Текст книги "Exposed"
Автор книги: Ivy Stone
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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 16 страниц)
CHAPTER TWENTY
Mason
Infatuation stole my sight, blinding me from reality. I no longer saw what was right in front of me.
“Rewind, play it again.” I snap at the IT guy, my tone frustrated. I pace back and forth in the office, rubbing my hand over my jaw as I rack my brain for what other places we walked past that might have footage we could check. We checked the cab tapes, nothing. We’d checked the restaurant, more fucking nothing. We’d searched high and low. We’re hitting a dead end and I’m at the stage where I want Marino to make his move just so we can get this over with. The anticipation, the unknown, it’s clawing at my sanity and irritating as fuck.
“Mase, we’ve searched every goddamn camera in central fucking park. There’s nothing man. Cassidy and Eli went and talked to the shop owners, the cab driver, the waitresses, your doorman. No one saw anything.” Roamyn explains what I already know, but I refuse to believe it. Giuseppe Marino can buy anything in this city, including silence.
“Come on, man, wrap your head around it so we can move forward, because all you’re doing right now is pissing us all the fuck off with your moodiness.”
I look around our office, four desks in the center, coffee machine to the side, my office the length of the back wall. Roamyn sits at his desk while Cassidy leans a hip on the side. And Elias, he’s standing beside me, feet wide apart, arms crossed, frown on his face as he watches the video feed for the tenth time.
“Gotta say, boss, It doesn’t look like we’re going to get anything more from the tapes. Why don’t Eli and I go back to the clinic? We’ll check on Ali and ask around again,” Cassidy interjects, her tone light with hope.
I sigh heavily. “All right. You two do that. I want that place more secure than the Whitehouse because if Marino’s got men about to make their move soon, I guarantee she’s going down first.” I flick a look to Roamyn, my mouth downturned and shoulders pulled low. His face pales and a knot forms in my stomach as I feel his pain. Alison is in danger, just like Lindsey, and it’s completely out of our control.
He scrubs his hands over his face and the tech guy leaves the room with his laptop tucked under his arm. Cassidy and Eli grab their stuff and without another word, they leave the room.
I pull up a chair at Cassidy’s desk and wait for Roamyn to say something. We haven’t spoken much about the shit between him and Ali. It’s built up, and I can see it in his eyes; the attitude, the spark, it’s all gone. Instead, despair stares back at me and the dullness kills a small piece of me because it’s a look I’ve seen before. Not from Roamyn, but from myself in the past.
“I fucked up, Mase.” Roamyn coughs and looks away, trying to keep a lid on everything bothering him.
I give it to him straight. “Yeah, man. You did.”
“She won’t see me. Won’t talk to me.”
His voice is so pained I almost don’t recognize it. My heart and my mind fight over finding the right words. My heart wants to tell him to go get her, don’t let go. While my head reminds me she’s a twenty-two-year-old drug addict with a tendency to relapse, and he’s a cop with a whole world of issues of his own.
“Do you blame her? The shit you pulled, Roam.” I shake my head, dropping my eyes to the floor.
“Yeah, I know. Trust me, no need for a fucking reminder. That shit’s been playing in my head every damn day since it happened.” He gestures to his head with his hand, his eyes widening with anger. It doesn’t feel directed at me but more at himself.
“I don’t get it, man. I’m your best friend, yet shit, you never told me and I never saw it. When did this thing with you and Alison start?”
He blows out a breath and mutters, “Way before it ever should have.”
With my brows furrowed in, head angled to the side, I share my confusion with him.
He shakes his head. “You don’t wanna know.”
“Look you made a mistake. You did wrong. But from what Lindsey tells me, over the past month and a half, you’ve also done a lot of right with her too. If you want her, Roam, like really want her and I don’t just mean to keep your bed warm until you’ve had your fill, then don’t let one mistake be the end of you two, not before you’ve even had a chance to begin.”
He clears his throat breaking eye contact and shifting uncomfortably on his feet. “Never felt this way before. I don’t know how to deal. The situation is just so fucked up. But thanks. ”
I stand and pat him on the arm and, as I’m about to head back to my office, the sound of the precinct phone ringing cuts through the air. Roamyn reaches over to Cassidy’s desk to answer it.
“Tate OCCB,” he all but growls, taking his current mood out on the unsuspecting person on the other end of the line.
