Chapter 15

 

Bren pulled into the parking lot of Bud’s Bar. There were police cars everywhere, their lights flashing and blinking in the darkness. He parked his car and showed the beat cop his badge before ducking under the yellow tape. Forensic investigators were suiting up in white coveralls and he nodded to them. As he headed for the door of the bar, he glanced to the right where a dark-haired, barrel-chested man was glaring at two cops.

“There’s no way in hell he did it!” The man shouted. “Jesus Christ, are you fucking idiots? Let me talk to your goddamn supervisor!”

“That is one angry bull shifter,” a voice said.

Bren shifted his gaze to the bar. Frank was standing in the doorway and he gave Bren a tired smile. “Hey, Bren.”

“Hey, Frank.”

“Sorry to get you out of bed.”

Bren followed him across the bar and down a narrow hallway. “It’s fine. Who doesn’t love a three-a.m. wake-up call?”

Frank grinned at him. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

“What have we got?” Bren asked as they stepped into a small office.

“Dead hedgehog shifter,” Frank said. “Forensic hasn’t been through here yet so be careful where you step.”

Bren studied the body on the ground as Frank said, “This is Bud Sindle. Sixty-seven years old, white hedgehog shifter and owner of Bud’s bar. He took one to the chest and one to the head. Obviously, it was the headshot that killed him. The coroner says the chest was already trying to heal itself.”

“Robbery?” Bren asked.

“Nope, nothing was taken.”

“List of suspects?”

Frank grinned at him. “We got the guy who did it in custody already.”

Bren gave him a surprised look. “What?”

“Yep. The responding officer caught him right in the act. Said he saw the suspect shoot the victim point-blank in the head.”

“Who was the responding officer?”

“Our resident hero cop and the guy who saved your father - Vaughn Bales.” He frowned at the look on Bren’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Why am I here?” Bren said hoarsely. “If you already caught the guy then why did you call me in?”

“That’s where it gets real interesting,” Frank said. “The suspect says he knows you. Asked me to call you.”

“What’s his name?” Bren said. He had a very bad fucking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Burke. Porter Burke.”

 

* * *

 

“Maggie, wake up.”

Maggie blinked dazedly at Willow. “Willow? What – what are you doing here?”

She sat up in bed and dread filled her stomach when she saw Porter’s side of the bed was empty. She had waited up for Porter until two but must have fallen asleep.

“Where’s Porter,” she said as she stared at Willow’s pale face. “Willow! Is Porter okay?”

“He’s okay, honey,” Willow said. “But you need to get dressed and come with me.”

“Where is he?” Maggie shouted. “Where’s Porter?”

“He’s been arrested,” Willow said.

Maggie sagged against the headboard. “What? Arrested for what?”

“Murder,” Willow replied. “C’mon, get dressed. We need to go.”

 

* * *

 

“Porter, don’t say another word,” Heath barked out as he stormed into the interrogation room.

“Heath, it’s okay,” Porter said. “This is - ”

“If you’ve been questioning my client without his lawyer present, I’ll have your badge. Do you understand?” Heath snapped at the tall dark-haired man who was sitting across from Porter. “Leave so I can talk to my client in private.”

“Heath, wait!” Porter said. “Just listen to me for a minute.”

“Porter, keep your mouth shut!” Heath snarled at him. “Jesus Christ, listen to me for once in your goddamn life.”

“Mr. Burke? I’m Detective Bren Matthews and I - ”

“Leave,” Heath said.

“Heath!” Porter shouted. “Just sit down for a minute!”

Heath scowled at him before sitting in the chair next to Bren. “Porter, as your lawyer I’m telling you not to say anything. As your brother, I’m telling you to shut the fuck up.”

“Bren is on my side, Heath,” Porter said.

“Yeah, that’s what they do,” Heath said. “It’s called good cop, bad cop, you idiot.”

Porter sighed and rubbed his forehead. The handcuffs around his wrists glinted in the fluorescent lighting. “Just listen, Heath. Bren is a friend of Ava’s and Bishop’s. He knows I didn’t kill Bud.”

Heath gave Bren a suspicious look and the detective nodded. “It’s true.”

“Then why the hell is he locked up?” Heath asked.

“Because Vaughn Bales says that I killed Bud. He says he saw me shoot him in the head,” Porter replied.

“Fuck,” Heath said. “Tell me what happened.”

