Chapter 61

Chapter 61

It took a little more than a day for the police to track down Crystal’s kidnappers and bring them into custody. Chief Callaghan interrogated them personally and then immediately called for Andrew to come down to the police station.

Andrew tapped his fingers against the arm of the chair he sat in as Chief Callaghan filled him in on the drug dealers‘ official statements.

“The Hannigan Brothers and Ciaran Murphy confessed to kidnapping Crystal Blanchard and knowingly abandoning her in vampire territory,” Chief Callaghan explained. “Ciaran Murphy also confessed to being the brains behind the operation, and all three insisted that they acted alone.”

Andrew’s jaw clenched. Something about this didn’t seem right.

“Did they confess to anything else?”

Chief Callaghan eyed Andrew.

“Like what, Your Highness?”

Andrew did not answer for a moment, knowing that Crystal had not wanted to tell the police about the other attacks on her. Still, it was important to know if these men were behind them.

“Anything else involving Crystal. Had they been stalking her, planning this for a while?”

The chief of police still watched Andrew, as though he knew that Andrew was not telling the entire truth, but he did not say anything more about it.

“No. They only confessed to taking her and leaving her in vampire territory.”

“What was their motive, though?”

Chief Callaghan shrugged.

“I’m still trying to puzzle that out. None of them seem to have any personal or political grudges against you or Ms. Blanchard, and they didn’t even try to ransom her before dumping her in those woods. I checked their known connections, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone there that could have problems with you two, either.”

“And they didn’t say anything?”

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“When I asked them why, they all clammed up. It was the only thing that they weren’t willing to talk about.”

“It’s as though they didn’t think that part through,” Andrew said, rubbing his chin. “I’m not buying that they did this on their own, Chief.”

“To tell you the truth, Your Highness, neither am I, but without I can do is follow what’s in front of me.”

Andrew’s jaw clenched tighter, but he nodded in acquiescence.

“other leads, all

“Very well. Thank you for your help, Chief. Please let me know if you need any more help.”

“Of course, Your Highness. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. And please, thank Ms. Blanchard again for us.”

“Certainly.”

Andrew stood and shook Chief Callaghan’s hand before leaving the police station. He climbed into his Aston Martin and reclined into the driver’s seat, taking a moment to center himself. However, his mind was soon flooded with thoughts of the Hannigan Brothers and Ciaran and their confessions.

He growled in frustration and slammed his hand on the steering wheel.

“Damn it!” he yelled, knowing that no one would hear him in the privacy of his

car.

He knew that they were so close to discovering the identity of Crystal’s stalker, and yet these three idiots stood in their way. Stood in Andrew’s way. If he could, he would charge back into that police station and interrogate the drug dealers his own way, no bars held.

Unfortunately for Andrew and Crystal, that wasn’t how the justice system worked, even for werewolves–even for the Alpha King and his loved ones. They would just have to trust the police to do their job. At least, on the record.

Off the record, Andrew had enough resources to hire private investigators and anyone else he needed to find Crystal’s true stalker. Until then, he had to think of something to tell Crystal.

Andrew texted me to meet him in his home office as soon as he came home from the police station. I anxiously awaited him, Jeffrey standing in the far corner. Even

Chapter B)

in the mansion, I couldn’t shake him since the attack, and a part of me was grateful

for that.

My fingers tapped nervously on the arms of my chair when Andrew walked through the door. He smiled at me, but I knew that it was only to calm me down.

“Hello, beautiful,” he said as he took his seat opposite me. “How are you doing?”

“As well as I can be, given the circumstances.”

Andrew’s smile faltered, but he did not let it disappear.

“I can understand that. Have you been feeling any lingering side effects from the venom or the antivenom? Dizziness, nausea, pain?”

I shook my head.

“No, I’ve been perfectly fine. Well, I’ve been a little sore, but I think that’s just from being tossed around and tied

“Any other… issues from the attack still lingering?”

I knew exactly what he meant, but I didn’t want to admit that there had been any

other…issues.

Flashbacks. Fear of being left alone. Fear that my captors, the vampires, or Bob. could be waiting for me around any corner, waiting to finish the job.

Even in the relative security of Andrew’s comfortable home, with Jeffrey watching over me 24/7, I couldn’t so much as take a nap without being tormented by the image of the Hannigan Brothers and Ciaran as they abandoned me or the pain of Frederick’s fangs as they dug into my n*eck. Even as I sat there, talking to Andrew, I had to resist the urge to feel for where the bite marks should have been.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew that I couldn’t keep it hidden, either. Not from Andrew.

“Yes,” I said, almost in a whisper.

His smile faded this time.

“I’m sorry.”

I cringed. That was the last thing that I wanted, his pity.

“You should know, though, that you don’t have to worry anymore.”

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Chapter 61

I stared at him in disbelief. Did my captors tell him about Bob? Did he believe. them and have Bob arrested?

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Chief Callaghan talked to your kidnappers. They admitted that they acted alone, so there’s no one else that you need to worry about.”

My nails dug into my chair. They lied to the chief of police, just to protect some scum like Bob. And Andrew believed them.

I would never be able to convince him otherwise now.

“They admitted to kidnapping me?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“What about the glass in my lunch? Or my drugging and the letter opener?”

Andrew hesitated.

“It had to be them. What are the odds that someone else would have done those things? They had to be related.”

“Yes, I think the events are related, but why these guys? And how?”

Andrew hesitated again, and I saw the muscle in his n*eck twitch.

“That’s for the police and attorneys to figure out.”

I wanted to put up so many objections, to poke as many holes as I could in his logic, but something told me to stop. Andrew had to have a reason for insisting could not figure out why.

that it was only my captors behind these attacks. I juve a reason for insisting

“Crystal,” he said, looking me straight in the eye, “you don’t need to worry about your stalker. I want you to trust that if I had any inkling that they were not acting alone, I would do everything in my power to track down their co–conspirator and eliminate them.”

Seeing that look in his eye, I knew that Andrew was telling the truth. If he still suspected that someone else was behind these attacks, he would take care of them…if he believed the truth when he saw it.

“I know you would,” I replied.

“Like I said, I would do anything to protect the women in my life.”