Alayna’s rage had dissipated by the time she was dressed. She resented having to call Gloria and Warren and ask them to come over to the apartment to keep the girls while she went to the police station to file an assault report. She was still so afraid they might take the girls while she was gone and catch the first plane out.
It gave her no satisfaction to see the conflict of relief and pain in their expressions when she told them their son was alive, then that he had assaulted her. The horror in Warren’s expression when he saw the bruises on her throat and arms made it difficult for her to maintain her composure.
How much worse could it have been if Emilia hadn’t spoken his name and drawn him back from the brink? At least he still cared enough about the girls to try to control himself in front of them.
“I don’t know how long it will take me. There’s spaghetti sauce in the refrigerator, and the pasta is in the cabinet. Emilia can show you were it is. There’s also French bread to slice for garlic bread, and a salad that just needs dressing.”
“We’ll take care of all that, Alayna. We’ll keep them safe while you’re gone,” Warren assured her while he tentatively rested a hand on her shoulder.
When Rosa cried and clung to her, she almost wept herself. “Mommy will be back soon. Em and Addie will be right here with you.”
Addison and Emilia came to her to kiss her ’bye. “Come on, Rosa. Sissy and I want to play cars with you,” Emilia tugged at Rosa’s hand. Emilia, her little mother’s helper. She’d probably saved her life by speaking to Aaron. How had she known what to do?
She gave a shaky sigh when Rosa slipped off her lap to follow her sisters into the bedroom.
Bowie hovered close as she got to her feet.
“Aaron’s changed his appearance. He’s dyed his hair brown and has allowed his beard to grow, so he looks scruffy. He’s afraid and desperate and…not himself.” Which was the truth. He had raised his voice, but never his hand, when they were married. All but their last night together as a married couple. She shuddered and ignored the pain of remembering.
Gloria spoke for the first time since entering the apartment. “We’ll call the police if he shows up, Alayna.” Her gaze rested on Alayna’s throat for a moment, then shifted away. “He’ll probably be safer in custody than being hunted by the people he’s stolen from.”
Bowie rested a hand against the small of her back. She gathered her purse and he held the lightweight sweater she’d laid out so she could slide into it. She murmured her thanks and touched his hand.
She paused outside the apartment, surprised to find a police officer stationed outside the door. “What are you here for?”
“Protection detail for you and your children, Ms. Wieland.”
Aaron was unlikely to return now. But someone else might. It did relieve a little of the tight feeling of fear that had taken hold of her. She thanked him, and she and Bowie walked away.
Alone in the elevator Bowie ran a hand down her back. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here, Alayna.”
“You can’t be with us twenty-four seven, Bowie. I don’t expect you to be. We’re not your responsibility.”
His features blanked for a moment. “I care about you and the girls.”
“I know you do.” They were already falling in love with him. The way Rosa had asked for him this morning when they got back from the park was proof enough. But loving him could break their hearts. He put himself in danger for a living. It would be an instinct for him to put himself between them and any threat. Loving them could get him killed. She had to take steps to protect them herself.
Once they were in the car, she broached the first step. “I need to stop at the bank after we go to the police station. The main branch downtown.”
“Okay.”
When he didn’t ask why, she was relieved.
She had been to the police station a number of times for her boss, collecting paperwork for various cases, and to file restraining orders against Aaron. Will Kappes sat near the entrance of the station, talking on his phone, and she gripped Bowie’s hand as she approached him.
He ended his call and unfolded his tall, lean frame from the chair. He often reminded her of Jimmy Stewart, with his long arms and legs, big feet and big hands. His closely-cropped hair was sprinkled with gray at the temples.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your day, Mr. Kappes.”
“It isn’t a problem, Alayna.”
She turned to introduce Bowie and the two men shook hands.
Kappes got right to the point. “Have you thought of anything we didn’t cover in our conversation earlier?”
She shook her head.
“Have you been to the emergency room to have your injuries documented?”
“No, but the EMTs documented them and will file a report. I thought the police would probably document them as well, since I’m pressing charges and filing a restraining order.”
“Yes, they will, but it never hurts to have medical documentation.”
They spent a few more minutes going over the situation that had unfolded inside the apartment, and all the other information the police had shared before and since.