“Honestly, I don’t really know what happened,” Porter said.

Heath stared at him and Bren leaned forward. “Here’s Porter’s side of the story, Mr. Burke. Your brother met with Bud last night because he was purchasing the bar from him. They signed the paperwork and Porter paid him with a bank draft.”

“Yeah, I know. I was there,” Heath replied.

“Right. After you left, Porter and Bud had a couple of drinks and then Porter said goodnight. As he was walking to the front door, he heard a noise that sounded like a chair being knocked over.”

Bren glanced at the notepad in front of him. “So far so good, Porter?”

“Yeah,” Porter said.

“He then heard something that sounded like a book being dropped. Right?”

Porter nodded and Bren scratched at the scruff on his jaw. “No doubt that was the first gunshot to the chest.”

“A gunshot is a hell of a lot louder than a book being dropped,” Heath said.

“Not if it has a suppressor on it,” Bren said. “Porter returned to the office and – “

“Garth!” Heath said suddenly. “Garth was sitting outside of the bar. He can tell you that Porter didn’t shoot him.”

“We’ve already spoken to Mr. Donnen,” Bren said. “Unfortunately, he didn’t hear anything. The shooter wanted Porter to hear Bud being shot but it wouldn’t have been heard by Mr. Donnen. He didn’t know anything had happened until the officers arrived on scene.”

“Fuck,” Heath muttered again.

“Porter returned to the office and found Bud lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to his chest. He applied pressure to the wound and was attempting to call 9-1-1 when he was knocked out.”

“You didn’t see anything?” Heath asked.

Porter shook his head. “No, but I smelled hyena right before I was hit over the fucking head.”

“Did you get pictures of his head?” Heath asked immediately. “Proof that he was attacked?”

Bren shook his head. “Unfortunately, your brother was already healed from any injuries.”

“When I woke up,” Porter said, “the gun was in my hand and Bud was dead.” He swallowed heavily as his face paled. “He’s dead because of me.”

“It’s okay, Porter,” Heath said. “Tell me the rest.”

Porter cleared his throat roughly. “Vaughn was standing in the office with me and had his gun pointed at me. He told me to drop the gun and stand up. I did what he asked and he handcuffed me. Then he called for backup and told the other officers that he saw me shoot Bud in the head.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Heath said.

“No,” Bren said. He flipped a page in his notebook. “Officer Bales story is that he went to the bar to speak to Porter. He admitted that he pulled Porter over for a routine traffic stop last week and got a little overzealous and broke his tail light. He says he was going to the bar to apologize to Porter over the incident.”

“Garth didn’t see him walking into the bar?” Heath asked. “He was parked right out front, he would have seen him.”

“Officer Bales says he went in the back way.”

“Why?”

“He drove in off of Larkin Street and he says he was driving through the back parking lot to get to the front when he noticed the back door was open. He says it made him suspicious so he parked his vehicle and went in through the back. He was in the hallway and heard Bud and Porter arguing about Porter purchasing the bar and then a gunshot. He says he went into the office just in time to see Porter shoot Bud in the head. He arrested Porter and called for back-up.”

“I can point out fifty holes in his story right now,” Heath said. “The main one being – why would Porter kill Bud over purchasing the bar? They both signed the paperwork agreeing to the price and Porter gave him a bank draft.”

“About that,” Bren said. “Did you see Porter give him the bank draft?”

Heath shook his head. “No, I left before he did.” He glanced at Porter. “You gave him the draft, right?”

“I did,” Porter said. “Right after you left. Bud stuck it in his pocket, only they didn’t find it on him. Vaughn took it so that it would look like I killed Bud so I could have the bar without paying him for it.”

“Again, that theory won’t hold up in court,” Heath said. “Technically the bar isn’t yours until you’ve paid him. So, killing him before Bud can deposit the draft is a ridiculous idea on your part. You’d never get the bar.”

He studied Bren for a moment. “So, this Vaughn guy is trying to frame Porter but doing an absolutely pathetic job of it. Why?”

“Because he wants Maggie,” Porter said.

“Yeah, I get that,” Heath said impatiently, “but why not do a better job of it? Jesus Christ, a toddler with an overactive imagination could think up a better way. I know hyenas are stupid, but this goes beyond stupidity.”

“The problem,” Bren said, “is that Porter’s prints are all over the gun and Vaughn is well-respected on the force.”

