Jaden (Jaded #3)(35)

“The police are here.”

“Oh.” My hand thumped back to my side, and I retreated back to my room, moving from his shelter. I looked, as if they would be coming up the hallway, coming to arrest me once again. “Where?”

“At the front door. The hotel thing. They’re pissed.”

“Why? I didn’t violate anything.”

He lifted a shoulder, frowning darkly. “Who knows, but they’re here, and they’re pissed. I guess your dad was supposed to have informed them when we left his house and came here, but he didn’t.”

Police were a pain in my ass on a normal day. Pissed police were going to be a f*cking hangover that could never be nursed away.

I groaned, my faculties quickly coming back to me. I needed to fight. Get it together, Sheldon. I needed to be clear, calm, and rational when I went down there. They were the enemy now. I’d have to fight. I always had to fight.

“Okay. I’m ready.”

“You sure?”

I nodded. “Let’s go.” I gritted my teeth. Bryce started forward, and I followed, shutting my door. As we went downstairs and back to the front entrance, déjà vu came over me. I’d just been there. The same group had been there, with the same concerned and angry expressions. Skimming a quick eye over them, there was no Mena this time. The two detectives who had interrogated me had hostile looks on their faces.

Okay.

I stopped and turned toward them. “Defectives.” It was game on.

The woman rolled her eyes, then rested her hands on her hips. The ends of her suit jacket were pushed back from the motion, her badge and gun were clipped to her hip. She wore a buttoned-down shirt, tucked inside her jeans that showed off her trim figure. She didn’t look the hostile mess she’d been at the police station. Her hair had been in a messy bun, the ends loose, but this time her hair was swept into a pristine-looking bun, clipped at the base of her skull. She looked the epitome of a professional, then I caught the sideways glance at Denton, and her lips pressed together for a split second.

“Denton Steele was a witness as well.” She sighed. “I’d like to get his witness testimony.”

Her words came back to me from the interrogation room. I had thought it was a manipulation to get me to talk, but maybe not. As her gaze lingered on the movie star, she pressed her hand against the side of her head, making sure her hair was in place.

I grunted. A smart-ass comment was on the tip of my tongue, but I caught Bryce’s look. His eyebrows shot up and the message was received. He had caught the look too and he was right, I swallowed my comment.

Her eyes narrowed, then when I kept my mouth shut, she said, “We’re not here for a fight, but we are here for some extra measures.”

“Extra measures?” My dad materialized from behind me. As he moved in front of me, he held Beth’s hand in his behind his back. She paused next to me and glanced sideways at me. My dad cleared his throat. “What are you talking about?”

Officer Molls shifted so she was facing my dad squarely. “Your daughter was supposed to notify of us of her whereabouts.”

“She did.” My dad amended, “My lawyers did when they posted her bail, and we notified you about why we moved to this home.”

“Yeah. They did.” The female detective shifted so she could see me around him. “But Sheldon’s not a normal suspect. She’s out, but pending house arrest.”

“This is ridiculous. She’s not been found guilty ye—” Neil bit back what he’d been about to say.

Yet.

She’s not been found guilty yet. That’s what he’d been about to say. At that understanding, I moved back a step. My dad thought I was guilty. I crossed my arms over my chest. That meant he thought I had done it—I had killed Grace.

My throat burned.

My own father didn’t believe in me.

Bryce stepped close to me. He didn’t reach out and touch me, but the back of my elbow rested against his chest. It was his way of being there for me and I closed my eyes, feeling him move in even more. I drew in his strength.

Corrigan came to my other side. They were both flanking me, showing their support for me, then we heard Denton speak. All three of us looked at the same time.

Denton said, “What do you mean ‘pending house arrest,’ officer?” He moved closer, cutting off my dad as he’d been about to speak again, and as I watched him, Denton transformed into his movie star persona. His eyes squinted slightly, becoming darker and beckoning. His head lifted so it was at a seductive slant, and the corners of his mouth curved up in an alluring grin.

In that one second, he had gone from my childhood neighbor to the guy who graced billboards all across the nation.

And it worked.

Detective Molls’ chest rose and held still. Her eyes widened and her lips parted. Then her cheeks reddened and her hand lifted back up to flatten her hair against her head. It stayed there, as if holding the side of her head and she seemed paralyzed, gazing into Denton’s eyes for a moment.

“Molls,” her partner rasped out. He snapped his fingers, drawing his partner’s attention back to the room.

“What?” She jerked backward, breaking her gaze from Denton to look around the group. Her voice was hoarse. “Huh?”

Denton’s grin grew, becoming even more mesmerizing.