His head makes a sharp turn my way. His frown is now deeper than ever and his mouth is drawn into a straight line. “When? Any leads? Yeah, right. Thanks for filling us in, appreciate that.” Roamyn ends the call and puts the phone back down on the desk, his hand rests there for a moment as he gradually turns around to me, a blank look on his face. My body goes rigid and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, something’s wrong.
“What is it?”
He shoots me a look, his gaze distant as he speaks. “Adriana Marino just got reported as missing.”
“What the fuck?” The thought freezes me in place. Baccarelli. “Call Cassidy and Elias back. Meeting in thirty.”
***
I sit forward in my chair, my hands clasped together, elbows on my desk while Cassidy, Roamyn, and Elias fill my office with their opinions and ideas. An ache builds behind my eyes from listening to them, from thinking this shit was over, and for the fact I’d had hardly any sleep last night because again the past came alive and I relived the mistakes that would forever haunt me. Lindsey woke me and soothed my soul with her calming words and warm body against mine. She’s tried to hide it but I’ve noticed the different ways she tries to calm me once it’s over. She hasn’t asked me about them and I haven’t told, but I don’t need to. She heard the words from my mouth, the pain in my voice. She can guess who the star characters are in my nightmares.
Elias loosens his posture and falls back onto the couch. “The princess is missing. Missing persons isn’t our thing so how is this our concern?” He shrugs like it’s no big deal, but he’s not seeing the bigger picture.
“Well, she’s a part of the Marino case ever since she turned herself in, claiming the ICE we found in Alison Jenkins’ locker was hers. She’s connected to Baccarelli, who we know is alive. We don’t know where he is because he’s dropped off the grid. No one’s seen him since we laid eyes on him at the diner where he ran into Lindsey, but that’s not to say he isn’t around,” I answer.
“So I take it Lindsey hasn’t had any more run-ins with him either?” Cassidy asks me, catching my line of sight. The concern in her eyes asks me a whole other question and my insides twist with guilt over what I had her do.
Six weeks ago.
“What did you find?” I ask Cassidy as I shuffle through paperwork on my desk.
“Absolutely nothing,” she deadpans.
I stop and give her my attention. “You sure?”
She folds her arms across her body, widening her stance. “You asked me to follow her and I did. You asked me to dig and I dug. When I tell you I found nothing, boss, it means I found nothing.”
I frown and look around the room, not wanting to look Cassidy in the eye, the guilt over having Lindsey followed is already eating away at me. I should have given her the benefit of the doubt the day she saw Baccarelli in the diner. There was just something gnawing at my brain, and a knot in my gut, telling me I was missing something. The woman can be as cold as ice, living in her head even if she’s standing right beside you. There are secrets behind those eyes and I feared they weren’t the kind I’d look forward to finding out.
But I knew all I could. Cassidy is the best at digging through dirty laundry. If she says she found nothing, then there’s nothing to tell. Now I just had to have faith in the woman I’d fallen for.
“No she hasn’t, thankfully. I still have no clue what that meeting meant and if she realizes who he is, but we’re not taking it further. Not until we have to. If the media finds out Lorenzo Baccarelli is alive and well, we could have a war on our hands we’re not prepared for. We don’t know what he wants and right now, he’s not causing us trouble, so this stays within the walls of this room, because outside of here, we don’t know who we can trust. We all good with that?”
“Yeah,” mumbles from all three of them.
I sit up straighter, the positive part of this mess brightening my mood a little. “Now, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and take a not so wild guess and say Adriana Marino has run off with her lover boy and together they’re hiding from pretty much everyone. She made bail but now that she’s run, this changes things.”
Roamyn chimes in from the other side of the desk where he sits in the guest chair. “What do you want us to do about it?” he asks, his tone low, face serious.
“Right now, we just keep our eyes peeled and ears open. I wanted you all to know what’s going on now we got word of Adriana. This is, in a way, a good thing for Lindsey and Alison. With Lucio and Giuseppe sitting in Rikers and Adriana supposedly missing, Giuseppe Marino is distracted, so instead of plotting his revenge on our girls, he’s probably trying to find out where his daughter is and how the fuck he’s gonna get him and his son out of years of imprisonment.”
Cassidy coughs and we all turn to face her. “I saw the photos of those two. If she’s with him, I’m sure she’s fine. I saw the way they looked at each other. They’re in love.” She fiddles with her necklace as she speaks, her eyes downcast to the ground, her stare vacant, her mind miles away.
Elias sighs and shakes his head, obviously aware of Cassidy’s odd reaction. “Cass has hit the mark with that one. Baccarelli is whipped over Marino pussy. He’s not gonna let anything happen to the girl.”
