Chapter Eight

Christian thought the mace might've affected his hearing because he swore the nurse said the man was dead. "Excuse me?"

"You killed this man. He's deceased."

"The hell you say?"

Christian dropped beside him and felt for a pulse. She was right . . . there wasn't one. Maybe he had been allergic to some ingredient in the mace. Christian didn't have an Epi-Pen, so he rolled the man over and began CPR as a car screeched to a stop very close.

Christian didn't pay any attention to what was happening as he concentrated on bringing the man back to life. One minute, he was performing chest compressions, and the next, he was being jerked to his feet.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Arresting you for murder. That woman said you killed this man."

"I did not. Please unhand me so I can continue to save his life."

Aja Blue stepped in front of the cop. "What are you doing?"

"Arresting a murderer."

"You're mistaken. Ask the nurse—" Aja Blue spun around. "Hey, where did she go?"

Christian's head jerked up at Aja Blue's cry, and he searched the gathering crowd for the dark-haired woman. The next thing he knew, the cop was shouting something about resisting, and then an intense pain started in his biceps and shot through his body. He dropped to the pavement, his muscles cramping as he convulsed. His brain short-circuited. Christian was powerless to stop the cop from slapping cuffs on him and dragging him to his car. Aja Blue was screaming something, but his hearing was malfunctioning. Someone had tried to kidnap her moments ago, and all he knew was that he needed to protect her. His body wasn't cooperating. Thankfully, he knew the effects of the taser were short-lived.

Somewhere in his swimming head, Christian heard another siren cut off.

"Officer Cranny, what are you doing?"

"I'm arresting a perp."

"You're the first responder. It would be best if you secured the crime scene. I'll transport him."

"That's okay. I've got him."

"That wasn't a request. What are the charges?"

"Uh, murder."

"Wow. Okay. Did you tase him?"

"Yeah, uh, he resisted."

"I'll add that to the list."

The new officer hauled Christian to his feet and crammed him inside his cruiser. Christian's head was rapidly clearing, and though his muscles were sore, he was fine. However, warning bells screamed in his head. The first cop, Cranny, hadn't followed protocol when arresting him. He hadn't read him his Miranda Rights, nor had he searched him for any weapons—Christian had three—and he hadn't called it in. It was almost as if he'd been in on it—whatever it was.

The driver's side opened, and the second cop slid behind the wheel. Christian said, "Sir, you need to release me. There's been a mistake."

The cop chuckled and shifted into drive. "That's what they all say."

"I'm serious. You need to stop this car right now. My name is Christian Zamora, and I work for CObrA Securities. You can check the ID in my pocket. If you don't believe me, call Detective Nicole Herbert."

The cop's eyes slid to the rear-view mirror when he mentioned the detective. Maybe he was getting through to him.

"The woman I'm protecting was almost abducted. That's what was happening. It's imperative that I get back to her right now."

The cop did not try to return to the parking lot; instead, he shook his head and drove.

"Listen to me," Christian growled. "If anything happens to her, I will hold you directly responsible."

The cop glanced over his shoulder. "Is that a threat?"

"You bet your ass it is. I'm not blowing smoke when I tell you your job is in jeopardy if you don't turn this car around right now."

The cop scoffed. "I'll take my chances."

#

Aja Blue tried not to shake, but her nerves were shot. Attempted kidnapping and watching a man die did that to a person.

It was her fault that she'd almost been abducted. Why she foolishly thought she could help Christian was beyond her. Her only defense was that she didn't want him getting hurt, especially on her behalf. Now, she watched in horror as the cop shot volts into his body through his upper arm.

"No!"

She tried to run to him, but the cop stopped her in her tracks when he swung toward her with his gun.

"I will shoot you if you don't stop right there."

Aja Blue didn't doubt the man. Instead of arguing with him, she turned to the crowd and zeroed in on her target. She took off for a run, causing the young man to yelp when she skidded to a stop.

"Have you been filming long?"

The kid nodded. "I saw the man grab you and knew something was popping. I slammed my record button."

"Keep recording."

"Sure thing."

"What's your name?"

"Darius."

Aja Blue dialed Detective Herbert's number. When she answered, Aja Blue gave her a quick rundown of the events.

"I'm less than five minutes away. I'll be right there."

Aja Blue concentrated on breathing so she didn't hyperventilate. Although her need to be with Christian was almost debilitating, proving his innocence took precedence. When her phone rang, she assumed it was the detective.

"Ms. LaLonde?"

The male voice threw her. "Yes."

"This is Tyler Redmond, Christian's coworker. I received an alert that he's in danger."

"Oh, my God, he is." She gave him a rundown of what had happened. "The detective we've worked with is on the way here now."

"You're saying he's being arrested?"

"Yes."

"We'll take care of getting him released. In the meantime, are you safe?"

