Brice resented Sergeant Foster insisting he come down to the police station to not only file his kidnapping charges against Ashley, but to answer questions about her charges against him. He needed to discredit Ashley before this spun out of his control. He should have known she’d betray him. After all he gave her, everything he did to transform her into her true self, she slapped him in the face with these lies.

This would go his way. He’d make sure of it once he spoke to the sheriff.

Brice didn’t open the door when Darren parked the car outside the sheriff’s department and Sergeant Foster waited for him at the curb. “Don’t come in. Stay close in case I need you. My lawyer will be here soon. Until then, see what you can find out. If they want to question me, that means Ashley is either here or close. I want to know where she is.”

“I’ll start making calls. If she’s going public, my sources will know when and where.”

“She can’t speak to the press.”

“It’s the cops you need to worry about.” Darren nodded toward the officer waiting for him.

Brice kept his features neutral, but he wanted to growl and hit something.

Brice stepped out of the car, trying to pull his thoughts together and not slip on the icy road as he stepped up and over the piled snow. No way she got the better of him. He hated to expose himself more and use the information he’d gathered to force others to get him out of this mess. But he’d do whatever he had to do to get Aurora back.

The sheriff was a worry. The man had a conscience. This could go either way. Brice didn’t like walking in not knowing the outcome.

Thankfully very few people were on the street or in the sheriff’s office. The cold and snow kept the town nearly deserted and people home.

Sergeant Foster escorted him past three officers sitting in their cubicles in the open room, past several offices, only one occupied by another officer, to a conference room with a long table, six chairs, a coffeemaker and paper cups on a cart in the corner, and a bank of windows overlooking the street out front, the blinds open and layered with dust. Brice hated the stares. He was used to his celebrity, but didn’t like people scrutinizing him so closely. He liked his privacy.

“Take a seat, Mr. Mooney.”

Brice did so, playing Mr. Congeniality. “I can’t wait to get Adam back. Where is he?”

“In protective custody.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know. The sheriff is the only one with that information.”

Annoyance narrowed Brice’s gaze. “Are you keeping him from me?”

“Until we clear up a few matters.”

Brice raised an eyebrow. “I assume you’ve called the judge who signed the guardianship papers.”

“We did. They’re legit, but we have questions about Ashley Swan. How did she take Adam?”

“She snuck him out of the house while I was downstairs in a business meeting with my assistant, Darren.”

“So you’ve said, but how did she come to be at your home?”

“She’s been living with me for the past year.”

Sergeant Foster’s eyes narrowed. “What is the nature of your relationship with Miss Swan?”

“We were friends at first, but now we’re more.”

The sergeant stood over him and studied him. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“She’s more than just that.”

“She claims you held her against her will.”

“Lies.” Brice leaned in. “I want to see Adam.”

“He’s not here.”

“When will I get him back?”

“That’s undetermined at this time. Let’s get back to Miss Swan.”

“I hate to see her in trouble for her impulsive actions, but she can’t just take Adam.”

The sergeant tilted his head. “Why would she take him?”

“To hurt me, of course.” After all they shared, he truly couldn’t believe she’d do this to him.

“Why would she want to do that?”

He didn’t answer, keeping his options open for how he wanted to play this out. “Is Adam okay? He must be frightened. Has he eaten? Where did he sleep? Was he out in the cold long?”

“Mr. Mooney, I assure you he’s fine.”

“How do you know? Have you seen him?”

Sergeant Foster shook his head. “I know the man he was with and he took good care of him.”

Well, that was nice of the sergeant to let Brice know.

Sheriff Willis walked in, his gaze locked on Brice. “Give us a minute, Sergeant.”

Sergeant Foster’s gaze bounced from Brice to the sheriff and back again. His eyes filled with anger and suspicion, but he left the room and closed the door behind him.

“Shut this kidnapping business down,” Brice ordered the sheriff.

“Which kidnapping? Adam’s? Or Ashley’s?”

“Give me back Adam. Tell everyone Ashley and I had a fight, she took the boy, and this is nothing more than a domestic dispute.”

“I don’t believe that,” the sheriff stated.

“It doesn’t matter what you believe or can prove. I’ve got you by the balls. Do what I want, or I’ll trash your career and your life.”

The sheriff pinned him with his sharp gaze. “Go ahead.”

Brice shook his head in disbelief the sheriff would dare go against him.

“I wasn’t the only one at that party. There are people in your pocket higher up than me. I’m sure you’ll use them to get what you want, but I won’t be the one who helps you. What you have is circumstantial at best, and it probably will destroy my life and career, but I’d rather that than allow you to hurt that boy and woman again.”

Frustrated by the sheriff’s nonchalant attitude and defiance, Brice slammed his hands on the table. “I want Ashley and Adam back. Now.”

“I won’t help you. In fact, Sergeant Foster will handle the case. I will keep my hands clean and out of it so the case sticks no matter what you do to me. If I was you, I’d shut up and do exactly what your lawyer tells you to do when he gets here. Ashley is at the hospital right now. You can’t explain away her injuries. You will be charged with her kidnapping and torture.”

“My lawyer will tear your case apart. She’s mine. This is nothing more than a domestic dispute, where my live-in girlfriend kidnapped Adam to get back at me after a fight.”

The sheriff shook his head, his eyes filled with recriminations. “You’re the only one who believes that. Once people see what I’ve been told you did to her, you won’t convince anyone else that bullshit is true. Anyone who backs you up on that story will look like a damn fool.”

Brice couldn’t believe this man would ruin his whole life over this. He didn’t need the sheriff. He had people with more power who would make the sheriff do what he wanted. If they didn’t, he had a way out. But the longer he sat there, the more he felt the walls closing in and his freedom slipping away.