“Yeah, yeah, saved the Senator, hero cop,” Heath said irritably. “I remember.”

“We’ve already spoken to a few of the staff members at Bud’s. Both a waitress and the bouncer told us that they overheard Porter and Bud having a screaming match about the bar a few weeks ago.”

Heath glanced at Porter who nodded. “Yeah, it’s true.”

“You might want to think about firing those two,” Heath muttered.

Bren shook his head. “To be fair, it was like pulling teeth to get anything out of either of them. They don’t believe Porter did it.”

Heath drummed his fingers on the table. “Okay, don’t worry. I’ll get this fucking shitshow of a case thrown out before it even goes to court. All I need to do is prove that Vaughn is trying to frame you. That won’t be all that difficult considering the way he messed this up. I’ll talk to Judd and get a recorded statement from him about saving your ass from the hyenas. I’ll also get a recorded statement from Maggie that details everything Vaughn has been doing to her and - ”

“No!” Porter said. “I want to leave Maggie out of this. She’s been through enough.”

“Well that’s too fucking bad,” Heath said bluntly. “Because Maggie’ statement that Vaughn has been stalking her and she came to you for help is what’s going to get your ass out of this mess.”

“Heath, I don’t - ”

“I don’t fucking care!” Heath interrupted hotly. “I might be younger than you but you’re going to listen to me about this, Porter. Got it? We can fight about it after you’re no longer in jail for murder.”

“Yeah, okay,” Porter said.

“Good. I’m going to bring Marty from the firm in on this.”

“What? Why?” Porter asked.

“Because I’m not a criminal defense lawyer,” Heath said. “Marty is and I want to make sure I don’t screw up anything. Have they filed charges against him yet?”

Bren shook his head. “No, not yet. But I’m pretty sure the DA will. The fingerprints on the gun and Vaughn’s police report will most likely be enough to convince her to file charges.”

“He filed a false police report,” Heath said as his eyes glowed angrily. “I’m going to nail that fucker’s balls to the goddamn wall.”

“I’ll speak to the captain,” Bren said. “I can’t guarantee he’ll believe me but it’ll at least put doubt in his mind about Vaughn.”

“Thank you, Bren,” Porter said.

“Okay, they can’t hold you here without filing charges for more than 72 hours. Hang tight and I’ll get this cleared up before they even get the chance to file charges,” Heath said.

“I have to stay in jail?” Porter said.

“Yes,” Bren replied.

Heath scowled. “What if Vaughn goes after him?”

“We’ll make sure a guard is keeping an eye on Porter,” Bren replied.

“Twenty-four, seven?” Heath said. “How?”

Bren hesitated before glancing at Porter. “Suicide watch.”

Porter grimaced before rubbing his forehead again. “Great.”

“It’s for your own safety,” Heath said. He stood and walked around the table to give Porter a rough hug. “I’ll talk to mom and dad and tell them what’s happening, okay.”

“Maggie as well,” Porter said. “Make sure she isn’t alone ever. Okay?”

Heath nodded and Porter frowned at him. “I mean it, Heath. Ask Mal if she can stay with him and Willow until I get out of here.”

“I will. Don’t worry about her.” Heath said.

“She’s my mate,” Porter said. “I’m going to worry about her.”

“You’ve claimed her?” Heath said.

“No,” Porter admitted. “But the minute I get out of here I’m asking her to be my mate. I love her.”

“Okay,” Heath said before squeezing his arm. “We’ll keep her safe. I promise.”

 

* * *

 

Maggie stood numbly in Mara’s and Roland’s crowded kitchen as Heath finished talking. She watched as Roland took Mara’s hand and squeezed it gently. “It’ll be all right, sweetie.”

She gave him a trembling smile as Jessa placed a steaming mug of tea in front of her. “Drink this, mom.”

“Thank you, JJ,” she said.

“Don’t worry,” Heath said. “I’ve already talked to Marty and he’s going to help me. He’s one of the best defense lawyers in the city.”

“Right,” Roland said. “Okay, so what can we do?”

“Nothing at the moment,” Heath replied. “I’ll get statements from Judd and from Maggie then speak with the DA. Hopefully, it’ll be enough to keep her from even filing charges against Porter. We’ll get a copy of the receipt of the bank draft from Porter as proof that he was at least intending to pay Bud the amount they agreed on. This Vaughn’s statement is flimsy and full of holes.”