Kappes turned his attention on Bowie. “You texted Alayna while you were in the presence of Detectives Gray and Stansberry?”
“Yes, to warn her to be on the lookout for her ex, but it was too late.”
“Why had Gray and Stansberry called you into the office?”
“They called me in to pump me for information. They didn’t tell me why, but after a few minutes of them beating around the bush, I had a hunch and texted her.”
Kappes shifted his attention back to Alayna. “And they didn’t inform you when they learned the body in the car wasn’t Aarons?”
“I hadn’t heard anything from them since we met at Big Bear and they notified me they’d recovered Aaron’s car. Not one word…until they waltzed in demanding to talk to me after Aaron had come and gone, Bowie arrived, and the other cops were finished with us.”
“So, they purposely gave you no warning.”
“I’d say so.”
Kappes’ expression turned stony, and he led the way into the police station.
A few minutes later an officer came down the hall and asked them to come with him. When they reached the area where Gray and Stansberry usually worked, they were nowhere in sight.
The officer stopped at a corner office set apart by glass and metal supports, opened the door, and stood back for them to enter.
An African-American man rose from the desk in the center of the room. His hair was almost buzz cut, his shirt and tie a little wrinkled from sitting in the chair, but his dark brown gaze was direct. “Ms. Wieland, thank you for coming in.” He extended a hand, and she automatically moved to shake it. “I’m Captain Brian Sherwood. My detectives reported what happened.”
Yeah, sure they did. She introduced Kappes and Bowie, and he moved to shake their hands as well.
“Please have a seat.”
They sat in straight-backed chairs designed to be as uncomfortable as possible.
Kappes spoke, “Ms. Wieland is here to file a grievance against detectives Gray and Stansberry. They had a duty to notify her of her ex-husband’s current status. She had already described to them his abusive behavior toward her. By delaying that notification, they gave her ex-husband the opportunity to initiate a blitz attack where he assaulted her and threatened her children, terrorizing them all.
“By not speaking to her, they missed an opportunity to place an officer inside her home, where they could have captured Aaron Harper and ended this whole thing.”
Captain Sherwood leaned forward to rest his arms on the desk. “A plan to set up surveillance had already been initiated. Some, but not all, of our officers were in place. Harper slipped out undetected with a group leaving the building.”
“Your officers had time to call Lieutenant Rivera and ask him to come in for an interview, but no time to call Ms. Wieland and forewarn her?”
Captain Sherwood’s features tightened. “Detective Gray was being cautious. He thought perhaps you’d call your ex and warn him if you knew about the surveillance.”
God, she was so tired of Gray’s shit. She reached into her purse and removed her phone. She turned to Bowie. “I need you to step outside with me for a minute.”
He nodded and rose.
“We’ll just be a minute,” she murmured.
Once outside the office, his golden-brown gaze fastened on her face.
“I’m not asking for you to do this because I don’t trust you, Bowie. It’s just that—” Her breath hitched. “I love that you’re protective of the girls and me. To hear this recording will upset you…”
“It’s okay.” He studied her face for a long moment. “I know what you’re saying. You don’t want me to break the guy’s neck if we’re ever face-to-face.”
“You’re right, I don’t.” Her anger at Aaron knew no bounds, but she was not going to allow him to take one more thing from her. “I want him to spend as many years as possible in prison so he can’t get to me and the girls. You stopped me from doing something that could have gotten me arrested, and I don’t want to have to do the same for you.”
“I’ll be here waiting when you’re through.”
She rose up on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.”
She returned to the office and closed the door, unlocked her phone, started the recording she made of Aaron, and turned it on speakerphone. His voice came over the speaker with as much venom as he usually spoke to her.
“Sooner or later you’ll slip up and I’ll get custody of the girls.”
“What do you mean slip up? I don’t drink, smoke, do drugs, or sleep around. In other words, I don’t do any of the things you do on a regular basis. You may have more money than I do, but you don’t love them the way I do. I’d give my life for them. The only person you’re interested in is yourself. And the only reason you want them is because you want to hurt me.”
“I haven’t even started dishing it out, Alayna. I’ll keep going until I get everything from you. You’ll be begging me to stop.”
