There Goes the Groom by Rita Herron

smooth-talking bastard just like his other victims.
    Which meant she’d been jilted at the altar by the man she loved, and he’d stolen all her money.
    Yep, Pendergrass was a real stand-up example of male DNA.
    Hell, was he any better? If she was as innocent as she appeared to be, he’d publicly humiliated her in the worst possible way.
    “Where are you taking me now?” she asked, sounding deflated.
    “Your sister posted your bail,” he said flatly.
    He omitted the fact that this morning her sister had reamed his ass out with a few choice words about what a monster he was for dragging Marci off in handcuffs from her wedding in front of her friends and the press.
    Instead he remained stoic, reminding himself he had only been doing his job as he led her past security through another set of doors to the front desk where Kim stood pacing like a frantic mother hen. For God’s sake, he’d been terrified she’d go into labor while he went to get her sister.
    She took one look at Marci’s disheveled appearance and burst into tears. “Oh, my god, Marci, are you okay?”
    Marci blinked rapidly as if to stem a breakdown, then Kim dragged her into a hug as if she hadn’t seen her in years. “Tell me, sis, did they hurt you in there?” Kim pulled back to exam her, checking her face and body as if she’d expected Marci to have been beaten.
    “I’m fine,” Marci said with a fake I’m-trying-to-be-brave smile.
    But Kim spied the bruise on Marci’s arm and gasped. “My god, what happened to you in there?”
    “Nothing,” Marci rushed to assure her. “He gave that to me --” She turned and gave him a pointed look – “when he dragged me into his car.”
    Kim swung toward him, her hands fisted on her hips, which only yanked her damn maternity top tighter across her belly.  He knew pregnant women were hormonal and sometimes trauma could cause problems and hoped to hell her water didn’t break right here on the floor.
    “You brute, you’re going to be sorry you hurt my sister,” Kim said, her tone fuming.  “She should sue you for police brutality.”
    Cade gritted his teeth. He was sorry for the bruise. But it had been an accident. Marci must have some medical condition that caused her to bruise easily. 
    Kim started toward him, but Marci caught her. “Don’t sweat it, Kim. He’s not worth it.”
    Cade’s temper boiled. He had just been doing his job.
    And had they forgotten that Pendergrass was the lying, cheating crook, not him?
    Still, Marci’s mussed hair and swollen eyes did make her look vulnerable.  For a second, he was tempted to reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear.
    God help him. He knew better.
    If he touched her, he might forget that she was a suspect in an ongoing investigation.
    “Am I free to go now?” Marci asked him in a low voice.
    He gave a clipped nod and gestured toward the desk adjacent to them. “You can pick up your belongings at the desk.”
    “Come on.” Kim took Marci’s arm. “Let’s get you home and cleaned up.”
    Marci nodded, and the two of them walked over to the desk. Cade stood to the side while Marci signed for her belongings, then he handed the envelope to her.
    She glanced inside, eyes narrowed in suspicion, as if she expected they had stolen her jewelry.
    A second later, the muscles in her face relaxed as she pulled out the ring. The enormous diamond glittered beneath the lights. 
    He waited to see if she’d tuck it back on that finger, but she turned it over in her palm and examined it, suspicious again, as if she thought they might have switched out the stone for glass while she spent the night in the clinker.
    “For God’s sake, it’s the same ring,” he muttered.
    Finally satisfied, she gave a disheartened sigh then stuffed it back into the envelope.
    Then she and Kim linked arms, huddling together as they disappeared out the door.
    Georgia rushed toward him, her expression animated. “Cade, I just talked to forensics and they were checking