Zena Wynn - Mary and the Bear

"So he married your sister instead, and now feels he made a mistake."

Mary Elizabeth nodded. “Babs was cheating on him. I didn't think he knew about it but I found out after her funeral that he did. That's why I think he's so fixated on me. He figures if he married me, I wouldn't have strayed. I told him he was seven years too late and I was no longer interested. Anyway, I came here. Charles used to call daily, asking me to come home. The last time he called, about two weeks ago, he referred to me as his fiancé.” Turning to Hugh she said, “That was the night of the party. I told him again that I wasn't marrying him, and that I was here to stay. That was the last I heard from him until he showed up tonight.” Then she told him everything that happened from the time she walked in the door until Hugh arrived.

Hugh bristled and vibrated beside her during the telling, his anger a tangible thing. Once she was finished, Rome turned to Hugh and asked, “Do you have anything to add to this?"

"Yeah, Charles called again, only this time I answered the phone. He introduced himself as my mate's fiancé. I didn't tell him who I was but I did tell him she belonged to me. Then I hung up on him and disconnected the phone to keep him from calling back and disturbing Mary Elizabeth."

"So he was aware that there was a man in her life. It's probably what pushed him over the edge."

Mary Elizabeth shook her head. “I don't think it would have mattered. I thought he was just going through a difficult grieving process. I knew that my saying no to his proposal made him more determined to have me, but after tonight, I realized that the man's nuttier than my grandma's fruitcakes."

Hugh thought, Mary Elizabeth was right. Charles was insane and from the sound of it, he had plenty of money to cover the signs of his illness. He could afford good legal representation. The kind that didn't care about guilt or innocence and did the job they were paid to do—get their client off. He and Rome shared a look that showed they were thinking the same thing. With a small nod, Rome indicated he would handle it.

Mary Elizabeth didn't notice. She was slumped against Hugh. Reaction was finally setting in. All she wanted to do was wrap herself around Hugh and celebrate being alive and with the man she loved. Things could have turned out so differently tonight. She was ready for everyone to leave so that they could be alone. This was so not the homecoming she'd envisioned.

Rome closed his notebook. “That's all I need for now. We'll be here a little longer gathering evidence, but from the looks of things, it collaborates with what you've told me. Charles has already been taken to the station. Hugh, bring Mary Elizabeth to the station tomorrow so she can sign her statement and press charges."

"What about Babs? Can you charge him with murder?” She really didn't want him to get away with killing her sister, but she knew things like that happened all the time, especially if you had enough money.

"I forgot about the sister. What can you tell me about the accident?"

"It was listed as a hit and run. Babs’ car was totaled. The driver of the second vehicle was never found. The vehicle was listed as stolen and there were open containers and the strong smell of alcohol inside. Babs bled out on the way to the hospital, never having gained consciousness."

"It sounds like your brother-in-law covered his tracks well. Even if he confessed, there's probably not enough evidence to get a conviction."

"Yeah, that's what I figured. So he'll get away with it after all.” The thought was depressing, and a little frightening. She hoped they could make these charges stick. She didn't want to be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life. Right now Charles was obsessed with her. What happens if he decided that if he couldn't have her, nobody would?

Rome told Hugh he'd talk to him later and then left Hugh to comfort his mate. As soon as the door closed, Mary Elizabeth came out of the covers and climbed into Hugh's lap. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. “I missed you so much. When I first saw Charles, I was so mad at him for messing up my surprise. That's before I realized how crazy he was."

"Don't you ever leave me again,” he said sternly.

She ran her fingers through his hair before cradling his face with her hands. “I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I just needed time to get my head straight. To figure out what I wanted."

"And have you figured things out?” His look was very intent, as though he could see right into her soul. Maybe he could.

"Yes, I want you. Whatever that means. Whatever it takes. You've crawled into my soul and now I can't imagine my life without you in it."

"It's called love and I feel the same way about you.” He went to say more but she kissed him to silence.

"Later. I have several days of abstinence to make up for."

His eyes glowed as he recognized his words from earlier being spoken back to him. He lowered his mouth to hers. She was right. They could talk later. Much, much later.

From the sounds coming from the room, it didn't take any investigative skills on his part to know what was going on in there. Rome ushered his deputy out of the apartment. Anything they needed and didn't already have would have to wait until later.

He walked out of the apartment and locked the door behind him with a sad smile on his face. He was glad Hugh's mate was safe and sound, in his arms where she belonged. It was his job to make sure she stayed that way. He'd give anything to be able to hold his mate in his arms again. Now that he'd finally found her, he was working on a plan to bring her back to Refuge where she belonged. Once she was here, he'd never let her go again.

In the station's only questioning room, Rome looked at the man seated across from him in disgust. Mr. Charles Remington the Third was as arrogant as his name sounded. It was evident from his behavior that the man considered them to be nothing more than a backward bunch of hillbillies. For now, it suited his purpose to play down to his image of them.

He looked down at the paperwork in front of him and straightened it slightly on the table, in pretended nervousness. “There are some discrepancies between your statement and those of the other two, but since Ms. Brown is unwilling to press charges, I have no choice but to let you go, on the condition that you leave town immediately. Ms. Brown has expressed her desire to be left alone. Any further attempt on your part to see or contact her in any way will be seen by this department as harassment, and a restraining order will be issued against you, with or without her consent. Since both you and Ms. Brown are sporting bruises, this will officially go on record as a domestic dispute.” Rome glanced up, then quickly looked down at the table again.

"Once your statement has been signed, your belongings will be released to you. I strongly advised you to leave town now. Do not stop for any reason. To make sure you don't run into any problems, one of my deputies will follow you to the county line.” Rome slid the paperwork across the table.

Charles smiled triumphantly as he signed his statement, not bothering to read it to make sure it was correct. He now knew for sure that Mary Elizabeth loved him. She'd refused to press charges against him, not that it would have mattered if she did. They both knew that he'd done nothing wrong. Had these yokels tried to detain him, he'd have had his team of lawyers swarming all over them before they knew what hit them.

As for Mary Elizabeth, he still wasn't clear on what happened. He'd been told that the big guy had come in after Mary Elizabeth ran into his briefcase. He'd thought that she was being attacked and had done what any man would do under the circumstances—protected her by striking back.