“Like I did that last night.”
“Shut up, bitch. You were asking for it.”
“I left you with everything but them, Aaron. I just want to raise my girls and move on with my life. Leave us alone, or I’ll go to the police.”
“Go on. I have any number of guys who owe me. I can set it up so the judge and everyone else in the state of California will believe you’re a lying whore because you are one. You lied to me our whole marriage. You promised to love me, only me.”
“I was never unfaithful to you, Aaron.”
“You don’t have to fuck someone to be unfaithful. Every time we made love you were thinking of him. Do you think I didn’t know that?”
“I wasn’t. I tried to be a good wife. But I’m not your wife any longer. And I have undisputable proof of what you did that night. Leave me alone.”
“You’ll never have a life as long as I’m alive. I’ll make certain of it.”
She’d cut the phone off at that point unable to bear anymore of his threats. Silence stretched for a beat then two.
Mr. Kappes placed a comforting hand over the fists she’d clenched in her lap.
“I’m assuming he—assaulted you before you separated.”
She nodded.
“Why didn’t you file a complaint against him then?”
“He walked out that night and never came back. I found an apartment and moved out of the house the next week. He filed for divorce five weeks later, and I thought that would be the end of it.”
“But it wasn’t,” the captain said, his tone flat.
“No.” She stared at the industrial tile floor and fought to maintain her composure. “He wanted me to have an abortion, but I wouldn’t.” The raw emotion worsened the ache in her throat.
Kappes’ grip on her hand tightened.
Shame and embarrassment roiled through her. Her boss was listening to every detail of what she had endured. What would he think of her from now on? “When he broke into the apartment last night, he was looking for a flash drive with information on it about how to access the funds he’s stolen, but he also was looking for the pictures I took of my injuries and my doctor’s notes from a few days later, too.”
She finally raised her gaze to Captain Sherwood’s face. “I would never help Aaron in any way. I hope you find him and put him in prison for the rest of his life. I don’t want him near me, or my daughters, ever again. Every time Detective Gray interviews me, all he asks me about is the money. Maybe he needs to concentrate on finding Aaron and dealing with the people he’s stolen from. But it was his responsibility to protect me and my girls from harm, too.”
Sherwood messaged his forehead. “You didn’t tell him about the earlier assault, did you?”
“No. But I did tell him about the threats to firebomb my car and to kill me. I offered to play the recording for him, right after the men tried to abduct me from the bank parking lot, but he wasn’t interested. He wasn’t even interested in the attempted kidnapping. All he wanted to talk about was Aaron and any money he might have given me.”
“We’ve had to take Harper to court on three different occasions just to get him to pay the court-ordered child support of a paltry five hundred dollars a month,” Kappes said. “That alone should have alerted him to the type of relationship Ms. Wieland has with Mr. Harper.”
Sherwood didn’t respond to that. “Have you had any contact with anyone your husband may depend on for help?”
Alayna hesitated. “My husband’s parents. They’re staying with the children so we could come here today.”
“Are they aware their son is alive?”
“Yes. I told them.”
“How did they respond when you told them what had happened?”
“His father seemed relieved. I couldn’t read his mother’s reaction. Aaron’s father was apologetic about what he’s done. I think he’s genuinely upset and devastated by what’s happened. He said yesterday at the park, ‘My boy went off the rails, didn’t he?’ There were tears in his eyes.”
“And his mother?”
“Gloria wouldn’t meet my eyes or look at me this morning. She promised they’d call the police if Aaron came to the apartment. Her words were, ‘I’d rather he be arrested than caught by the people after him.’” Not a word about the bruises he’d put on his ex-wife.
“Do you think she’s talked to him?”
“I don’t know, but they’re very close. Judging from their attitudes, Gloria would be more inclined to protect him than his father.”
Captain Sherwood rose to his feet. “I appreciate your being so candid about everything. I’ll be supervising the filing of your assault report myself, Ms. Wieland. Your lawyer can file your complaint against my two officers.”
“Thank you.” The spring of tension released in the pit of her stomach.
Bowie tilted his head back against the metal edging framing one of the large office windows. What was so bad about the conversation between her and her husband that she didn’t want him to hear it? Not knowing was driving him crazy. Crazier than knowing would have. Or would it?