“All right. Well that’s all I needed, so let’s get out of here.” I grab my phone off the desk as I stand up and click the side to light up the screen. “I was supposed to be home an hour ago. Lindsey’s cooking us dinner.” I push the chair in and we all make our way out.
“Oh, that’s sweet. How very domestic of her,” Cassidy chimes, her tone lighter than a moment ago.
“I don’t know if I’d call it sweet. If I’m not in tomorrow, it’s because I’ve contracted food poisoning and probably died,” I mutter, my stomach already churning at the idea of having to endure Lindsey’s cooking.
“Oh, come on, don’t be an asshole. It can’t be that bad.” Roamyn chuckles and my lips curl upward as I remember Lindsey’s last attempt at making pancakes for Charlotte for breakfast.
“She’s blown up three microwaves.”
Elias looks at me, eyebrows raised, his expression stunned. “Seriously? Remind me never to eat her food.”
Holding the door open, Cassidy, Roamyn, and Eli pass through and I follow behind them as we make our way to the precinct’s exit, passing the other officers and patrons on the way. Our unit is small and the offices private, located at the back of the building.
“If my toast is only a little burnt in the morning, I’m cheering,” I reply, my tone light as I appreciate at least a few seconds of the day where everything isn’t so full-on and chaotic.
Roamyn lets out a booming laugh. “That bad, huh?”
I think of Lindsey in my kitchen, long hair tied up, her fussing over what ingredient goes in the pot next. Charlotte sitting on one of the stools at the counter telling her she’s cutting the onion wrong and she just put in too much sauce. A smile plays at my lips and I can’t help but fucking grin as my heart beats strongly for the love of the two amazing girls I’ve got in my life.
“Nah, I fucking love it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Mason
A week of looking over our shoulders passes. Two weeks of keeping my girls close and eyes open, pass. After the third week of normalcy with no strange feelings of being followed and no word on the Marino front, I start to relax and let a small part of the dread consuming me float to the back of my mind.
Leaning back into the uncomfortable hardness of the park bench, a feeling resonates in my chest I haven’t allowed myself to dwell on, even though I’ve been feeling it for a few weeks. I can’t explain it because it isn’t happiness. It’s so much more than something that simple. When I think about Lindsey and Charlotte, I feel a completeness I’ve never experienced before. It glues every crack in my heart back together, securing it with loyalty and an unspoken bond that I’ll happily lay my life on the line to save theirs.
I can hear their laughs from the playground, the sounds so different from everyone else’s because they are mine. My woman, my daughter. My family. Sitting alone on the seat, I watch the relationship between Lindsey and Charlotte grow. A weight shifts inside me as Lindsey gazes my way with a look in her eyes that I never want to die. Laughing with my daughter in the park, smiling at me like I’m the only man she sees, she steals my heart and doesn’t even know it. And as I watch the adoration for Lindsey pour out from Charlotte as they have races down the slippery slide, I know she’s worked her way into Charlotte’s heart too. She’s becoming a mother to my child, one I’m sure Victoria would be proud to have fulfill the role that was unfairly taken from her.
We still have so much to learn about each other, but every day we shared more, we learned more, and that is enough.
Children’s voices fill the park, their doting parents smiling and encouraging them. Caring nannies push around prams and chase after the runaway toddlers. The sun beams off the inviting play equipment, its colors brightening the day. The trees blow in the wind and the chilly March air sends a shiver through me that I feel right down to my bones.
My pulse quickens each time Charlotte reaches higher in the air from her spot on the swing. She giggles like crazy because Lindsey stands beside her, hand flat on her chest, eyes filled with worry. I chuckle. She may just be more over protective than I am..
A chill of a different kind washes over me. Dread licks at the edges of my pounding heart when I notice Lindsey stiffen, deadly still. Her face washes of any color and the look in her eyes kills a piece of me I’ll never get back.
I’ve seen the look, many times. It’s the profound moment between life and death when the realization hits that this is it, the end is all but a mere second away.
Every kill.
Every time.
One look.
No. Not now. Not this time.
My gaze follows hers to the man on the opposite side of the playground, all I see is a gun pointing right at my daughter. My feet propel forward, every step fueled with a strength we never realize we have until it’s needed to save someone we love.
The shrilling echo of a gunshot deafens me in a way I’ll never forget.
Lindsey screams, “Nooooo.”
It pierces my soul as I run without thought. I can make it. Just one more step. Lindsey’s body smacks into Charlotte knocking them to the ground. My arms fly out as I reach them and I hold them tight, shielding their bodies with my own. I squint my eyes closed and pray that when I reopen them, both the women in my life will still be whole.
