My hand is on the Cadillac’s door handle before he finishes yelling. I’m ready to rush the station and get Temperance out of there.
“That’s definitely him. Please tell me you’re going to nail his balls to the wall for threatening her,” I hear Valentina say, confidence in her tone that slows my knee-jerk reaction.
“Damn fucking right. You’re going to arrest him. Charge him with every fucking thing you can. That piece of shit is nuts, and he’s not getting anywhere near my wife or her girl ever again. You hear me, Mac?”
That comes from Rix, and I release the door handle and take a deep breath.
“Ms. Ransom, can you confirm that Mr. Riddel put nails in your tire and damaged your mirror?”
“Yes. Absolutely. I didn’t know it was him, but those incidents did happen. Roadside assistance took pictures of the tire. They’re in my email. I can also get you pictures of the mirror.”
“Good. Let’s get your statements on each of those incidents, and you can send over the pictures when you get home. This asshole has a history of property damage, and now statementsin a police stationabout escalating his behavior. I don’t expect the judge is going to like that.”
I don’t breathe easy until Temperance is out of that building and back within my reach.
The next thing on my to-do list as soon as this mess Ransom got us all into is taken care of? Figure out how to get my life back so I never have to let her walk into a situation like this alone again.
I have no fucking clue how I’m going to do it, but I will.
I have no choice.
32
Temperance
“You look beautiful,” Kane tells me as he stands in the living room and I step out of the bedroom in my brand-newoh my God, I’m having my own art showingdress.
“You think so? It isn’t too much? Too little? Too underwhelming?”
He reaches out and grasps my hand. “Perfect. You look fucking perfect.”
It’s times like this when I wish I had a full-length mirror in my tiny apartment, but when I look at Kane, I realize I don’t need one. I can see everything I need to know reflected in his icy blue eyes.
The only thing I don’t see ... is his suit.
“I thought you brought clothes to change into?” I ask.
He nods. “I did.” He glances down at the jeans he’s wearing. “You see them.”
That’s when it hits me.
“You’re not going with me?” A stab of hurt pierces my chest.
“I don’t want people asking questions about me when tonight is all aboutyou.”
Even though I’m devastated to hear his answer, something about it warms me. No one has ever had my best interest in mind as much as Kane does.
But this time, he’s wrong.
“I need you with me, Kane. Iwantyou with me. Tonight wouldn’t be happening without you, and it won’t be the same if you’re not there.”
He opens his mouth to respond, and I hold up a hand.
“I don’t want to hear your arguments. I’m not taking no for an answer. You have an alias you use in public. You’re using it tonight.”
He snags my hand and lifts it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to my palm. “It’s the most important night of your life—”
“Which is why you need to be there. I’m not walking into my first showing alone.”