Chapter 155 Actions Have Consequences
I woke up pounding on the door. A moment later, Theo burst into the room, a look of panic on his face.
“What’s wrong? Charles asked, bolting upright in bed.
“There’s trouble!” He rushed over to the bed and leaned down so he could whisper loud enough for Charles to hear but quiet enough so that whoever was in the living room wouldn’t be able to.
“There must have been some kind of mistake,” he said. “There are palace guards here, and they’ve been ordered to arrest you.”
“What?” I shrieked.
“The charges?” Charles growled.
“I don’t know, they won’t tell me. I’m allowed to go with her, but you’re not.” He focused on me. “Whatever it is, just tell them the truth. I’m sure things will be straightened out in no time. I’ve been with you the whole time. I know that you haven’t done anything wrong.”
All of a sudden, hot guilt beat behind my rib cage, threatening to jump out, and my lips burned with the secrets that I’d been keeping from Theo. His look of genuine concern made me feel even worse. He wasn’t expecting this. He wasn’t a party to it. I could see that as clearly on his face as I could see the alarm on Charles’.
I reached under the covers and squeezed Charles’ hand. “I’m sure Theo’s right.” I looked at Theo. “Tell them I’m undressed. I will throw on clothes and be out as quickly as I can.”
He stood and gave me a sharp nod.
As soon as he shut the door, I scrambled from the bed and threw on the first thing that I found that looked presentable and conservative.
Charles caught my hand. “I don’t like this.”
“I don’t either. But what am I going to do? If I resist now, it’s going to make us both look guilty.”
“Don’t say anything you don’t have to. And if they give you the option of a lawyer, take it.”
I swallowed hard, but the spit wouldn’t go down.
He kissed me one more time. “Don’t panic. You’re more likely to make mistakes if you lose control of your emotions. Breathe deeply and keep your mouth shut until you have to say something.”
A whole shiver rippled through me, and I returned the deep kiss before hurrying into the living room. I could hear raised voices and figured that whoever had come for me was losing patience.
Two officers waited in the living room. They were dressed very much like my guards in Lupinton had been all suits and ties and dower expressions.
The sight of them sent ice through my veins.
“Ms. Lorentia?” one of them asked, stiffly formal.
I nodded.
“Evidence has been presented to us, and you’re being brought in for questioning pending your arrest.
“What information? What charges?” I asked.
“We’ll discuss that once we reach the station,” one of the men said. “Did your bodyguard inform you that he will be allowed to ride along, but your boyfriend will need to stay here?”
I nodded.
“Do you require anything?” They asked, already heading for the door.
“I’m just going to grab my purse.”
When we reached the station, we bypassed the section of the station where other criminals were being processed. My heart beat even harder. Surely, it was going to beat too loud and give me away.
Theo stayed close, not saying much, but every so often, he would reach forward and touch between my shoulder blades or on the back of my arm. Just to let me know that he was there.
They showed us into a room with nothing but a one-way mirror and a table with uncomfortable chairs on either side of it, then left. I took a seat, and Theo sat next to me. He put a hand on my knee.
“Relaxed,” he said. “This has to be a mistake. I’ve been here about the whole time. I’ll vouch for you.”
I let out a shaky breath and nodded. “After everything that’s gone on, and the way we were treated in Lupinton…”
He patted my leg before letting go. “You have nothing to worry about. Just tell the truth.”
The door opened, and a man came in wearing a badge that identified him as the captain. He sat in the chair across from us and set a file down on the table.
“Please verify your name and date of birth.”
I gave him both of those.
He looked at the front page inside the folder, nodded, and then snapped it shut. “The charges against you are quite serious, Ms. Laurentia.”
I waited in silence as Charles had suggested, waiting for the captain to give me more to work with.
“You’ve been accused of spreading information to undercut the king’s authority and the government in Packhaven.”
I gaped at him. “I can assure you, I have never given out information to criticize the king’s authority or undermine the government in Packhaven. Or anywhere, for that matter.”
He made a noise through his nose and flipped open the folder, tapping it hard with a finger. “The evidence says otherwise. You wrote damning things about government officials in Lustrum. Things that the Palace Press Panel reviewed and deemed unworthy to be published here in Packhaven. Do you deny this?”
“Yes, I deny that. I was trying to help the government there. The things I published exposed corruption by government officials that hurt the population. I said nothing about the whole government or the Alpha King.”
He made a noise through his nose as if he didn’t quite believe me. “Still, the Palace Press Panel deemed them unworthy and subversive. Yet you were given a second chance to work at the Palace Press, one of the most prestigious journalism posts. You’ve been accused of distributing information in other locations while still representing our government.”
“I have no affiliation with any other newspaper or periodical.” Charles was right. It was easy to tell the truth and still keep my secrets as long as I chose my wording very carefully.
The captain scowled. “The local media outlets are not where you’ve been accused of circulating the information.”
“Where else is there?” I asked directly, waiting for him to admit his knowledge of the dark web or to ask me if I had direct knowledge of it.
He seemed to roll this around for a few minutes before moving on without going there. He stood, closed the file, and tapped it a couple of times to straighten the papers on the desk before tucking it under his arm.
“Then you deny all allegations?” he asked one last time, looking down at me.
“I do.”
Without a word, he turned and walked out, shutting the door behind him.
“Does that mean we’re free to go?” I asked.
Theo shook his head. “They’ll tell us when we’re done and lead us out.”
Ten minutes of horribly awkward silence passed before the original officer came back. “We’re still gathering supporting evidence,” he said. “You won’t be booked until that process is complete.”
“I’m free to go?”
“For now.”
I bit my lip to keep from saying more. This must have been what Charles was talking about when he said that the alphas were guilty until proven otherwise, that everybody just assumed that the alphas were guilty regardless of the truth.
Suddenly, I had a whole new appreciation and sympathy for all of those alphas and what they’ve been through. It sucked having somebody accuse you and then not even listen.
We followed the guard out, and he escorted us all the way to the front doors of the precinct. When we were outside on the sidewalk, Theo squeezed my hand and then gave me a one-armed hug.
“Don’t worry about the way they make it sound. You and I both know the truth. And whatever this ‘supposed’ evidence is, it won’t stick because it’s all just hearsay. If they actually tried to arrest you, I would do everything I could to get you out and get the charges dropped.”
“Thanks.” I appreciated the fact that he had my back even though he didn’t know what he was really promising.
When we got back to the apartment, Charles was there, waiting just inside the door. He rushed me when the door opened, picking me up, twirling me around, and planting kisses all over my face.
“They let you go?” he confirmed.
“For now,” I said, shutting the door behind me. “It went exactly how you said it went with the alphas,” I whispered. “Nobody believed in a word I said. And if they really do have evidence of what we’ve been posting, my intentions aren’t going to matter.”
<Chapter>Chapter 156 The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back