The Promise (Wolfe Creek Duet #2)

42

THEA

The police station is mostly quiet. Considering it’s a small town, I’m not entirely surprised. However, that means all eyes are on me as I follow Williams past the desks. No one says anything, but they don’t need to. I know this is going to be all over town by tomorrow, if not within the next hour.

We make our way to the other side of the room until we get to a door. He opens it and gestures for me to step inside. The room is bare aside from a long table and two chairs opposite each other. My stomach flips. Is this how it all ends? With me locked up and no revenge to make it worth it?

“I have all the time in the world, Ms. Griffin.”

I bite my lip to keep in all the nasty things I want to say to him. Forcing my legs to move, I step into the cold, gray room and take a seat at the table.

Williams casually sits down and crosses one leg over the other, then folds his hands behind his head as if we’re old friends catching up. “You know, the more I dig into your past, Thea, the more I’m intrigued by your time here in Willow Hill. You’ve been here less than a year and already you’re involved in three disappearances. I don’t know about you, but that seems odd.”

I work hard to not become too defensive or too emotional or even too calm. Keeping my voice even, I reply, “It depends on your definition of involved. Simply knowing the victims doesn’t exactly make me guilty.”

He nods, looks away, then meets my gaze again. “You’re right. Knowing them doesn’t, but footage of you being attacked by two of the victims and then no one seeing them again after that night puts you pretty high up on the suspect list.”

Footage? Damian destroyed the studio’s footage. And the detective who worked the studio break-in case said none of the other businesses nearby had cameras that showed anything of importance. I would’ve assumed the same for the attack. I would’ve assumed that the other cameras weren’t pointed toward the studio if they didn’t pick anything up. But maybe I assumed wrong.

I can’t admit to anything, at least not unless he shows me proof. He has to have it if he knows about the attack. I never filed a report.

“I don’t know what attack you’re talking about.” I want to tap my foot or cross my arms, but I know any movement I make will be scrutinized, so I stay relatively still.

He cants his head. I expect him to call me a liar or refute my claim. “We were able to triangulate their cell phone service to a small area the night they went missing. I’m pretty sure we’re going to find the bodies there. Depending on decomposition, they could be pretty intact. You sure we won’t find any of your stray hairs or your DNA under their nails?”

My chest tightens at his words. Nervousness thrums through my body, making it hard to stay still. “I’m not sure what you’ll find, but it won’t be anything from me.” I know I don’t sound convincing. How could I? You’re a shit liar. Jessie’s words echo in my head.

I need to take back control of this situation. My nervousness isn’t rooted in the fact that I know my DNA will be on them or because I’m scared of being arrested. I’m nervous because I haven’t taken Cole down yet and I need that victory. I need to know that Damian, Sutton, and Wes are safe from him.

Those thoughts bring a level of clarity and resoluteness that washes away everything else. I watch the detective shift to sit straighter. He must sense the change in my demeanor.

“If you have the location of the bodies, why aren’t you out there looking for them?” I lean forward, resting my arms on the table. “Why are you here wasting your time questioning me if you’re on the right track?”

Williams’ face turns pink beneath his tan skin. “Well, there’s paperwork and other things that have to happen first.” I can tell I’ve flustered him.

“Let me ask you, am I under arrest? Do you have any right to hold me here?” I don’t break eye contact, needing to keep his confidence shaky.

His nostrils flare in annoyance. “No.”

I’m not sure if it’ll work, but I grab my satchel and stand. “As always, it was not a pleasure seeing you. Thank you for wasting more of my time.” Heading toward the door, I expect him to stop me. He doesn’t. On the other side of it, I have to keep my ego inflated, at least until I make it outside.

I can’t help feeling like I’m walking through a lion’s den as I make my way through the police station. This lamb got lucky today, but the hungry eyes of the officers tell me that it was a narrow escape and I won’t be so fortunate next time.

Hurrying down the steps of the station, I glance behind me, wondering if I’ll see the detective watching me or worse, coming after me. No one’s there.

I dig into my satchel, fishing out my keys. I’m hitting the unlock button, not remembering where exactly I parked. Then, the headlights flash in the dark, drawing my attention to my left. But the Audi isn’t the only thing I spot. A large, unmistakable silhouette is leaning up against it. Wes.

