Having Kallum locked away for murder has been my obsession since he first trapped me in his clashing gaze. All I have to do to escape is look away when the evidence comes back and Kallum is arrested. All I have to do is not speak up, not give him an alibi…

And he’ll be removed from my life.

The most terrifying part is how hollow that revelation makes me feel.

Kallum can’t be put away like this, with false evidence, without proving he’s actually guilty. I’ll never be free of him if that happens.

I draw closer to the moment of no return as I round the corner with persistent steps toward the lab.

I’m about to break the law to protect Kallum Locke.

The goddamn devil owns my soul, after all.

“Maybe after this I’ll commit myself,” I mutter under my breath, and the realization hits me with resounding clarity.

The hospital.

After the attack by Landry, the only time I can recall my bag not being in my possession was when I was admitted to the emergency room. It had to be stored in the front office.

Conviction speeds my steps until I’m standing outside the main forensic lab entrance. Through the glass partition, I see the evidence racks, but my canvas bag isn’t visible.

My gaze lands on the cart in the middle of the room. Bagged and sitting directly on top as priority to be processed is the carving knife.

I look up at the security camera, the bubble eye pinning me where I stand.

The excruciating interrogation I will be subjected to will pale drastically to the previous ones. I’m putting a lot of trust in my recent memories, which will force me to reconcile the memories I’ve been avoiding very soon.

But once that knife is processed, it will be near impossible to convince Alister and officials that the evidence was planted.

Inside a flawed system, sometimes you have to break the rules.

I try the doorknob, not surprised to find it locked. “Shit.”

As I scope out the office area, I wonder how right Hernandez is about small towns and trust.

Snagging my phone from my back pocket, I light the camera flashlight and hunt through the first desk for an extra set of lab keys. Coming up empty, I close the drawer with a muttered curse. I wrangle my nerves and quickly search the other three desks, feeling the urgent press of limited time.

A crackle of static sounds from down the hallway, and I duck beneath a desk. A local officer talks into his shoulder radio as he passes through the forensic sector.

Standing, I glance directly across the hallway at the darkened office. The one Alister is using to head up the task force.

Before I can think better, I start in that direction. I circle my hand around the cool door handle and turn, a sense of relief flooding me as the latch bolt gives with a soft snick.

I enter the room, my steps immediately faltering as Alister looks up from his laptop screen. “Halen. What are you doing here?”

I hurriedly kill the flashlight and pocket my phone. “Sorry to bother you,” I say, tossing a glance at the closed blinds of the glass partition. “I need a word with you, sir. But… It’s late. I apologize. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“No. Stay.” He rises from the leather chair, and my gaze drops to where he slips his keyring into his front pocket. “I think you should see this.”

Something in his vacant eyes sets off an internal alarm, and my stomach pitches. I grip the door handle. “I think it should wait—”

“This is important. Close the door, St. James.”

Apprehension rears at the authoritative command. I ease the door closed and take two steps into the office, curious over what else he’s kept from me on the case.

“Was something important discovered at the ravine?” I cross my arms, daring him to deny it.

His smile doesn’t reach his tapered eyes. “You just can’t help it, can you?”

My head notches back. “Excuse me?”

He rubs the back of his neck in an agitated motion. “The way you dig right under my skin.”

My chest prickles in warning. “Maybe I should get someone—”

“We’re the only ones here, Halen.” Alister angles the laptop my way. “It’s the perfect time for us to have a private discussion, as I’m sure you don’t want to explain this publicly.”

There, displayed on the screen, is footage from the interrogation room. I’m positioned on my back on the table. Kallum removes my jeans, then spreads my legs…

I look away.

“Oh, don’t pretend to be offended,” Alister says, and I hear the judgment in his voice. “You’re not the type of girl to be offended, Halen.”

He circles the desk, and I take a reflexive step back. “It really is late, Alister,” I say, making sure to use his name with just as much derision as he uses mine. “And this is inappropriate.”

“Inappropriate.” He chuckles mockingly, then wipes a hand down his mouth. “You planned what happened in the press meeting earlier,” he says, tone laced with heavy accusation.

I shake my head against the blare of my inner alarm, noting his gun harness draped over the back of the desk chair. “I did my best to deter the questions.”

“There seems to be a leak.” With another step closer, he crowds my personal space. “Someone is feeding information to the media. And I think it’s the someone who wanted to sabotage that conference.”

Hackles fully raised, I turn and make a dash toward the door. He seizes my arm and yanks me forcefully back. I catch myself against the desk, bracing the heels of my hands on the sharp edge.

Alister loosens the knot of his blue tie, his features cut hard by the shadows. As he draws closer, his expression creased in revulsion, I reach behind my back in search of a weapon.

“Don’t do that,” he warns. Movements fast, he locks his hands around my wrists and pins my forearms to my chest. “We’re just having a casual conversation. You like that, it seems. Being casual with colleagues.”

The fight within me stops instantly. He’s physically larger and stronger than me. I can’t fight him. I reserve my energy, taking slow, measured breaths to control my spiking heart rate.

“Don’t worry,” he says, breath hot against my cheek. “I deleted the footage from the department system. I have the only copy.”

Not a favor.

Blackmail.

It’s true that for most people in law enforcement, they go into the field because of their desire to help others, the need to do good. But then there are those who gravitate to the field because they crave power, control, dominance. Ironically, the very same characteristics as rapists.

Having a badge does not elevate you above human nature.

Right now, Alister is looking at me like I’m an insubordinate nuisance to be dominated.

He wants to show me how much stronger he is than me, to punish me for his failure.

Adrenaline pours into my bloodstream. The caverns of my heart ache in pulsing fury. Fight or flight ricochets through my body.

My muscles tense against his hold as he lewdly thrusts his erection into my belly.

“I know you like this.” He releases one of my wrists so he can track his hand down to my ass. My stomach roils. “The same way you like to cause ripples on the task force…at press conferences. You just love being a bad girl.”

I swallow down the thick bile coating my throat. “I suppose the word no means nothing to you.”

Eyes pitched dark, he smiles. “Not when you’re walking around my office with no panties.” Hostility edges his words. “You’re a fucking tease, Halen, and I’m itching to work off some steam from being made to look like a fucking fool during the meeting.”

His hand clamps hard around the nape of my neck, and my fight comes alive.

“You made yourself look like a fool.” I claw at his face, aiming for his eyes. My nails rake across his cheek.

A roar tears free of his throat before he hauls me forward. Hands banded around my neck, he twists me and shoves my chest down against the desk. I swipe at the contents, knocking the laptop and objects to the floor. I grasp for the Glock in the harness just out of reach. I kick out, my foot landing a solid strike to his stomach—but it’s not enough to fight him off.