The reaction is immediate. His shoulders stiffen. He takes half a step back.
Yeah. He knows exactly who I am. And that is the correct response. Because even behind bars, I can get to anyone I want to. The reach doesn’t stop at iron.
“I’ll… um. I’ll see if I can arrange your call.”
“Thank you,” I say calmly.
I walk back to my charming stone mattress and sit. Ace will be moving heaven and earth right now. Drago will be on his way. The only thing I need to do is sit here and wait.
But first, that phone call. Because I need to hear my wife’s voice.
A few minutes later, the same officer returns, looking a hell of a lot more nervous than before. His eyes flick around the hallway.
“Sir,” he says quietly. “Are you married to a very angry red-haired girl?”
I’m on my feet before he finishes the sentence. “Yes. Is she here?”
He nods. How the hell did she figure out where they’re holding me? This won’t be public knowledge since the police department wants me hidden.
My chest tightens. This is the last place she belongs.
“Can I see her?” I grip the bars. “Please. I’ll give you two years' salary in cash if you can make that happen. Five minutes.”
He drags a hand through his blond hair, debating whether he’s about to ruin his career or run the risk of what happens if he says no. I’d take the cash, personally.
“I can probably arrange the interview room,” he mutters. “But no fucking around. No trying to escape. You’ll be cuffed. Wrists and ankles. And I’ll be in the room. Armed. You mess up, and I will react accordingly, Mr. Sterling.”
“Fine,” I grunt.
The next twenty minutes crawl slower than the last six hours combined.
The cell door opens, and the officer steps inside. For a split second, I debate knocking him out and making a run for it.
But in the long run? That will just make it worse.
If I didn’t have Wyatt and Lola to think about, I would. Because I know I have the power outside of here to keep running. I can change identities. I can kill Hunter and become someone else.
But now? I don’t want that. I want to be Hunter. I want to be Lola’s husband. I have to be.
So, I have to do the right thing, and for once in my life. Behave.
“Turn around.”
Cuffs snap around my wrists. Another pair around my ankles, a short chain linking them. They march me down the hallway like an animal.
Maybe I am.
The interview room is as expected. Gray walls. Metal table bolted to the floor. Two chairs. He sits me down and chains my cuffs to a ring on the table.
The officer moves to the door. Arms folded. I can smell how nervous he is from here.
“Five minutes,” he says.
Then the door opens and Lola storms in like a hurricane. Her red hair is wild around her shoulders. Green eyes blazing as she scans the room. The second she sees me chained to the table, something in her face cracks open.
“Hunter,” she breathes.
I didn’t realize how badly I needed to see her until this exact second. Just one look and everything seems brighter in my life. “Hey, firefly.”