“Porter’s prints are on the gun,” Mal said. “How are you going to explain that?”

“Vaughn obviously planted it on him. Tomorrow I’ll go to the hospital and get the medical records from Porter’s stay in the hospital. Once the DA hears about Vaughn stalking Maggie and how he got his hyena pack to nearly kill Porter, it’ll help convince her that Vaughn planted the gun. I’m also going to point out that a wolf shifter using a gun to kill a hedgehog shifter is stupid. Porter could have just shifted and torn Bud’s head off. He had absolutely no need for a gun. I’m starting to think this Vaughn guy is a fucking moron.”

“Are you sure there isn’t something we can do to help?” Willow asked. Her slender arm was planted firmly around Mal’s waist and she kissed his upper arm before squeezing him lightly.

Maggie dropped her gaze to the floor and tuned out Heath’s reply. Porter was in jail because of her. He would be charged with murder because of her. She could fix all of this. She just needed to talk to Vaughn.

“Maggie? Honey, look at me.”

She blinked and looked up to see Porter’s family staring at her. Willow smiled at her. “Heath asked you a question, honey.”

“I’m sorry,” Maggie said to Heath. “What did you say?”

“Can you go to the office with me this afternoon and give a recorded statement,” Heath said.

“I – I have to work in half an hour,” Maggie said.

“Can you call in and ask to miss your shift?” Heath asked patiently. “This is important, Maggie.”

“I know,” Maggie said. “I’m sorry but I can’t miss another shift or I’ll lose my job.”

She was lying. Colin would find someone else to cover her shift but she needed to get away from Porter’s family. She needed to talk to Vaughn as soon as possible and that wasn’t going to happen unless she was alone.

“Are you sure?” Heath said. “Couldn’t you just call and ask? It’s really important that we get this done.”

“I’m sorry,” Maggie repeated. “I really can’t.”

“Are you kidding me?” Becky shouted. She stood up, knocking her chair over and slapping Ellet’s hand away when he tried to grab her arm. “This is all your fault! Porter’s in jail because of you – he nearly died because of you – and now you won’t even help him? What is wrong with you? I wish Porter had never met you! I wish that stupid hyena had - ”

“Rebecca - enough!” Roland roared.

Becky shut her mouth with a snap before baring her fangs at Maggie and growling. She snarled at her father when he took her arm and marched her out of the kitchen.

“Becky ain’t wrong. It is the human’s fault,” Amos said angrily. He stood and glared at Maggie before limping out of the room.

There was a moment of silence as the others stared solemnly at Maggie. She prayed for Mara to say it wasn’t her fault but Porter’s mother didn’t say a word. Maggie wasn’t certain she had even noticed her daughter’s outburst. Mara’s face was pale and worried as Jessa sat down beside her and put her arm around her shoulders. Maggie’s chest tightened until she could barely breathe and her stomach rolled with nausea.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a low voice. She had to choke the words past the lump in her throat. “I – I can make my statement this evening after my shift is over. It’s done by seven.”

Heath ran his hand through his hair and nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“Ronin will drive you to Heath’s office and then you’re coming back to our place to stay the night,” Willow said.

“What?” Maggie said. “No, I – I don’t need to stay with you. Porter’s place is perfectly safe and you have someone watching me so Vaughn isn’t going to…”

She trailed off and Mal gave her a grim look. “That isn’t what we’re worried about. Or rather, what Porter is worried about.”

His tone was clear that they believed she was going to try and run away and it was only Porter who didn’t want that. Maggie blinked rapidly to stop the hot tears from spilling. Porter’s family finally hated her and she couldn’t blame them for it. He was sitting in a jail cell, charged with murder and it was entirely her fault.

“Maggie?” Willow said with a soft frown at Mal. “We want you to stay with us. Okay?”

Maggie didn’t believe her but she nodded. “Yes, that’s - ”

Her voice broke and she cleared her throat loudly. “Yes, that’s fine. I should get to work though.”

“Leave your car here. Fenton’s out front and will drive you,” Mal said.

“Yeah, sure,” she said in defeat. She hesitated before approaching Mara and touching her shoulder. “Mara? I’ll fix this. Porter will be home soon. I promise.”

Mara didn’t reply and Maggie squeezed her shoulder lightly. “I promise, Mara.”

