrong side of the tracks.

Her heart rate quickened as Clarke walked toward her.

“You ready to go?” He asked the question like they’d planned to be somewhere together.

“I’m... I can’t really leave until I can get my car out of the garage.” At the moment, there were several police cruisers blocking it. “I already gave my statement to Grace,” she added, in case he thought she needed a ride to the station. She was assuming he’d have more official business to conduct.

“I know. I’m done for now, too. I thought I’d take you back to my place.” He gestured around them. “They’re going to be busy here for a while, collecting any evidence they can find of Larissa in Fritz’s office the day he was killed. Going over the couch. Getting evidence from today. Proving that she used a key to get in your home multiple times. All of the things she told us are only hearsay in court. The cops know what happened, but they still have to prove it, or she could walk.”

She nodded, having assumed most of what he’d said. “I thought I’d stay in a hotel tonight.”

He frowned. “I’d feel better once we know that Larissa is locked in a cell, that she doesn’t get out on bail...”

“Will that be sometime today?” She had to go back to his place anyway, to get her stuff. And if he wanted to bring her back to retrieve her car...

“Should be. They’ll be interviewing her soon. She’ll be booked on formal charges, get a court-appointed attorney if she can’t afford one...”

Yeah, she knew the drill. Everleigh had been denied bail. Would Larissa be?

“If she asks for her attorney before she talks, the process could take longer.”

That had been Everleigh’s mistake, she knew now. She’d been so sure that all she had to do was explain and she’d be let go. By the time she’d been done talking, it had been too late to get an attorney that night. She’d been charged and put in a cell.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he added, his gaze intent but warm. “You’re out of danger. You’re safe. I’m just being extra cautious and would like

to know that she’s locked up, having been denied bail, rather than say goodbye and hear that she got out and has you cornered someplace. The woman is a bit too deranged for me to relax just yet.”

He was the one who lived in a world of crime. He knew it a lot better than she did.

He wanted her to stay at his place one more night?

She couldn’t do that. One and done.

“I’ll come with you now,” she told him, figuring a few hours would give them the information they needed for her to be able to get on with her life. She didn’t have her car. Couldn’t ask him to take her to his place and then to a hotel and then back to her car. Wasn’t happy about the idea of trusting a ride share at the moment, but she was pretty much feeling distrustful of everything.

“You’ve been through a lot of stress, Everleigh,” he said. “More than most people could endure standing up. All I’m suggesting is that you take one more day in my safe home, a place where you have your things, your room with a door that locks, and let the GGPD do their jobs, both here and at the station with Larissa, before you tackle the world again.”