Fifteen minutes later a black car pulled into the parking lot with Jill hot on their heels. Dispatch must have called her when they figured out it was her building.
She paused to look at my car before she turned. Red-faced, she unlocked and slammed through the front entrance. “I’m going to kill that son-of-a-bitch. I swear to God, Kate! This has gone too fucking far,” she yelled.
I tried to go to her, but Heath wasn’t letting me go that easy. “Jill, calm down before you get yourself arrested.” I tried to talk the beast back.
She looked at me like I was the crazy person in the room. “Calm down? You want me to calm down after seeing what that piece of shit did to your car?” she screamed.
I flinched back and Heath tightened his hold on me, pulling me closer to his side. “You don’t know it was him that did it.” That sounded weak to my own ears. Jill’s eyes widened even further. I was saved from more of her yelling as two detectives walked in.
The one who spoke first looked to be in his mid-thirties. He looked to be of Latin descent with his jet-black, shoulder-length hair, chocolate-brown eyes, and olive-toned skin. His voice was smooth as silk. “Whose car has the customized paint job out there?” he asked as he pointed toward the lot.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Jill got in his space before I could. “Is this some kind of joke to you? Do you think it’s funny that my friend is being terrorized by her ex? Detective…?”
I felt Heath’s hands flex at the mention of Tom, but he said nothing. I was surprised when the detective didn’t even flinch at Jill’s venomous tone. She may be small, but when she was good and pissed off, she was a force to be reckoned with.
He pushed his hand toward her as a way of greeting. “Detective Damon Santos.”
Jill looked at that outstretched hand like it was a snake. He smirked at her and let his hand fall back to his side before shoving it in his pocket “Does it look like I’m laughing, Miss…?”
Jill squinted her eyes at the detective before looking down at his badge. “It’s Brookes, as in Brookes Publishing. This is my building, Detective Santos,” she said, scowling at him now.
He grinned at her. “Well, Miss Brookes, since this isyourbuilding, you should be able to tell me what happened inyourparking lot.”
I needed to defuse this situation before it got even more heated and Jill got into trouble. She opened her mouth to say something I was sure would have been inappropriate when I spoke up. “It’s my car that was vandalized.”
Heath gripped my side and said, “She also got some very threatening text messages.”
That got Jill’s attention. “What do you mean? Let me see your phone,” she demanded.
She didn’t give me time to hand it over as she snatched it from me and walked away with it. Detective Santos followed after her.
The other detective stepped forward. He was a hard-looking man. He had dark circles under his cold eyes. “My name is Detective Pete Green. I need to get your statement, if you would explain to me what led up to these events this evening.” He regarded me seriously.
I started to explain what had happened when the front doors slammed open again. I turned just in time to see Reid looking around wildly until his eyes locked on me. I felt a pang of guilt run through me as I took in his work attire.
He made a beeline straight for me, and I opened my arms for him to gather me into a tight embrace. I looked up at him as he asked if I was okay. I nodded with fresh tears in my eyes, emotion clogging my throat. He caressed both sides of my face as he kissed me lightly before we broke apart, only to have him and Heath firmly bring me to their sides.
Detective Green was openly staring at me with a slight look of disgust in his eyes. I tried not to shrink back under his hard gaze.
“As I was saying, I need your statement,” he said in a chipped tone, darting his gaze between the three of us. Either he didn’t care for public displays of affection or he didn’t approve of our lifestyle choice, I couldn’t be sure either way.
I gave him what he wanted, telling him about the pictures and the threatening text.
“You didn’t see anyone suspicious-looking today?” he asked in a mundane voice. Like he had already decided this wasn’t worth his time. When I shook my head no, he asked if I could think of anyone who would want to hurt me.
I stammered before Reid spoke up for me. “We already know it was her ex-husband. That son of a bitch showed up at her apartment the other night and tried to beat the shit out of her.” Reid was red-faced when he finished. You would have to be blind to not see how angry he was. I had the indescribable need to soothe him as I rubbed my hand down his arm.
Detective Santos rejoined us at that moment and was watching the situation with careful eyes. Detective Green smirked at Reid. It was obvious that they knew each other and didn’t like one another. “How do you know it was her ex-husband? It looks like she entertains multiple men. Could it be one of the others?” he insinuated before he tsked at me like I was a wayward child. “I don’t know what you women expect to happen when you trollop around with multiple men, leading them on.” He sneered.
My mouth dropped open as I gasped and my face burned at the accusation. I felt Reid let me go and move toward the detective. Before he could get more than a step, Heath got in his face and pushed him back. “You need to calm down,” he said harshly.
Reid pointed at the detective. “He just implied that Kate is a whore and deserved what happened to her! That fucker is going to get what he deserves in a minute,” he seethed.
“I heard him, but all you’re going to do is get your ass thrown in jail. Just because he is a close-mindedprick”—he paused to glare at the detective before turning back to Reid—“doesn’t mean you get to beat the shit out of him.”
Jill came up beside me and held my hand, trying to comfort me. Detective Santos was pushing his partner toward the door, telling him to go take pictures of my car. Trying to get him to remove himself from the situation.
Reid finally calmed and Heath backed down. “I’m sorry about Pete. He’s having some hard times at home right now and is under a lot of stress. I’m not trying to make excuses for his behavior though. He will no longer be involved in this case,” Detective Santos said with a sad smile.