FREYA DANVERS IS a liar. I look at the woman in question. A moment ago she was holding her own with the men I call my brothers, now she’s watching me like she’s ready to flee. That will not be happening.
“You still there, River?” Oz speaks down the phone.
“What do you mean she’s not who she says she is?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“I haven’t unearthed her real identity yet, but Freya Danvers is an 86-year-old-woman who, according to her grandson, died six years ago.”
I clench my phone so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t crack. “You’re telling me she enrolled in the Police Academy under a false identity, and nobody realized?”
Oz sighs. “This is next level shit, River. Even I almost missed it. I only dug so deep because I know better than to ignore one of your gut feelings.”
I close my eyes, taking a moment to stay focused. Controlled. “I need a name, Oz.”
“I know, I’ll get you one, it’s just going to take a bit of time.”
I end the call and make my way back over to the woman whose name is not Freya.
She takes a step back as I approach, and I nod to Eli and Jude. Jude shoots me a questioning look but they both positionthemselves so thatFreyahas nowhere to go. Even so, her eyes dart over my shoulder like she thinks she might be able to escape me.
“Don’t,” I warn as I close in on her. “You won’t get far.”
Her chest rises under that leather jacket of hers, her breaths coming a little too heavy. “What’s going on?”
I reach for my cuffs and keep my face blank. I barely know this woman, the fact she lied to me shouldn’t feel as much of a betrayal as it does. “Turn around.”
Her voice shakes. “Why?” She steps back into Eli, but he just spins her around, his hands on her waist. Her palms land against his chest and I reach up, circling a slender wrist and bringing it behind her back. I lock the metal bracelet around it before reaching for her other wrist and securing the cuffs. She doesn’t fight me, but I can tell she wants to. Her body’s rigid from holding herself back.
“I’m arresting you on suspicion of criminal impersonation and perjury.” I recite her the Miranda rights, focusing on the words and not how good she looks in cuffs. A traitorous part of my brain wishes I was doing this under different circumstances. Like one where she was naked in my bedroom.
Christ.I need to get over this little obsession. My relationships in the past have had their issues, but lusting after a criminal is beneath me.
I force myself to let go of her arms and hand her over to Jude. Eli probably already has a nickname for the little she-devil, but Jude I can trust. He may be a goofball, but he doesn’t play the field. Jude is a relationship kind of guy.
“Take her to The Lair,” I say.
“Really?” Jude quirks a brow.
I nod. Normally, we set up base at whatever precinct has jurisdiction on the murder and take the suspects there. But Freya or whatever her name is, isn’t directly connected to thiscase and taking her back to her own station would be a bad idea. Loyalty runs deep in the police force. I’m not going to risk any of her fellow officers helping her slip away.
Freya Danvers is mine.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jude
I LOVE MYSTERIES and Freya might be my new favorite one. Most things come easy to me, a side effect of having an IQ of 163, but people are complex. I guess that’s why I became a profiler. My fingers tap a restless beat on my thigh as we sit in the back of the car. Freya’s quiet on the way to The Lair. Eli drives, his eyes on the road while mine are busy watching Freya. She’s shut down. The fiery spark and jaw-dropping confidence she had on the scene has been replaced with anxiety. She’s hiding it well, but I can tell she’s scared, it’s simmering just below the surface of those subtle green eyes of hers. The puzzle is figuring out what she’s scared of. Us? Or what we might find?
She catches me watching her and holds my gaze for a moment. I’m fascinated by her eyes. They’re like a vibrant emerald coated with a thin cloud. Even her eyes are in hiding.
I don’t know what Oz told River on the phone but when I left The Lair, Oz was deep down an internet rabbit hole. Whoever the woman sitting across from me is, I get the sense I’m not the only one fascinated by her.
Eli pulls into the underground carpark. It only took us fifteen minutes and forty-eight seconds to get here which means Eli broke the speed limit. He’s not supposed to do that, but we have a deal where I don’t tell unless it’s unsafe and he helps me with my paperwork.
I hop out to open the back door. Freya tenses as I lean over to release her seatbelt. I adjust my actions, careful not to touch her more than necessary. I move slowly so she knows to expect it when I wrap my hand around her upper arm to help her from the car.Part of the mystery clicks into place.
The SUV bleeps as Eli locks it and I guide Freya after him towards the elevator.
“So, you want to fill us in?” I ask her, mostly to break the silence. My ADHD is pretty well controlled these days, but I still hate the absence of sound. People think I’m extroverted, and I sort of am but mostly I’m hyper because I need the stimulation.
