Total pages in book: 188
Estimated words: 185811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 929(@200wpm)___ 743(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 185811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 929(@200wpm)___ 743(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 15
Abby settled into her seat in the nicer upstairs room of the old school and smiled at Mariana. The woman smiled back and lifted her eyebrows at seeing Abby holding Noah’s hand. He felt just right sitting next to her. After he’d gotten rid of Monte’s body, somehow, they’d decided to act normal for the remainder of her probation. But he had a couple of good lawyers ready to go, just in case.
Tabi rushed inside and slipped her sunglasses atop her blonde hair. “Hi.”
Abby smiled. Then she frowned. Now she worked for Tabi, and now she realized that the demoness really did want to rob the bank and get that video. Of course, now Abby understood why. She shook off the unease. She’d deal with bank robbing another day.
Mariana looked up, focused on the doorway behind Abby, and turned a light pink.
Abby partially twisted to see Raine Maxwell loping inside holding a tray of donuts. A bit of powdered sugar remained on his bottom lip. “The gambling guys were kind enough to donate these to us.” He placed the tray on a desk and took his seat over by Tabi.
Noah leaned forward. “What are you doing back here?”
Raine grinned. “I’m a multi-tasker, you know. Your buddy wasn’t my only job in town.”
What in the world did that mean? Since Noah stiffened next to her, Abby paused.
Raine rolled his eyes. “I’m not interested in either one of you. Don’t worry.”
“Me?” Tabi asked.
“Negative,” Raine assured her, kicking back.
Well, that was interesting. Considering Noah had informed her that Raine was mostly a vampire, why would he be in the small town now that Ivar was gone? The vampire looked to his side. “Doc? You gonna have a donut?”
“No.” Mariana looked around the circle, her gaze intelligent. She definitely knew she was missing something, but as a human, there was no way she’d figure it out.
Bootsteps sounded, and the sheriff came into the room followed by Detective O’Connell. “Mrs. Loften? We need to talk to you.”
Abby jerked. “Miss Miller,” she corrected.
The sheriff hitched their way. “You need to come down to the station. Now.”
Noah partially stood. “I have two lawyers staying at the motel at the edge of town. I can have them there before we arrive. How about you just talk to her here?”
“Fine.” The sheriff’s beady eyes narrowed. “Where were you last night at six in the evening?”
Abby swallowed. That was about the exact time Monte had died. “I was—”
“With me at my new factory,” Tabi said instantly. “Why?”
“Her husband died at that time, according to our coroner. His body was found, stabbed to death, in his apartment.” The sheriff glared at Abby.
Detective O’Connell cleared his throat. “Along with a kilo of coke, which apparently he’d been taking for a while.”
The sheriff snarled at the detective. “Shut up.” He looked at Abby. “Anybody else able to corroborate your statement?”
“I was there,” Noah said. “The whole time.”
“Me, too,” Raine added, smiling smoothly. “I’m interested in Tabi’s business and might invest. We all met up and then came to my place for pizza. It was a lovely evening.”
Abby stared at the group. They were all covering for her? Her heart warmed. For Noah, too.
The sheriff stood straighter. “You’re all lying. You’re all in this together.”
Raine snorted. “We just met last week, Sheriff. For the first time. Feel free to conduct background checks on all of us. You won’t find any connections, because there aren’t any. No way would a bunch of strangers commit or cover a crime together. That’s just silly.”
Detective O’Connell looked around and then grasped the sheriff’s arm. “He’s right. The alibi is solid. Let’s go.”
“For now,” the sheriff snapped, turning and storming from the room.
The detective looked at each one of them in turn. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I will find out.” Intelligence shone in his too blue eyes.
Tabi winked at him.
His head went up, he gave her a look, and then he followed the sheriff.
“Is it just me,” Noah murmured, “or does our detective there not like his boss very much?”
Abby frowned. “Is he—”
Noah shook his head and leaned in for a kiss. “No. Human.” He took her hand and helped her up. “Can we do group Thursday? This has been emotionally draining.”
Mariana looked around, her gaze bewildered. “I think that might be best.”
Raine smiled at her. “I’ll stick around, doc. Maybe you and I could chat.”
Noah drew Abby from the room and into the hall, pulling her into his arms. “You okay?”
She leaned back, her heart full. “Yes. I take it you thought making him disappear would create too many problems?”
“Yep. This is the best route.” Noah leaned down and kissed her, taking his time. Taking a lot of time. When he lifted up, she’d forgotten every concern she’d ever had. “I love you, mate.”