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The door opens and Tom walks in with Officer Carpenter trailing behind him. That smug look is still on Officer Carpenter’s face as he takes a seat across from me.
Tom sighs and paces around the room, his hands clasped behind his back. “Alright, Hazel, do you want to tell me what was going on tonight?”
“I threw myself out of a car after pulling the handbrake.” My words are clipped.
Although I came here intending to tell them everything, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My palms are clammy, but I keep my hands flat on the table in front of me.
I will not show them that nerves tremble through my body. They won’t know about the inner war I’m waging with myself about what I should and shouldn't tell them.
“Yes.” Tom stops beside me and perches himself on the edge of the desk. “But that’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it. I want to know what happened during the time you were with Nikita Orlov.”
I shrug a shoulder. “I’m not too sure honestly. A lot is hazy. A few days ago, I got hit over the head pretty hard. And then I jumped out of that car and hit it again.”
His heavy sigh fills the room as I give him an apologetic smile. Tom dangles one foot, swinging it gently. “Officer Carpenter here didn’t mention anything about you hitting your head.”
“Well, I don’t think we can blame Officer Carpenter’s incompetence on the fact that I rolled out of a moving car.” I give him a saccharine smile and clasp my hands in front of me. My fingers interlace as his face turns a deep red.
“Don’t start shit with him.” Tom folds his arms over his chest. “What happened while you were with Orlov? You were on the phone with me and then you hung up. Next thing I know, your mother is reporting you missing. And then you have a security officer calling in. What’s going on?”
“I was with him but like I said, I don’t remember a lot of it. I was knocked out when I woke up, there were men with me but none of them were Nikita Orlov.”
Carpenter jeers and leans forward. “So, you ended up in Nikita’s car by chance?” He looks down at me: “All dolled up?”
“Carpenter, I think it’s best if you leave me and Hazel alone for a few minutes. You two don't seem to be getting along, and I'd appreciate an end to this situation today.”
The pout on the grown man’s face as he pushes back his metal chair and stands up is pathetic. I could almost feel sorry for him if I wasn’t more worried about myself.
Being alone with Tom will be difficult. We work closely together. He knows me better than anyone else. If there's one person who can find out the truth, it will be him.
Which is exactly why I’m not going to tell him anything.
The part of me that wants to protect Nik is winning.
The truth is that while I was with him, nothing terrible happened. He took care of me during those few hours. He made me feel alive. He devoured my body and crushed any desire for any other man. But that’s something I can’t tell Tom.
Even now, as I sit here, I can still feel his gaze burning into my mind. I can feel his hands gliding over my body and the whispered words in my ear.
I’m not going to give him up, even though I know I should.
Please don’t let this be the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.
Please don’t let him be the cause of my destruction I’ve been trying to avoid.
“Hazel, soon I’ll be pressured by the higher authorities. You need to tell the truth.”
I hear the words he doesn’t say.
Your career is on the line.
“Tom, if there was something to tell, you know I would. I’m honest when I say that I can’t remember much of what happened. One moment I was in that house for a meeting and the next I woke up with men I didn’t know.”
Tom slides off the table and takes one of the chairs. He drags it across the floor, the metal legs screeching. He puts it upright next to me and takes a seat.
The silence stretches between us for what seems like an eternity.
“So, you tell me that you woke up with men you don’t know. I hear that you don’t want to say how you ended up at this party with Orlov. A party that I’m sure you know was filled with some of the most powerful players in the criminal underground.”
“It was with them, sure, but none of them seemed to be doing anything. It was a gala of some sort.”
