Rome closed his notebook. “That's all I need for now. We'll be here a little longer gathering evidence, but from the looks of things, it collaborates with what you've told me. Charles has already been taken to the station. Hugh, bring Mary Elizabeth to the station tomorrow so she can sign her statement and press charges."
"What about Babs? Can you charge him with murder?” She really didn't want him to get away with killing her sister, but she knew things like that happened all the time, especially if you had enough money.
"I forgot about the sister. What can you tell me about the accident?"
"It was listed as a hit and run. Babs’ car was totaled. The driver of the second vehicle was never found. The vehicle was listed as stolen and there were open containers and the strong smell of alcohol inside. Babs bled out on the way to the hospital, never having gained consciousness."
"It sounds like your brother-in-law covered his tracks well. Even if he confessed, there's probably not enough evidence to get a conviction."
"Yeah, that's what I figured. So he'll get away with it after all.” The thought was depressing, and a little frightening. She hoped they could make these charges stick. She didn't want to be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life. Right now Charles was obsessed with her. What happens if he decided that if he couldn't have her, nobody would?
Rome told Hugh he'd talk to him later and then left Hugh to comfort his mate. As soon as the door closed, Mary Elizabeth came out of the covers and climbed into Hugh's lap. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. “I missed you so much. When I first saw Charles, I was so mad at him for messing up my surprise. That's before I realized how crazy he was."
"Don't you ever leave me again,” he said sternly.
She ran her fingers through his hair before cradling his face with her hands. “I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I just needed time to get my head straight. To figure out what I wanted."
"And have you figured things out?” His look was very intent, as though he could see right into her soul. Maybe he could.
"Yes, I want you. Whatever that means. Whatever it takes. You've crawled into my soul and now I can't imagine my life without you in it."
"It's called love and I feel the same way about you.” He went to say more but she kissed him to silence.
"Later. I have several days of abstinence to make up for."
His eyes glowed as he recognized his words from earlier being spoken back to him. He lowered his mouth to hers. She was right. They could talk later. Much, much later.
From the sounds coming from the room, it didn't take any investigative skills on his part to know what was going on in there. Rome ushered his deputy out of the apartment. Anything they needed and didn't already have would have to wait until later.
He walked out of the apartment and locked the door behind him with a sad smile on his face. He was glad Hugh's mate was safe and sound, in his arms where she belonged. It was his job to make sure she stayed that way. He'd give anything to be able to hold his mate in his arms again. Now that he'd finally found her, he was working on a plan to bring her back to Refuge where she belonged. Once she was here, he'd never let her go again.
Chapter Twenty-One
In the station's only questioning room, Rome looked at the man seated across from him in disgust. Mr. Charles Remington the Third was as arrogant as his name sounded. It was evident from his behavior that the man considered them to be nothing more than a backward bunch of hillbillies. For now, it suited his purpose to play down to his image of them.
He looked down at the paperwork in front of him and straightened it slightly on the table, in pretended nervousness. “There are some discrepancies between your statement and those of the other two, but since Ms. Brown is unwilling to press charges, I have no choice but to let you go, on the condition that you leave town immediately. Ms. Brown has expressed her desire to be left alone. Any further attempt on your part to see or contact her in any way will be seen by this department as harassment, and a restraining order will be issued against you, with or without her consent. Since both you and Ms. Brown are sporting bruises, this will officially go on record as a domestic dispute.” Rome glanced up, then quickly looked down at the table again.
"Once your statement has been signed, your belongings will be released to you. I strongly advised you to leave town now. Do not stop for any reason. To make sure you don't run into any problems, one of my deputies will follow you to the county line.” Rome slid the paperwork across the table.
Charles smiled triumphantly as he signed his statement, not bothering to read it to make sure it was correct. He now knew for sure that Mary Elizabeth loved him. She'd refused to press charges against him, not that it would have mattered if she did. They both knew that he'd done nothing wrong. Had these yokels tried to detain him, he'd have had his team of lawyers swarming all over them before they knew what hit them.
As for Mary Elizabeth, he still wasn't clear on what happened. He'd been told that the big guy had come in after Mary Elizabeth ran into his briefcase. He'd thought that she was being attacked and had done what any man would do under the circumstances—protected her by striking back.
He packed a hell of a punch. Charles's last clear memory was of standing over Mary Elizabeth informing her of their wedding. Which reminded him, he still had a bride to collect. He'd play along for now. Leave as they instructed, but double back. Nothing and no one was going to keep him from the woman he loved.
Later at the front desk, when the sheriff handed him his keys, he gave a friendly warning. “We found your van and parked it in the side parking lot. If I were you, I'd take it to a mechanic and get it checked out. It seemed to pull a little to the right while I was driving it. Oh, and be careful of the wildlife, especially on the roads at night. They tend to come out of nowhere with all of the woods around here. With the curves in the road, sometimes you're on one before you realize it. Drive carefully. We wouldn't want you to have to return for any reason. Stay within the posted speed limits and you should be okay. Deputy Harris here will make sure you make it to the county line in one piece.” Deputy Harris tipped his hat to Charles, and then went out to his cruiser to wait.
Charles gave the sheriff a look of scorn as he took his belongings. Checking to make sure everything was there, he noticed his gun was missing. “Where is my gun?"
"Deputy Harris has it. He'll return it to you once you reach the county line."
Knowing there was nothing he could do about it at the moment, Charles took his things and left. They hadn't heard the last from him. As soon as he had Mary Elizabeth safely home, he'd slap a lawsuit on this town so large he'd own it. Smiling at the thought, he walked out and got in the van.
As instructed, he checked it out carefully. Everything appeared to be just as he left it. Starting the van, he strapped on his seatbelt. He wouldn't put it past them to give him a ticket for not wearing one. He turned onto the main road leading out of town. As promised, Deputy Harris was right behind him.
Once he cleared the main part of town, he picked up speed as the posted speed limit increased. The mountainous road was dark and curvy, downhill all the way. Several times he tapped his breaks to slow his speed, as the grade of the road caused his vehicle to roll faster and faster.
Steering became harder and harder as the power steering seemed to fail. He was using more and more muscle to steer into and out of the sharp curves. His brakes felt funny, too. They'd been fine at first, but the longer he drove, the mushier the pedal felt and it was taking the van longer and longer to slow in response to his foot on the brake pedal.