Page 100 of Rescued by the Single Dad

“Isaac Fox,” the sergeant answered, all business, but not unkindly.

“Sergeant Fox, it’s Rocco Barber we met yesterday when I came to the police station to discuss the disappearance of my sister.”

“I remember,” he said. “I saw the news and the interview with your father. That’s not going to help things. We’re being inundated with reporters even more than before. Not to mention idiot civilians calling in with false leads to Brooke’s whereabouts.”

Rocco grunted. “Yeah, dear old Dad is certainly a piece of work. However, I have some news.”

“Hang on,” the sergeant said. “Let me get somewhere I won’t be overheard.”

Rocco glanced at Brooke and gave her a lopsided smile of reassurance.

A door closed on the other end of the phone. “Okay, what is the news?”

“Can you video chat by chance?” Rocco asked.

“I can ...” Suspicion clung to the sergeant’s words. “Hang on.”

Rocco requested a video chat from his phone, and a moment later, a handsome man with dark red hair and a strong jaw appeared on the screen. His eyes nearly popped clean out of his head when he saw who sat next to Rocco.

Brooke gave the same lopsided smile and waved like an idiot at the cop. “Hi.”

“Okay, what’s going on?” the sergeant asked, more than just a dash of wariness in his tone. His right eyebrow looked like it was trying to escape formation and join the rest of his hair.

“Well, for one, I’m not dead,” Brooke started. “I was able to swim to shore where someone found me and helped me. I have received medical attention and am okay.”

Sergeant Fox shoved his fingers into his hair and shook his head, exhaling in frustration. “I ... I don’t understand.”

“I’m not revealing myself until we find who tried to kill me. Someone pushed me off that yacht. They thought my dress and how far we were from land would drown me, but I removed my dress and swam for my life.”

“Where are you now?”

Rocco and Brooke exchanged looks.

“Maybe it’s best you don’t know that,” Rocco said slowly. “At least for now. The less you know the better.”

Sergeant Fox blew out another breath of exasperation. “Okay ... so ...”

“My father’s interview opened up a huge can of worms about my past. A can of worms I pay a lot of people a lot of money to keep buried.”

“You think your dad had something to do with your attempted murder?”

Brooke and Rocco both shrugged. “Maybe,” she said. “But I feel like the longer I stay hidden, the more the person who tried to kill me will think they got away with it. Maybe get complacent. So perhaps we do have you rule it as a suicide so the world can go back to normal. Forget about me and then my wanna-be killer will—”

“Think they’re in the clear and slip up and make it easier to catch them,” Rocco finished.

“Exactly,” Brooke added.

“I’m going to reach out to that Tinsley McTavish, the one who interviewed my dad, and set the record straight,” Rocco said. “I mean, the world doesn’t exactly love Fletcher Barber anyway, but I’d like to throw my own egg at his face.”

“You don’t worry that by making yourself known, you’re putting a target on your own back?” the sergeant asked Rocco.

“Let them try,” Rocco said. Brooke rolled her eyes.

Sergeant Fox didn’t like that response very much. “So, you want me to do exactly what you asked me not to do, which is rule the attempted murder on your sister as a successful suicide?” The poor man looked like he was one piece of information short of having his brain explode.

“Yes,” Brooke said sheepishly, “please. Just do your police wizardry.”

He snorted and rolled his eyes before heaving a weary sigh. “Okay, I’ll release a statement to the press later today. I’ll say we found a body or … something. Mention that Rocco is coming to identify it. I’ll make it believable. Not sure I’ll make an official ruling that it was suicide since we’ll need a coroner’s report and other shit, but I’ll figure it out.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Definitely never done anything like this before.” He focused on Rocco. “Did you know she was alive when you came to the station yesterday?”

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