She did have a point. He was protective of her and the girls. He felt guilty as hell for not being there when her ex made his surprise appearance. He was reasonably sure at this point that Gray and Stansberry had wanted him out of the way because they suspected Aaron Harper was going to make a visit to the apartment. But how would they have known?
When Alayna came out, he straightened in his seat.
“I have to go down the hall to be photographed,” she explained.
She looked tired but not upset. He shot her a thumbs-up. A woman in the San Diego PD uniform carrying a camera approached her. She flashed Bowie an appreciative smile, then turned her attention to Alayna. “Come this way, please.”
Willard Kappes exited the office and turned to shake Captain Sherwood’s hand. Bowie rose as Kappes reached him. “I’m glad Alayna has you, Bowie. Keep your eyes peeled for Harper. I mean that.” His gaze sharpened with a message he couldn’t share vocally. “Alayna will need to go before the judge tomorrow at ten to get the restraining order signed.”
“I’ll see she gets there safely, sir.” He and Kappes shook hands.
“Lieutenant, can I speak to you?” Captain Sherwood said.
Bowie sauntered into the office and Sherwood closed the door. “I’ve read your interview following Ms. Wieland’s attempted abduction at the bank and the discovery of Bliss Harper’s body at the residence. I’d like for you to go back over both with me.”
For the next twenty minutes Bowie went back through everything that had happened at the bank and the house.
“You and Ms. Wieland have a personal relationship.”
“We’re getting reacquainted since we haven’t seen each other in ten years.” An idea struck him.
“Gray said the SDPD budget didn’t stretch to a protection detail. So I stepped in.”
He’d been on his way to Alayna’s apartment when Gray called him in for a bullshit interview just when Gray was attempting to take Harper down.
Surely Gray wasn’t as big a fuckup as he seemed. There were a lot of very rich people looking to get their money back, and extra cash would be a temptation. And how had he known Harper would be there? And had he actually allowed the man to abuse Alayna because he hoped Harper would recover the flash drive?
And how could Bowie suggest all that to Sherwood without pissing him off and making the situation worse for Alayna? But what if the Captain was just as culpable as Gray?
“I was called here for an interview when Harper showed up at Alayna’s apartment today. Gray called me in. That was pretty poor timing.”
“Off-post you’re just a regular American citizen, Lieutenant.”
Sherwood would have to do a lot better than that if he was trying to piss Bowie off. He kept his tone flat and even, “I’ll be sure to remind the next terrorist I take down of that.”
Sherwood’s features tightened.
Fuck it. “Alayna was hurt, and the girls were terrified and crying when I got there. I could have had Harper tied up with a bow for you. Instead he’s still out there, an active threat to them.” He didn’t have to say your guys fucked up. He stood. “Interesting that Gray knew Harper would be there today. He must be the only psychic detective in San Diego.”
Sherwood continued to eye him without emotion.
“Are we finished here, sir?”
Sherwood gave him a curt nod. “Yeah, I think we are.”
Bowie sauntered to the door.
“Lieutenant?”
Bowie stopped at the door and turned to face Sherwood again. “I hope you have a concealed carry permit for that weapon.” Sherwood nodded toward the weapon holstered on his right hip.
Bowie reached into his back pocket for his wallet and withdrew the paper. Sherwood raised a hand. “Never mind.”
Bowie slipped the paper back in place and his wallet in his back pocket.
Sitting outside the office, Bowie took some moments to shake off his anger.
As soon as Alayna appeared, he left his seat to meet her. “You okay?”
“Yes.” Her hand moved restlessly along the strap of her shoulder bag.
Once they were in the car, he locked the doors before securing his seatbelt.
Alayna’s pale green gaze searched his face. “Something happened while I was gone?”
“Yeah. Just a back and forth with Sherwood.” He hesitated, trying to decide how much to share with her. “It could be just an overactive sense of distrust on my part, Alayna. Maybe I’m reading more into the mistakes Gray has made trying to pursue your ex.”
“Since I don’t trust Detective Gray any farther than I can throw him, why don’t you tell me what you think?”
