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“It’s Charlotte,” she said after a pause.

Alex’s heart plummeted. Not just at the sound of her name, but the expression on Stephanie’s face when she said it. She clenched her jaw and braced herself.

“She’s in jail. From the intel I gathered, she was taken to the station on Friday evening, and they booked her at one this morning. Looks like they questioned her for thirty hours before throwing her in a cell.”

Alex’s chest ached and her muscles weakened. Shock clouded her ability to think. “Is it retaliation? For outing the chief’s corruption?”

“I don’t think so,” she said softly. “I didn’t pull the trigger on that until a couple of hours ago. Weird thing is, they booked her without charges. That can’t be legal, right?”

“Call Michael,” she blurted. “Get her out.”

“How? The jail website doesn’t even show a bond amount.”

“Just call him. Tell him he needs to move Heaven and Earth to get her out.” She imagined Charlotte sitting in jail, scared and alone. If her detective had let this happen,

Charlotte was either out of friends or things had moved beyond his control. Either option made Alex sick to her stomach.

Stephanie gave voice to Alex’s fear. “You don’t think she tried to take the blame for setting Eric up with Leah somehow do you?

“I don’t know,” she replied as a wave of nausea came over her. “I don’t see how she could.” Alex’s mind raced.

“But I guess nothing is impossible if they’re desperate or angry enough.”

Stephanie’s expression turned grave. “I talked to her on Friday. I was hard on her. What if she thinks she can earn you back by taking the fall and pleading guilty to things she didn’t do?”

Alex’s jaw twitched. “What did you say?”

“Nothing that would make her waltz into a police station and play martyr. I told her we were handling it, but—”

“But what,” Alex snapped.

Stephanie dropped her shoulders. “But she looked really torn up.” Her voice softened. “I don’t think it’s impossible that she would do something insane to win you back.”

“Call Michael right now,” Alex said through the heart pounding in her mouth. “My phone is inside.”

Stephanie pulled her cell out of her

back pocket. “I’ll get her the hell out of there.”

CHAPTER 45

LATE ON MONDAY AFTERNOON, Jayson was waiting for Charlotte outside the door meant for jail releasees. She’d never been so happy to see him in her life.

“I’m so sorry, Charlie,” he said as Charlotte rushed to where he stood by a picnic table full of scores of people waiting for their person to appear through the door.

Throwing her arms around his neck, despite the inability to shower for three days, Charlotte hugged him hard.

“I didn’t know they were going to do this,” he said, his strong body shaking. “I’ve been in the dark until last night when I couldn’t get a hold of you. Frania and me started calling hospitals. This morning she remembered some acquaintance that’s a 911 dispatcher. She thought maybe we could see if you’d been in a car accident or something. I was so shocked when she said you were in jail. What the hell happened?”

“Can we get out of here first?” Charlotte asked, desperate to get away from the jail just in case they pulled her back in.

Jayson kept his arm around her as they walked to his pick-up. Each foot further from the building was another

pound of stress o her shoulders. She’d feel much better when they were on the other side of the razor wire fence.

“Thanks for getting me out,” she said when her wits returned. “I owe you big time.”

“I didn’t,” he replied. “By the time I called and started making a fuss, they said you were being processed for release. My buddy told me not to come and see you because it might slow down the process of getting you out. This all coincided with the shit storm, so I’m thinking they dropped that shit quick. I told IA to investigate why they arrested you without charges. It’s not illegal, but in this case it’s an obvious abuse of power and probably all connected.”