Free Bound by Rapture by Megan D. Martin

fallen for Cole. For the big brooding man who held me against his chest. Maybe that would have saved me. But things pointed to Kevin now, and I just didn’t know. Mandi was dead and I couldn’t change that no matter how much I wanted to. 
    “Julia, we should go,” Cole said sometime later.
    I looked up at him, and he motioned to the sweaty guys who were approaching the casket. “It’s already over?” 
    Cole nodded. 
    “But I’m not ready.” I pulled away from him and hurried under the green tarp that shaded the body. The other people, even the preacher, were gone. “This can’t just be it.” The spray of flowers had sunflowers in them. Some of them had already started to wilt in the intense heat. I fingered one of them. Letting the soft petals brush against my flesh. “I’m so sorry, Mandi. I hope you can forgive me.” I pressed my cheek against the smooth surface. It was silly, really. But I needed to do it. I needed to feel as close to her as I could. I needed her to know I was there, that I was sorry. I never wanted this. I never wanted anyone to get hurt, least of all her. 
    “What are they doing here?” The sound of Chris’s voice startled me, and I pulled back. 
    Behind me, on the little road that led through the cemetery, two police cars had pulled up. Blue and red lights spun round and round on the roofs. Four men got out. I vaguely recognized one as Officer Dillon, the policemen who took my statement in the hospital. 
    As they approached, Cole’s men surrounded us. I had forgotten about them, as they’d followed us in different cars and had kept their distance during the funeral and graveside service. But now they were everywhere, at least ten of them. I caught glances of others a little farther off, posted around the cemetery. They all wore suits. 
    “Can I help you, officers?” Cole asked as he pulled me to his side. 
    Officer Dillon eyed the men surrounding us and smirked. “Is there a reason you’re surrounded by secret service? I didn’t realize owning a business made you as protectable as the President of the United States.”
    “These are dangerous times.” Cole glanced behind us to Mandi’s casket. “Is there a reason you’re here at the funeral of my girlfriend’s best friend?” The fact that Cole called me his girlfriend shouldn’t have made my heart pound, but it did. 
    “Sorry about that. But we didn’t know where you’d been staying. We’ve been looking for you since yesterday and took a wild guess you would be here.”
    I glanced at Cole, confused. Why would they be looking for him? 
    “Well, here I am.” He held out his arms. “You could have just called if you needed to speak with me.” Even he seemed a little perplexed. 
    I glanced over at Vic and Chris. They looked equally confused. 
    “This isn’t something that can be discussed over the phone.” Gary stepped forward and the other officers flanked him. Cole’s men closed in tighter, not letting them through. Their stance wasn’t threatening, though. All of the men had their hands at their sides—no weapons. 
    “Excuse me,” Officer Dillon said.
    “Let him through.” Cole pushed me behind him and I was suddenly very nervous.
    “What’s going on?” I stepped back around him.
    “Cole Maddon you are under arrest for the murder of Mandi Hubbard and solicitation of murder for Julia Collette.”
    The collective sound of gasps rang out.
    “What?” I grabbed my chest and looked back and forth between the cops. “No. That’s not right.”
    “I assure you it is. Please turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
    “Cole?” I stared at him, but unlike earlier, he wouldn’t look at me. His gaze was focused on Officer Dillon.
    “You’ve made a mistake,” he said evenly.
    “We haven’t. A witness came forward yesterday, placing you at the scene.”
    “Of course I was at the scene. Have you seen the back of my head? It was bashed open.”
    “I don’t have to discuss the