Bowie ran a hand over his hair, roughing it up and smoothing it back down. He ran through his conversation with Captain Sherwood, and his conclusions about Gray.
Alayna remained silent for a long moment. “You’re a wise-ass.”
“Well…yeah.”
“I really like that about you.”
He chuckled.
“Gray searched your apartment twice and came to Big Bear to search your things there. But to be objective, all of that could be construed as an attempt to be thorough.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. “But the surveillance thing today was suspicious.”
“Captain Sherwood insinuated that they wanted me out of the way since I’m just a regular citizen while on American soil.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Those fuckers put me and my children in danger on purpose.”
He had rarely heard her swear, even in high school. Yeah, she was very, very upset.
“Do you think the detectives’ incomes might be being subsidized by one of the people Aaron stole from?”
“That could be a possibility.” That she was following the same lines of thought as he was without any encouragement… They were either paranoid or on to something.
“There’s no way we could prove any of this since we don’t have access to the list of people Aaron’s embezzled from. We won’t have access to that information until they’ve brought an indictment against Aaron and named the injured parties.”
“I might know someone who can find out.” Would Tess want to investigate this mess? It wouldn’t hurt to ask. “I’ll give her a call later and ask if she’s interested.”
Alayna’s silence invited more information, so he continued.
“Her name is Tess Kelly, and she’s a buddy’s wife. You might have read some of her articles. She’s a reporter on the San Diego paper, and specializes in the crime beat.”
“Yes, I have. Her husband is deployed?”
“Yeah. But he’ll be home soon. We’ll get together with them. You’ll like them both.” He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, heading into town.
Bowie waited in the lobby while Alayna disappeared toward the back of the bank with one of the employees. He took a moment to call Tess Kelly Weaver and fill her in on Alayna’s situation.
Regret came across in her tone. “Another reporter here is covering the story. I’ll ask him if he has inside info about the clients involved. I do know that Masters, Chumley, and Evans is freaking out about this. Some of their clients are a little cutthroat, and that a junior partner was granted enough access to do this… None of them are happy.” She paused. “How did you get involved?”
“I hate to say this to you, Tess, but this has to stay off the record unless Alayna says otherwise.”
“Understood.”
“Alayna, Harper’s ex-wife, and I knew each other in high school. I’m helping her and her kids out. There was a kidnap attempt on Alayna in the parking lot at the bank.” He mentioned the bank location.
“That was her? The police withheld the victim’s name.”
“I happened to be there when it went down. There was speculation that it might have been an attempt to pressure Harper into giving up the money.”
“If you’re protecting her and her children, you need to be careful, Bowie. I did hear Grady say some of these guys aren’t your average businessmen. I’ll pump Grady for a client list for you.”
“Thanks, Tess. It will stay between me and Alayna, no one else.”
“I can’t promise it will be for free. He may want a tradeoff for more information.”
“That will be up to Alayna.”
“Fair enough. I’ll tell him that.”
He switched gears. “When Brett gets home, I’d like us to get together. I think you’d like Alayna.”
Silence hung between them for a beat. “She must be special if you want Brett to meet her.”
“Yeah, she is.”
“I’ll mention it to Brett, and if you’re available, we’ll do it.”
“Thanks, Tess. You know how to reach me.”
Alayna appeared carrying a heavy plastic gun case. His brows rose. When she reached him, he gripped her elbow. “Are you sure you want that in the apartment?” He’d been careful every time he was there to secure his weapon where the kids couldn’t get to it.
“Yes, I am.”
“How long has it been since you shot it?”
“Last year, when I got my concealed carry license. I brought the pistol from Texas when I moved here. It’s been locked away in the bank ever since.”
“The Harpers are going to voice some objections if you bring it in while they’re there.”
“Then I’ll wait until they leave, but I’m not going to be defenseless again if their son, or anyone else, comes into my home and threatens me. You can’t be with us twenty-four seven.” The resolve in her expression knotted his stomach.
There would always be times when he wasn’t around to protect her or the girls. Today was proof. It would only be worse when he returned to base to work with his new team and they deployed. Frustration ate at him. He didn’t want this for her. But at least he could make certain she was prepared.
“We’ll go to a shooting range tomorrow so you can practice.”
“Okay.”