The Promise (Wolfe Creek Duet #2)

12

THEA

I click the button to unlock Damian’s Audi. He insisted I take it until my truck’s heater gets fixed. I resisted at first, but in all honesty, it’s a pretty nice upgrade from my old girl. Opening the door to the back seat, I place my satchel inside. It’s been a long day of back-to-back clients and I’m ready to take a very long bath with a glass of wine.

“Ms. Griffin.”

I jump as Detective Williams’ face comes into view as I close the door. What is this guy’s deal with showing up as I’m putting shit in my car?

He laughs a little. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. A little jumpy, huh?”

Taking a steadying breath, I answer as casually as I can. “Only when men lurk around my car without me knowing.”

His too bright smile fades a little.

Williams is in that black coat again, but this time paired with a white button down and khaki pants. He leans against Damian’s car—the gesture is a little too comfortable for my liking. I peer around him as another worry aside from his need to pop up unexpectedly hits me.

Cassie’s inside the studio. She could come out at any moment and that would be bad.

I hate that I’m back to my old ways of lying. That’s a lie in itself. I never stopped lying or hiding things. But I feel guiltier when one of those deceptions is standing outside of my workplace where I could be caught at any moment. I’m doing this to protect everyone who matters to me , I remind myself.

“Can I help you with something?” I push the detective to hurry up with whatever he’s decided he needs from me today.

His head tilts as he examines me. “Yeah. I think you can help me with something, Thea. Can I call you Thea? You can call me Jason.”

I want to argue with him. I don’t want to be on a first name basis with a detective looking into my ex’s disappearance. However, I need to take the path of least resistance right now. “Yeah, sure, Thea’s fine,” I answer in exasperation.

“Great,” he says, smiling widely as I wait for him to get to the point. “So, about your ex, Mr. Tallentire. You said you last saw him at the carnival, right?”

Jesus, we’ve gone over this. “Yeah.”

The detective nods. “And you’ve had no contact with him since, right?”

“Mhm.” I cross my arms, annoyed. “You asked me these questions the other day. Do you have any new ones you’d like to ask? I need to get home. It’s been a long day.”

“I’m sure it has been a long day, Thea. I don’t think I have any other questions about your ex.” I hold back my frustration and move to get into the car. “Oh, I did want to ask about Rob Grady and Matt Young. The two guys who went missing a couple of months ago. You hear about that?”

I pause. I can’t help it. Their names coming out of his mouth send a jolt of panic through my body. Looking at Williams, halfway into the car, I swallow. That’s all he needs. He caught it—it’s his job to.

“Step out of the car. Let’s talk for a minute.” It doesn’t feel like a polite request. He’s demanding it. I step out of the Audi, nervously waiting for what he has to say. “Listen, you seem like a nice girl. Maybe you got mixed up with some guys who aren’t so great.” He stares at me unnervingly with his gray-blue eyes, waiting for some kind of confirmation from me. I won’t give it to him. I will my face to go blank. “The Wolfe brothers. Damian, Sutton, and Wesley, right? Yeah, I think that they had something to do with these disappearances and you’re just an innocent bystander in all of this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie.

Williams puts a hand on my shoulder. What should be a comforting gesture feels odd and makes me a little sick. “I understand. You care for or love them to some degree and you want to protect them. But this doesn’t end well if you do that.”

My thoughts spiral. What is that supposed to mean? I glance back at the studio door, hoping Cassie doesn’t walk through it. I need to hurry this up.

“I’m telling you what I know. I don’t know anything about any disappearances and neither do the Wolfe brothers.” We stand there looking at each other for far too long.

He nods again, in that smug, know it all kind of way.

“Listen, I can make you a deal. We can go down to the station. You can tell me what you know about the missing guys and the involvement of your friends, then I’ll make sure that you get off without any consequences. It’ll all be on them. My word.” The detective holds out his hand, waiting for me to take it. He’s delusional.

“You can offer me whatever deal you want. I don’t know anything,” I state confidently. “I hope you’re able to find those two guys and Gavin, as well. Best of luck.”

I move to get back in the car, but Williams places his hand on the door, closing it. “You’re not half as smart as you think you are. I’ve pulled Gavin’s phone records and I know for a fact that you were in contact with him after the carnival. There were messages between the two of you. So as far as I’m concerned, you’re suspect number one in his disappearance.” He levels a serious gaze at me.

My heart is pounding so hard, I think he might hear it. And even if he can’t, I know he sees the redness creeping into my cheeks.

I don’t know what to say. If he has proof that we were in contact, I’m already screwed because I’ve lied. I’m guilty in his eyes. I can’t tell him that Cole did this—I have no proof, only what he told me in the cabin and that was vague at best. Telling him about Cole will just lead him to look into his brothers. There’s no right answer here.

So I keep lying. I don’t know what else to do except to dig this hole further. “I don’t know where Gavin is. Sorry.”

Detective Williams moves his hand so that I can open the door, but bends down before I have a chance to shut him out. “Thea, think about it. Do you think a pretty girl like yourself will do well in prison? You have my card. Call me if you change your mind or remember some important details that could help point me in the right direction.”

He backs away, allowing me to close my door. I don’t acknowledge his last words, I only back out of the parking space. Driving away, I look in my rearview to see him still standing there.

I’m so fucking screwed.