“What are you doing here?” I try to ask evenly, despite the panic pushing up from my chest into my throat.

As I get closer, I’m able to see his face better. His head is tilted and the look in his eyes speaks volumes. Damian. “It’s not that big of a deal,” I say preemptively. Considering what’s in the back seat of the car, I know I need to use this as a distraction. “Damian didn’t need to track me. I’ve got everything handled.”

“Why did you lie, blue eyes?” The way he says it with that hurt look on his face makes my stomach knot.

I lean on the car too. We’re so close our arms brush and I take his hand in mine. “I didn’t want any of you to worry. There’s nothing to worry about.” The words are pointless. I’ve lied to them before, so I know they won’t fully believe me.

“We’ll always worry, even when there’s nothing to worry about. You matter to us and we want to keep you safe. Why are you resisting that?” His hand tightens around mine.

I sigh, not having a good answer for him, at least not one I can confess right now. “I don’t know. I’m not trying to. I just didn’t think this was a big deal. Then it was, and I don’t want any of you wrapped up in it. All of you have enough going on. And I want to keep you safe, too.”

Looking up at him, I see his eyes soften as if no one’s ever offered that to them. They might be bigger, stronger, and more resourceful, but they deserve protection, too.

“C’mon, let’s go home.” He drops my hand and circles the car, pulling open the passenger door.

I look at him, confused. “Wait… how did you get here?”

“Damian.”

That’s surprising in itself. Damian letting Wes handle this is out of character for him.

I pull open the door, slide in, and start the car. I’m leaving the police station parking lot when Wes looks over at me. His lips tug down. “You have enough on your plate too, you know. You don’t need to do everything yourself.”

“Wes, it’s really not that big of a deal. The detective is being a dick. He doesn’t have anything on me. It’ll be okay.” I smile reassuringly, although it doesn’t seem to touch the sadness on his face.

He takes my hand. “I’m not talking about that, Thea. I’m talking about the other thing.”

My face falls. Other thing? My thoughts race as I try to figure out what he’s talking about. Did I mess up? Are they onto me?

Better to play dumb. “What other thing?”

“The Plan B. Thea, you should’ve told us. We could’ve helped.”

I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to think. That was the last thing I imagined he’d say. “How?”

He tenses, his fingers tightening over mine. “Uh. Jessie saw you the other day buying it. She meant well,” he adds quickly before I can say anything. “In her own way.” Anger flares. This woman is the bane of my existence. Why won’t she stay out of my business?

“I missed a pill. It happens. There was no need for her to report back to you. She needs to keep to herself.” I know he won’t like the last part, but I don’t care. I’ve had to hold my tongue all evening around the detective—I won’t do it with Wes, at least not more than I have to.

He’s silent for a minute. “Who’s would it have been if it happened?” The question comes out as almost a whisper, like he’s scared of asking it.

I think back to the night it happened and try to remember which of the guys I’d been with around that same time. I think I’d slept with Sutton a couple days before, so I say his name. “Sutton.”

He nods. I can’t tell if he’s disappointed or relieved. “If anything like that ever happened, if you got pregnant, we’d help you. We’d take care of you and the baby, raise it together. One big happy family, you know.”

His words surprise me, not for any reason in particular, just that he’s saying it at all. It’s sweet of him. I believe him completely. Although, I’m not sure I want kids. A future at all is not something I let preoccupy my mind these days, not with Cole tormenting me and the possibility of jail time looming over my head.

Our future will have to wait, hopefully there will be one.

“Hey,” he mumbles in the dark. I glance over at him. “Don’t be mad.” Instinctively, I tense. “We have too many cars at the house, so Damian had your truck put in storage for the winter.”

My jaw drops. “What?”

“Just for the winter,” he assures me. “Or until we return Sutton’s car.”

I can’t believe he’d do that without asking me. Actually, I can. That’s exactly the kind of thing Damian would do. I bite down on the inside of my cheek to hold back the harsh words threatening to escape.

Normally, I’d confront him about this. However, right now I have too much on my plate and I don’t want any extra attention on myself. But he will hear about it eventually, though.

Wes adds, “At least now you don’t have to worry about me bothering you about getting a new car.” I can’t help the smirk that tugs at my mouth. Leave it to him to find the silver lining.