Porter’s mother looked up at her blankly before smiling faintly. “Okay. Bye, Maggie.”

“Bye,” Maggie whispered. The tears were impossible to hold back now and as the room wavered, she fled out of the kitchen. She yanked open the front door and stumbled down the porch steps toward Fenton’s car. The cheetah shifter got out of the car and met her on the passenger side.

“Maggie? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing,” she stuttered. “Mal wants you to drive me to work. Can you do that?”

“Of course,” Fenton said. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

She nodded and swiped savagely at the tears on her cheeks. “I just want to leave, okay?”

“Okay,” Fenton said. He opened the passenger door and she climbed in, buckling the seatbelt and leaning her head against the headrest. She closed her eyes and kept them shut as Fenton drove away.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, girl,” Simone said cheerfully when Maggie walked into the coffee shop. “How’s it going?”

“Hi,” Maggie said. “Can you cover for me for five minutes? I need to make a phone call.”

“Sure,” Simone said. “Is everything okay? You look kind of terrible.”

Maggie smiled wanly at her. “I’m fine. I’ll be right back.”

She headed to the back where Colin’s office was and stuck her head inside. It was empty and she shut the door and pulled out her cell phone. She silently thanked God that she hadn’t gotten around to erasing Vaughn’s number from her phone and quickly scrolled through her contacts. As the call connected, her stomach churned and she held tightly to the edge of Colin’s desk.

“Hello, Maggie. I had a feeling you would be calling,” Vaughn’s low voice washed over her and she swallowed down the bile that had risen in her throat.

“What do you want?” She whispered.

Vaughn laughed. “That’s a stupid question. You know exactly what I want. The real question is – are you going to give it to me?”

“Yes,” she said, “but you have to tell them the truth about what happened to Bud.”

Vaughn didn’t hesitate. “Of course. I’d do anything for my mate.”

“Will you?” She said. “You’ll lose your job when they find out you lied.”

“I don’t care about my job,” Vaughn said. “All I care about is you. Now, why don’t you come by my place and - ”

“First, you tell them the truth about Porter,” Maggie interrupted.

Vaughn barked more laughter. “That’s not how this works. I love you but you’re not exactly trustworthy, are you? As soon as you’re with me, I’ll get the wolf shifter out of jail. The sooner you get here, the faster he’s free, sweetheart.”

“I’m at work,” Maggie said, “and my shift isn’t over until seven.”

“So quit,” Vaughn said carelessly. “Once we’re mated and you’re carrying my pup, you won’t be working anyway.”

“I’m being watched,” Maggie said. “They won’t even let me have my car. I can’t just come over.”

“Well, I guess that’s your problem, isn’t it?” Vaughn said cheerfully.

Maggie didn’t reply and after a moment Vaughn sighed. “Fine. I’ll help you but once you’re my mate, you’ll need to be more self-sufficient. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Maggie said.

“Good. What time did you say your shift finished?”

“Seven.”

“I’ll be waiting at the back entrance for you at seven,” Vaughn said.

“I told you, Vaughn, they’re watching me. I can’t just get in your car and - ”

Vaughn snarled into the phone and she shut her mouth as he said, “Enough, Maggie! You’re a smart girl, I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to escape your wolf shifter’s friends. I’ll be at the back entrance of the coffee shop at seven. Don’t keep me waiting or your wolf shifter will rot in prison for the rest of his life. Are we clear?”

“Yes,” Maggie whispered.

“Good. See you soon, sweetheart.”

The line went dead and Maggie stared at her cell phone before shoving it into her pocket. She turned and made a low shriek of surprise. Simone was standing in the doorway and Maggie gave her a guilty look.

“What’s going on, Maggie?” Simone said.

“Nothing,” Maggie said. “I need to get to work.”

She tried to ease past Simone and the girl grabbed her arm. “Tom’s up front and there are only a few customers. Tell me what’s going on. I heard you say that stupid hyena shifter’s name. I thought you were dating Porter now?”

Maggie tried to yank free of Simone’s grip. “It’s nothing. Just forget about it.”

“No,” Simone said. “I’m your friend and it sounds like you need help. Let me help you.”

She hesitated before nodding. “Yeah, I need help.”

She hated dragging Simone into her fucked-up life but she would need the woman’s help to distract Ronin while she left with Vaughn tonight.

“Okay,” Simone said. “Tell me everything.”