She glanced around at the number of people who had gathered. Several police cars had arrived, and someone had placed a black tarp over the dead kidnapper. "I think so. Yes. How did you know Christian was in danger?"

"There's a panic feature on his watch. He activated it."

"He was handcuffed."

"It also works with a specific vocal command. Call me if you need anything. My number is in your contact list."

"Thank you, Tyler." The company Christian worked for was incredible.

"Ma'am, are you okay? We saw the man grab you."

Aja Blue turned to see an elderly couple looking at her with concern.

"I'm fine. Thank you."

A silver sedan pulled into the parking lot beside the police cruisers. Detective Herbert stepped out and scanned the area. Aja Blue waved a hand, and she headed her way.

Aja Blue turned to Darius. "Okay, you can stop recording. Can I see what you have?"

"Sure, since you're the star. Then I'm gonna upload it to my socials."

Before watching it, Aja Blue forwarded herself a copy of the video. She knew Christian would want to see it.

"What's going on?" Detective Herbert asked.

Aja Blue played the video, holding it so the detective could watch. It started with the man grabbing her as soon as she stepped out of the vehicle and then her spraying him—and Christian—with mace. When Christian took him down, the man's screams were audible, as were the snarky remarks from the kid who'd shot the film.

"Dude deserved it," the kid narrated. "I hope the big guy caps his ass."

"Look there," the detective instructed. "Zoom in."

The nurse glanced around before leaning close to the man. Then he went limp.

"She killed him," Detective Herbert deduced.

Aja Blue gasped. She had. "Watch what happens next."

The cop arrived seconds later. The nurse backed away until she disappeared into the crowd. Then the cop was tasing Christian for no reason.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"He said the nurse told him Christian murdered the man, but you can see they never spoke."

"The officer didn't check him for weapons, and I know he's carrying." Detective Herbert took the phone from Aja Blue and zoomed in on the cop. "That's Martin Cranny." She looked over to where the other cops were gathered. "I need to talk to him."

"Hey, my phone," Darius cried when they started to leave.

The detective stopped and tapped the keys before handing it back. "What's your name and contact information?"

The kid recited the information while the detective wrote it in her notebook.

Darius looked at his phone, and then his head jerked up. "Hey, where's the video? I was going to upload them to my socials."

Detective Herbert shrugged. "Sorry. Must've hit the wrong button."

"Man, that was going to blow up my hits," Darius grumbled.

"That probably wasn't the only video taken," Aja Blue pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's one less out there," Detective Herbert responded. "That kid was savvy. He'd have plastered it to every social media platform in existence, muddying up the investigation."

With Tyler's comments about safety fresh in her mind, Aja Blue stuck close to the detective as she approached a group of uniformed officers.

"Where's Officer Cranny?"

Shrugs and comments of "I don't know" and "no idea" were the answer.

"He was the first responder on the scene. He should be here."

"Ask Officer Hayward."

Detective Herbert walked over to where two people were standing near the dead body. One woman looked up at them, and her brows raised. "Detective Herbert, what are you doing here?"

"I'll explain in a minute, Detective Sharp. Have either of you seen Officer Cranny?"

The woman in uniform, with a nametag reading C. Lincoln, answered. "He had to leave."

"What?"

Lincoln shrugged. "He said he had an emergency as he ran to his cruiser."

"You were next on scene?"

"Officer Lange beat me here but left to transport a suspect."

Aja Blue's fists clenched at the cop using that description of Christian. He was no such thing.

"How do you know what happened here?" Detective Herbert wanted to know.

"We don't."

Aja Blue gaped at the officer. A murder had occurred, and an innocent man had been arrested. They were clueless.

"What did Cranny tell you?"

"Nothing. He said take over, and he left."

"What are you doing standing around with your thumbs up your ass?" Detective Herbert barked. "This is an active crime scene."

Lincoln's eyes widened at being chewed out. She motioned to the other woman. "I was waiting for Detective Sharp to arrive."

"You don't need a detective to secure a crime scene, Officer Lincoln. Did you graduate from the academy?"

She mumbled something. When Detective Herbert asked her to repeat, she said, "Yes. A few weeks ago."

"Get busy. Have the other cops interview the crowd. Rope the area off with tape. Look for videos. For God's sake, investigate."

"Yes, ma'am." The officer scurried off.

"That was harsh," Detective Sharp chastised.

Detective Herbert pointed to the tarp-covered corpse. "We have a dead body. The person arrested is innocent, the murderer up and walked away, and we have cops standing around shooting the shit. I'd say I wasn't harsh enough."

"Point taken," Detective Sharp acknowledged. "What's going on?"

Detective Herbert gave her a rundown. "I'll forward you a copy of the video. Ms. LaLonde is a witness, but she's coming with me to the station. You can interview her later."