Page 21 of Tempt My Heart

Ali opened her mouth to reply and snapped it closed when he cut her off.

“Tell me this was a mistake and that you’ll do what I’ve asked, and I’ll let my cop friends know this was all a misunderstanding.”

Fuck. Jared had friends on the force? Well, she supposed it made sense for journalists to have contacts at the department but this… She’d never expected this.

“You’ve got it wrong,” she said, trying to keep her voice even as she glanced back at Chrsitopher and found him watching her, a line of worry burrowing into the bridge of his nose. “We were just—”

“Going to tell your boss’ bestie that someone’s targeting them so that they can either beef up security for the wedding or worse, let everybody in. How will I get my exclusive then, Alison?” His voice held a hysterical note that made her cringe. He was losing it, of that she was certain. “So promise me, right here right now, that you’re going to behave. Otherwise your boss will find himself in a very sticky situation. And who knows, maybe you’ve been helping him with his little operation? What kind of assistantareyou Ali?”

“If this is about money—”

Jared’s laugh sounded ragged. “It’s about so much more than that. Money, legacy,infamy. Do what I tell you, Alison. This is your last chance.”

He hung up before she could say another word and her heart raced, making her feel nauseous.

Christopher leaned forward, clearly sensing that something more was going on.

“Jared,” she said by way of explanation and he leaned back against his seat with a sigh.

“How the hell did he get access to that much cocaine? Let alone slip it into my car?”

She shook her head. “I’m starting to realize that I didn’t know him at all.”

Christopher snorted. “You have terrible taste in men.”

“I can’t believe he had you arrested—I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “It’s okay. We can just think about it as an adventure.”

“Quiet,” the officer grunted and they fell silent as he pulled up to the precinct and escorted them inside.

Ali answered their questions as succinctly as possible and said nothing more once Wayde, Christopher’s lawyer, arrived and they let her go.

“Excuse me,” she said, moving away from the area of cubicles and to the general enquiry desk at the front of the precinct. “I’d like to file a police report—my ex is harassing me.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the woman said, blinking her eyes slowly as she looked away and back to her computer screen.

“I’m sorry?”

The officer sighed, pouting her thin lips before shoving a piece of paper through the slot in the plastic screen. “There.”

Ali took the paper and looked it over before grabbing one of the pens on the desk to fill it out. When she was done, she handed it back over and the officer nodded vaguely but didn’t even bother to look at her as she scrunched the form into a ball and dropped it in the recycling can.

“You can’t do that!” Ali gaped at the woman. What the hell was going on?

“Jared’s cousin is my husband, you know,” she said and Ali just stared.

“So?” Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she wasn’t surprised to see her ex’s name on the screen. “What?”

“Did I forget to mention that I’m buddies with some of the CYPD? Hell, I’m even related to some of them. Are you starting to get it now, Ali?” He tutted at her and she fought to keep her anger under wraps. “You’re a nobody. Your boss may be rich, but money doesn’t trump family. Are you ready to be a good little girl?”

Unbelievable. They were all in each other’s pocket—corrupt. She shook her head with disgust and had to speak through clenched teeth. “Fine. Make this go away and I’ll do what you want.”

“Lovely,” he said, radiating calm all of a sudden and making goosebumps rise on her skin. “Such a pleasure doing business with you, baby.”

She hung up and gave the woman behind the desk a dirty look as she flopped into one of the chairs bolted to the floor and waited for Christopher and Wayde.

“Hey,” Christopher said about half-hour later as he caught sight of her sitting there, relief making him slump. “I’m sorry this happened, Ali. We’ll figure this out. This isn’t over untilhe’sthe one behind bars.”

---