Page 60 of His Prize

All while his brother groaned underneath us on his raggedy apartment floor.

25

Bonnie

I leanedagainst my fiancé as police shuffled in and out of the apartment. It seemed that they had swarmed out of nowhere, and before I knew it, Gio was in handcuffs. He glared at me as they pulled him off the floor. I heard the officers reading him his rights as they cuffed his wrists. Gio stared me down, his eyes full of anger and his downturned lips full of unspoken promises.

Unspoken frustrations.

Unspoken threats.

“All right. Where’s this marriage contract someone was talking about,” an officer asked.

I didn’t bother getting his name as I handed him the file folder. “The man’s been obsessed with me for a while now, sir. Always popping up at all the wrong times. Cornering me in bedrooms and bathrooms. I thought he was finally done until Israel here was wrongly arrested for something this afternoon and Giovanni presented me with that marriage contract. Something just isn’t right with all of this.”

The officer quirked an eyebrow. “Right. Well, we’ll take this from you and get it into evidence. And in the meantime, we’re going to be searching the apartment, so I suggest you two—”

“Boss?”

The officer turned around. “What?”

I felt Israel’s hand pressing tightly against my lower back, even though he didn’t prompt me to move. I looked up at him and saw the shadow of an evil grin ticking his cheeks. My gaze gravitated back to the two officers while they whispered to one another. And when I saw the gun the man was holding with a rubber glove over his hand, the pieces started to fall into place.

He didn’t.

“Are you sure?” the officer murmured.

“I’m definitely sure, Boss. Same caliber. Same make. Same model.”

Bossman sighed. “Get it in a bag and processed. Then, tear this entire apartment complex up from top to bottom. Leave no stone unturned.”

I interjected, “I’m sorry, is there anything else we can help with?”

Bossman looked up at Israel. “Is there anything else you two need to tell me?”

I furrowed my brow. “No? I just wanted to tell you about this marriage contract. I think there’s something really weird going on with Giovanni right now. I can’t put my finger on it, but with Israel’s untimely arrest and then this marriage proposal, it almost feels staged. Like one of his attempts to back me into another corner.”

Bossman nodded. “Yeah, well, obsession cases can get brutal sometimes. But, let me be the first to let you know that Mr. Rossi standing behind you is no longer a suspect in the murder of Branson Baker.”

I didn’t even have to fake my shock at that point. Because as the last piece dropped into place, I knew what Israel had done.

“Wait. What?”

Bossman chuckled. “As weird as it sounds to admit, he’s off the hook. For now, at least.”

Israel massaged my lower back with his hand. “Thank you, Officer. I appreciate it.”

Bossman glared up at him. “We’ll be keeping an eye on you, though. So, I’d watch it.”

Israel nodded. “I’m always watching it.”

He snickered. “Yeah, I’m sure you are.”

I sighed. “Well, if there’s nothing else we can assist with?”

Bossman held his arm out for the door. “Thank you for your time. If we have any more questions, we’ll come to find you.”

And as I nodded my thanks to the officer, Israel finally walked me toward the door. We headed to the elevator and slipped inside, and it wasn’t until the doors closed on us that I looked up at him.

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