Fidelity (Infidelity #5)(22)

“Mr. Demetri,” Officer Michaels began, “you have the right…”

I reached for Nox’s arm. “No! Please!”

It was Deloris who grabbed my hand as the Miranda rights continued. “Alex, come up the stairs now.”

I’d been strong too long. I didn’t want to be strong any longer. My knees buckled and chest heaved. “No!”

All three officers escorted Nox toward one of the waiting cars as Isaac reached for my hands. “Ma’am, I’ll stay here in Savannah with him. We’ll pay the bond and have him in New York before you wake.”

My head continued to shake. I didn’t doubt Isaac or Deloris. I just didn’t want to leave Nox. “I’m a Montague. I should stay. I can help him.”

Isaac spoke softly, “Ma’am, go to your mother.”

“Alex,” Deloris said, “we need to get you out of here. Don’t you see? This is all a ploy to get you to stay.”

I shook my head and swallowed my tears. “But…”

It was then my gaze met Nox’s. As he ducked his head to enter the backseat of one of the cars, we connected again. Though his lips never moved, I heard his plea: “trust me, princess. I’ll come back to you.”

I gave into the pressure. The world lost its tilt. Lost its color. Lost its sound. A sob escaped my throat as I reached for the railing. My bones were no longer rigid. I sank to the stair. The movie we’d watched was over. The blue lights disappeared as the police cars drove away.

“Oh my God. They took him!” My words were barely audible between sobs.

The rest of my party was functioning—moving and talking—as my face fell to my knees.

“Isaac,” Deloris said, “take the SUV. Go.” She took charge, giving orders and typing on her phone. Chelsea was beside me and Clayton was coming closer. Yet my life was incomplete.

“Ma’am,” Isaac asked, kneeling before me. “Do you need help to the plane?”

I reached again for his hand as my tear-covered face met his. “Please stay with him as close as you can. I don’t trust my stepfather. He’s up to something. What charge? Find out. Oh, God, Isaac, please.” I looked at Deloris. “Do you know?”

She pursed her lips. “At this moment, I can’t venture to guess.”

If I didn’t know better, I’d say there was a hint of unusual concern in her voice.

My legs wobbled as I forced myself to stand, to move, to reach the top of the steps. This time I was leading the parade. In seconds Deloris, Clayton, Chelsea, and I were all in the cabin. The luxurious interior meant nothing as I rushed toward a window. Placing the palm of my hand against the glass I searched for the police cars, for my love, for my life, but everything was gone.

“Alex, you need to sit.”

I hadn’t noticed that the door had been shut or that everyone else was seated.

“How?” I asked Deloris. “How can you leave him? You’re supposed to take care of him!”

She shook her head. “I thought they were after you, trying to make you stay. When they arrived, I regretted sending you the news video. Shock would have been your best reaction.” She leaned forward. “I also tried to convince them that you’re not married.” She paused. “You aren’t, are you?”

“No!”

“It didn’t occur to me that the entire scenario was a ploy.”

“A ploy?”

“It was a diversion,” Clayton said, the two of them seated across from Chelsea and me. “They were keeping us here until the warrant for Mr. Demetri was signed.”

I closed my eyes and fell back against the seat. “How does he always win?”

Deloris reached for my knee. “The war isn’t over.”





MY GAZE MET Charli’s only briefly as the policeman guided me into the backseat of his car. Guided was a kind way to say that he pushed. That wasn’t my concern. Connecting with the golden-eyed love of my life and making sure she was safely out of Savannah was.

“Go!” I silently willed. “Get out of here. Do it before they suck you back in!” Though the words had never left my lips, I sent them with all the urgency I could muster.

Closing my eyes, I recounted the devastation in her expression and anguish in her tone.

Fuck!

We were so fucking close. Two more minutes and the plane would have been moving. We would have been gone.

Then it hit me. The police knew they couldn’t keep Charli or Chelsea here. It was all a sham, a stall.

My shoulders ached at the pressure on my wrists as the police car bounced along the Savannah roads.

I willed my muscles to relax, to not fight the handcuffs. I’d have them off soon enough.

My mind filled with everything I knew and all we’d learned. If the two officers in the front seat spoke, I wasn’t listening.

The memory that fought to consume my thoughts was of Charli. I’d had her in my grasp, feeling her warmth next to me, inhaling the scent of her perfume, and holding her hand in mine. I exhaled, pushing those thoughts away as the car bounced along Savannah’s roads. I needed to concentrate. What was the charge?

I assumed it was battery. I’d punched Alton Fitzgerald. I expected more of a fight from him at the estate. That wasn’t the way he played. He’d never make it in an octagon. His technique was slimy and backhanded. Give us a little taste of freedom and pull it all away.