It’s seconds, barely a minute, but the world stops spinning, silence blocks everything out. My mouth opens but no words come out. My limbs feel as heavy as lead and I can’t move. All I can do when I open my eyes is see the back of Lindsey’s head, unmoving. I feel a hand squeeze my own and it brings me back into the moment. I can now hear Charlotte’s whimpers.
“You okay, baby girl? Are you hurt anywhere?” I whisper breathlessly as I shift off Lindsey.
“I’m scared, Daddy. But I’m not hurt bad.” Hearing Charlotte’s tiny voice fills me with some relief and I scan the area for the shooter. Anger boils inside. He’s nowhere in sight.
I scoop Lindsey into my arms as gently as possible and roll her onto her back. Charlotte clings to my side, her fingers digging into my skin. I pull her out and hold her shoulders, eyeing her up and down. A few scratches mark her forehead, a graze on her forearm, but nothing too bad stands out.
While I silently rejoice the air still coursing through Charlotte’s body, I watch the life in Lindsey’s slowly fade away.
She groans. My gaze is drawn to her shaky hand on her side where blood oozes through her clothing. My stomach drops and my breath catches in my throat when her eyes roll into the back of her head.
“Stay with me. Come on, Lindsey.” Ripping my jacket off in one hurried movement, I bunch it into a ball and apply it to the wound. Blood soaks the jumper within seconds as I stare into Lindsey’s dulling eyes. She’s still here.
I cup the back of her neck into my free hand, keeping the other firmly on the wound. I pull her slightly up and shift her in closer to me. Squeezing gently, wishing and praying my hands held enough power to breathe life back into her. Stabbing pain obliterates my heart, destroying my happiness, my love, shred by shred.
Leaning her forehead against mine, I close my eyes, and just feel. I breathe in her scent like it’s my last breath and let it soothe my aching soul. I run my nose the length of hers and as a tear trails from her eye, my cheek catches it and it sears my skin; the burn a feeling which will scar me forever.
I pull her tighter against me as close as I can without hurting her, even though my muscles are cramping. “Not leaving me now I’ve got you, Linds. You always try to be so strong even when you don’t have to be. Well now you have to, sweetheart, be strong. Fight this, because I’m not prepared to lose you.”
My words barely come out as they cut above the pain, they are all but a whisper of hot breath on Lindsey’s cheek.
“Sir, are you all right? Have you been shot?”
A firm hand grasps my shoulder and the concerned face of a paramedic comes into view. I cough, swallowing past the pain traveling up my throat and climb off Lindsey without moving my hand from the soaked material covering the bloody area of her body.
“I’m fine. Here, it’s Lindsey. Quick,” I race out.
Paramedics bend down to attend to her, to take over from where I’m applying pressure and as I let go, I grab for Charlotte with my other hand and pull her into me. “Gunshot wound grazed her ribs, it looks clean. She’s still breathing but she’s lost a lot of blood and she’s barely conscious. I had to move her. My daughter was underneath her.”
I barely hear my own voice over the violent pounding of my heart.
It felt like hours had passed, but in reality, it’s hardly a minute before Lindsey lay on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance and is on her way to the hospital.
The sirens blast in my ears and my fingers tingle with the itch to help, to do something more than sit here fucking watching. But small cries and wetness soaking my shirt reminds me that my baby girl needs me too.
Time is dissolving into a pool of ruination as shapeless as rainfall; it is indefinable. Hope is sinking, along with the rest of me.
Lindsey
Monotonous beeping sounds fill my ears. The coolness of the room sends a shiver over my body and I move deeper under the warmth on top of me. The smell of antiseptic wafts through the air and I use all the strength I can muster to open my heavy lidded eyes. Brightness seeps through the slits of my vision and I squint, adjusting to the light. The haze before me starts to clear and I realize I’m flat on my back and everything hurts. Every muscle aches, my head throbs, and my limbs feel impossibly heavy. I attempt to sit up but shift too fast. The movement causes an explosion of pain in my side, one so strong it sends me backward to my horizontal position with my eyes closed to shut out the pain. Warmth tightens around my left hand just as voices creep into earshot.
“Nurse.” A male voice, deep and smooth, breaks through the silence in the room and even half out of it, I’d recognize it anywhere. Oliver.
“She’s waking up. She will be weak. Please remember, the calmer you can be, the easier this will be on Lindsey.” The professional tone of the voice speaking must be the nurse I heard Olly call for.
