The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

Police Station.

Jason was in the middle of a heated discussion with his fellow detectives, poring over details of the serial killer case, when his phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen—a picture from an undercover cop—and his expression instantly tensed.

"Jason, what's up?" Hank leaned over to look. He let out a low whistle. "Is that Malia buying fish from Harry?"

Not just Alisa-Anastasia was in the photo too.

Right now, Harry was under the department's watch 24/7. They were just waiting for him to slip up, so they could finally nail him.

A few more colleagues gathered around. One of them said, "Jason, maybe we should warn Malia. She probably doesn't realize what she's getting into."

None of them suspected Alisa of being mixed up with Harry. They were simply afraid she'd get caught in the crossfire.

Jason thought it over. "You guys keep going with the meeting. Hank, can you give Alisa a heads-up?"

Hank shook his head. "Jason, you should do it. Malia doesn't listen to me. And Harry's no joke. From the picture, it looks like Malia knows him pretty well. She's probably been there before. I'm worried about her."

Everyone knew Alisa had a thing for Jason. If anyone could talk sense into her, it'd be him.

From a cop's perspective, Jason knew he had a responsibility to warn her.

"Alright," Jason said, keeping his tone businesslike. "Carry on here. Tell the team watching Harry not to let him out of their sight. If anything happens, I want to know immediately. The group checking out his recent movements, step it up. Look into his love life too-everything matters."

"Yes, Jason," the team responded in unison.

With that, Jason slipped back into his office and called Anastasia.noveldrama

She was on her way home when her phone rang. "Hey, Jason. What's going on?"

He cut right to the chase. "Did you just go to Bridge Market to buy fish?"

"How'd you know?" Anastasia was caught off guard. "Were you there?"

"The fish guy you bought from-Harry-he's a suspect in our investigation. We've got people watching him around the clock," Jason said. "He's dangerous, Anastasia. Please, don't go there again."

Anastasia's voice dropped. "Is he the serial killer?"

“He's a person of interest,” Jason answered carefully. Right now, Harry was only connected by being at the scene and working with fish.

A chill ran up Anastasia's spine. "I saw Alisa there too, by the way."

"I know. I'll talk to her," Jason replied.

Suddenly remembering her hospital run with Monica, Anastasia tried to sound light, "You sure you remember you're someone's boyfriend? You've been working nonstop."

Jason let out a small laugh, catching her meaning. "Yeah, I know. I haven't been there for Monica lately. Work's been nuts."

Half-joking, half-testing, Anastasia said, "Well, let me know when I can finally toast you both at your wedding."

She was probing-was Jason thinking about marrying Monica?

Jason rubbed his forehead. "Once this case settles down, I'll talk to her. I want to marry her as soon as I can."

That was all Anastasia needed to hear. Jason was never the romantic type, and with his job, she wouldn't expect him to be.

"Alright, I'll let you get back to it. I'm almost home anyway," Anastasia said.

"Yeah. Drive safe."

They hung up. Anastasia's car glided through the gates of Southridge Estates.

As she turned into her street, she glanced at the rearview mirror. A black sedan was following her. Her pulse quickened. She drove into the underground garage, watching as the black car slipped in behind her.

bonet

Trusting her instincts, Anastasia stayed in her car, circled the basement, then exited through a different ramp. She drove around the block. The black sedan was gone. Was she just being paranoid?

She pulled back into the garage. Her villa had an entrance from the basement, though she could also go in from the yard. Today, though, the driveway was packed, so the basement it was.

Herman owned so many cars that he'd bought dozens of parking spots in the basement-and that was just at Southridge. Over at Salstrom Manor there were even more. Honestly, the Salstrom family's wealth made billionaire heroes in

romance novels look modest.

Anastasia parked, locked up, and headed toward the rec room entrance on the lower level. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an arm snaked around her neck from behind-squeezing tight...