Page 65

Bishop

Whoever was hammering on the door seemed determined to take it off its hinges. I flicked off the safety on my handgun as I approached, put my left hand on the handle, and leaned against the wood.

“Who is it?”

“Police. Open up.”

I frowned. “What can I do for you, officers?”

“Open the door or we’ll break it down. Step back and put your hands on your head.”

I reset the safety, glanced around and slipped the gun into the pocket of Eden’s jacket, then turned the lock on the door. Stepping back, I lowered to my knees and linked my fingers behind my head. I didn’t want any trigger-happy officer blowing my brains out because he was scared of me.

“Door is unlocked,” I called out.

The door swung open, and three handguns immediately pointed at me.

“May I ask why you’re here?”

“Shut the fuck up.” One of the officers stepped forward. “Bishop Chambers?”

“That’s right.”

“We’re arresting you on suspicion of kidnapping. Anything you say …”

I tuned out the rest of the words while I studied the officers in front of me. I didn’t resist when the officer talking pulled my hands down to handcuff me and haul me to my feet. But when he tried to force me out of the house, I stopped.

“You should probably let my wife know. She’s upstairs. Please announce yourself before going into our room. I’d rather you didn’t scare her needlessly. She’ll be shaken enough over this idiocy.”

“We’re well aware of the woman you have trapped here, Chambers.”

“You’ve been misinformed. The only woman here is my wife, and she is free to come and go as she chooses.”

“You’ll get your chance to tell us your side of things at the station. Now move.”

I clenched my jaw, resisting the urge to snap back. It wouldn’t do me any favors right now. Hopefully Eden would have the good sense to call Magdalena’s number and tell Rook what was going on. If not, well I always had a phone call to look forward to.

The biggest problem was that with me out of the way, even if it was only for long enough to clear up the misunderstanding, it left Eden alone and unprotected, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

As I walked down the steps to where the patrol car waited, a figure stepped out from beside a second car.

“Thanks, officers. I’ll bring Ms. Marshall down to the station separately.” Chester Dulvaney smiled in my direction. “I’m sure she’ll be relieved to know she’s finally safe from this madman.”

“Officer, you need to make sure she’s not alone with him.” I resisted as he tried to force me into the car. “Listen to me!”

“In the car, Chambers, unless you want to add resisting arrest to the list of charges.”

“Fucking listen to me!”

“Don’t make me shoot you.”

I ground my teeth in frustration. Dead, I was no use to her. I had to trust that she’d keep her cool when she saw Dulvaney and wouldn’t go anywhere with him alone.

***

I drummed my fingers against the desk. Three hours I’d been sitting here, handcuffed and alone. No one had been in to talk to me since leaving me here, and I was getting annoyed.

I hated not knowing what was going on, but I also knew there was a strong chance that someone was watching me through the one-way glass.

I turned my head toward it.

“If you’re not going to question or charge me, you should let me go. You’re just wasting my time and yours by keeping me here. Or, and I know this is a crazy suggestion, but maybe you should speak to Eden. She could clear this whole mess up in seconds.”

Where was Eden? Surely, they’d have spoken to her by now. What had Dulvaney said to her? Was she okay?

The frustration at not having the answers was getting under my skin, which I’m sure was why I’d been left alone for so long.

I tipped my head back and glared at the ceiling. “I want my lawyer.” Maybe that would bring someone into the room. I was confident I didn’t need a lawyer. I just needed someone to come into the fucking room.

“What the fuck is going on?” I bellowed the words, anger finally overcoming my good sense.

The door swung open a second later, which surprised me, and I narrowed my eyes to glare at the plain-clothes detective who walked in.

“Finally. Would you like to tell me where my fucking wife is?”

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Chambers.” The detective leaned close and unlocked the handcuffs and took them off my wrists. “We were trying to sort through the mess. I’m Detective Flannigan. Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, you can get me my wife.” An expression settled onto his face that turned me cold. I leaned forward. “Where. Is. Eden?”

“We’re not sure.”

“What the fuck do you mean you’re not sure? She was in the house when I left. When you left her with—” My hand slammed down onto the tabletop and I surged to my feet. “You fucking idiots,” I roared. “You left her with him, didn’t you?”

“Please sit down. We need you to tell us exactly what’s happened over the past two weeks.”

“And how do you think that’s going to help? Where the fuck did he take her?”

He looked away, Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. “He was supposed to follow the patrol car back to the station. It seems that somewhere along the way, he …” he licked his lips. “Well, neither of them arrived. We’ve had cars patrolling the route for the past two hours, searching for them.”

“Am I free to go?” My voice was clipped.

“While you’re not under arrest, I would appreciate your time while we piece together what has happened.”

I stalked toward the door.

“Mr. Chambers—”

“Fuck you.” I threw the door open and walked out.