“Is she waking up?” Charlotte whispers not so quietly, and hearing her hopeful little voice has my lips upturning and my mind easing. Thank God, she’s okay.
“Yeah, baby. I think so.”
My heart does somersaults. The beeping becomes louder. For a moment, I never thought I’d hear his voice again. Fireworks ignite enough strength within me to open my eyes and push past the pain.
“Argh,” I croak out. “Everything hurts.”
My eyes slowly open and my soul warms when I lay eyes on Mason.
He smiles. His eyes shine and his posture slumps with relief. “’Bout time you woke up, sweetheart.”
Joy, sorrow, gratitude, it all overtakes me and I’m rendered speechless as I stare at the man who’s standing by my bedside even after I nearly got his daughter shot.
Shit. Did he know who the shooter was?
My free hand is slipped into another’s. I twist my neck and the faces of Olly and Ali stare back at me. Their features override my worry about the shooter. With Olly glaring like he’s ready to murder someone, and Ali, the fear in her eyes I’ve only seen one other time before, it guts me. The knife just keeps twisting, deeper and deeper until I can’t take it anymore. I look away, breathe in deeply, and muffle the sob threatening to rip from my throat.
Olly reaches out and tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear, a smile playing at his lips. “Welcome back, babe. Gave us quite a scare.”
“Lindsey, you saved me.” Charlotte leans in, eyes widening as she pushes in front of her father so she can get closer to the bed.
I smile and as I pull my arms free of both the men in my life, I squeeze Charlotte in a light hug.
Her words, our hug, the moment triggers my memory and it all comes crashing back, the squeak of the swing moving back and forth, Charlotte tipping her head back in laughter. The shiver that shot up my spine a second later prompting me to look up. Jeremy. My breath caught in my throat. My feet moved on their own accord. I didn’t think. I ran.
I threw myself around Charlotte, pushing us to the ground but before we face-planted the concrete, the wind was knocked out of me, a heavy weight trapping us in. I search my mind for what comes next, but I can’t put my finger on it. It’s all a blur. I can’t see it, hear it and I can’t feel it. I try harder. If I just close my eyes and think.
Emptiness. My mind is completely blank, nothing comes back to me.
Reopening my eyes, frustrated, I look down my body. It twinges in pain where a needle is stuck into the top of my hand attached to a drip. Little sticky patches are placed on my body along with thick bandaging around my rib cage. Shit, I copped the bullet Jeremy shot off. My blood runs cold.
I clutch my throat and feel my skin clamming up. I turn to Mase. “Jeremy? Did you catch him?”
He nods, shoving his hands in his pockets. His eyebrows bunch in and the frown causes little creases to appear in the middle of his forehead. “In a holding cell at the precinct until he gets transferred to Riker’s Island where he’ll stay until sentencing.”
“He’s going back to prison, Linds,” Olly adds, squeezing the hand he’s still holding.
Mason’s low tone steals back my attention. “He nearly got away. But officers caught up to him just outside the park.”
“Oh, thank God.” I sag back against the bed, the tension in my muscles releasing.
“It’s okay, babe. They got him.” Oliver rubs my hand reassuringly.
“I don’t understand. He’s supposed to be in prison,” Ali states, directing her comment at Mason.
Mason flicks a quick look my way before turning back to Ali. “Jeremy Stiles was released from Attica Correctional facility seven months ago.”
“But we were at his sentencing. We heard the judge. He was supposed to serve like a billion more years,” Ali chimes in, raising her voice.
Mason shakes his head. “Apparently, there was an appeal not long ago. Guy had good behavior on the inside, went in his favor. He got early parole.”
I tilt my head to the side, my mind wandering. Could it be? Could he have been the one all this time? Goddammit, I didn’t fucking call those lawyers back. I’d lost track of time and as the days passed, so did the memory of that call ever happening. Shit. I pinch my lips together. How would I ever tell Mason? How could he ever forgive me for this? I scrunch my face up, pulling my lips in tight before releasing again to face the music. I had to tell him.
I sigh heavily and drop my shoulders. “It’s probably who’s been watching me for months. I never thought about it until now, obviously. But it makes sense.” I turn to Olly. “Why didn’t we know he was getting out? How did we miss this?”
Olly lifts his hands in a surrendering way. “I don’t know. We’d been caught up with other shit.”
“Guys, cops are just outside,” Ali comments as she peers through the room window.
Mase picks up my hand. “They’re gonna want to come in here and ask questions. I don’t want to leave you, but it’s up to you if you want me in here or not.”
I mumble, “Stay, please.”
I can already feel my heart splintering from what will follow.
“Ali, Oliver, you mind taking my girl out with you guys for a minute?”
Ali brightens up almost instantly, moving to Charlotte’s side and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “Hey, Char, you like chocolate? ‘Cause I saw a vending machine near the nurses’ desk if you want to go get some.”
Charlotte nods. “Yeah, okay.” She hugs her father goodbye then moves over to me. Leaning in, she kisses me on the forehead. “I’m so glad you’re gonna be okay, Lindsey.” She moves back and looks at the ground. “You scared me. I don’t want to lose you.” Her brittle voice, brings an emotion to the surface I’m not used to feeling.
Love.
Not an undying love for the man of my dreams. No, this is a different kind of love. The love you’d jump in front of a bullet for. The kind only a child can draw out. The protective instinct that allows for no thinking because it isn’t necessary, not when it comes to the love one has for their child. Blood doesn’t tie us together, love does.
“It’s okay, sweets. I’m not going anywhere,” I reassure her with a small smile.
A quick knock sounds at the door and our heads all turn in that direction.
Two middle-aged male police offers in standard uniform stand in the doorway. “Miss Jenkins, we need a moment of your time if you’re feeling up to it.”
The nurse pops in. “Just let me check her out first and then she’s all yours.” She smiles, moving to my side with a blood pressure monitor in hand. Ali and Oliver slip out of the room with Charlotte and within a minute, the nurse is finished.
“You’re just fine at the moment, but if you need anything, just buzz,” she says, pointing to the assistance buzzer on the wall behind my bed.
“Thank you,” I reply.
“Cole, you don’t need to be here for this,” the older police officer states, shifting on his feet awkwardly. They obviously know each other.
Mason stands tall, widening his stance and crossing his arms across his chest. “Not going anywhere, so you can either start now or come back later. I’ll still be here.”
The same officer looks my way. “Miss Jenkins, this okay with you? We can ask him to leave.”
“No, he should hear this. He deserves to know why I nearly got his daughter killed,” I respond, my voice thick with emotion. I look toward Mason. “You’ll never understand how sorry I am. I should have told you about Jeremy earlier. ”
He grimaces and glances around before turning back to me, shaking his head. Eyes full of hurt. “Lindsey.”
I ignore his question because the silent police officer now decides to speak. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore,” I reply bluntly.
Mason puts out a hand as if I’ve just stated the most obvious answer. “She was shot, Officer. I’d say it’s safe to say she’s pretty fucking sore. Can we get this over with please? She needs rest.”
“No need to be an ass, Cole, just doing our jobs,” he mumbles low.
“Miss Jenkins, can you run us through what happened at the park today? We just need your version of the events leading up to the shooting.”
As I retell everything I remember, I stare at Mason while guilt smothers me.
“Okay, that’s good, thanks. Now we do have a few more questions for you but if you’re not up to it, those can wait. They’re in regards to your previous relationship with Jeremy Stiles.”
His name causes my entire being to cringe.
“The man was my stepfather. There isn’t anything I can tell you that isn’t already on file. But ask away. I just want this over and done with. I’m tired.” I shift slightly in the bed.
“Lindsey, you don’t have to,” Mason interjects.
“No, it’s okay.”
I can’t look him in the eye as I speak. I’ll crumble into a mess I don’t want him to witness.
The older of the two cops coughs awkwardly and begins the questioning “So we read through the Stiles case file. You testified in court against him some time ago, when you were nineteen, is that correct?”
“Yes. My sister and I both did, and a bunch of other people. I think there were about seven of us in total. I can’t really remember off the top of my head.”
He nods, his face void of any emotion. “Right. Now did you know about Mr. Stiles’ release from prison?”
I narrow my eyes. “No, or I would have done everything I could to get him behind bars again.”
“Lindsey,” Mason cuts in with a look that says shut your mouth.
“Miss Jenkins, why do you believe the man came after you in the park today?” the other officer pipes up.
“He ruined my life, Officer, and in turn, I ruined his. That man left us with absolutely nothing. He stole all of our money, every cent the government had paid my mom after my dad’s death. He broke my family. Everything was his fault. Had he not come into our lives, my mother may not have dug herself into an early grave. My sister may not have ended up a junkie at the age of seventeen and so screwed up she wouldn’t know a healthy relationship if it hit her in the goddamn face.” My heart pounds heavily in my chest.
