“Where’s Di?” Jarek swept his gaze over the warehouse. She was gone. He turned to his colleague. “I have to go.”
“You can’t leave the scene of the crime,” Wynn protested. “Andrews is going to want to talk to you.”
“I’ll catch up with him later.” Jarek didn’t care about Andrews. He needed to find Di. Now that he knew the secret she’d been hiding, he was worried she’d disappear forever. He turned and ran out into the street. He figured she had to have headed north to get out of gang territory.
At first, he didn’t see anything. Then he caught a glimpse of her lithe figure in the distance.
Jarek sprinted after her. His entire body ached from the struggle with Bond, but he ignored the pain, his gaze centered on Di. When he closed the gap, she heard his approach and turned to look at him.
She appeared poised to run, but to his surprise, she didn’t. Instead, she faced him, and her solemn gaze tugged at his heart. She waited until he stopped beside her to say, “I figured you’d wait until morning.”
“For your statement?” He waved a hand. “Don’t worry about that. We can talk to Andrews tomorrow. I’m tired of waiting for him to get his butt out of bed.”
She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “I meant to arrest me.”
“Arrest you? For what?” Then realization dawned. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to arrest you for slipping sleeping pills into your stepfather’s bourbon. That was an act of self-defense.”
Confusion crossed her features. “It’s not self-defense. There has to be an imminent threat of bodily harm. Bad enough he crawled into my bed, but then he started watching my sister, and I wasn’t going to stand there and let him hurt Michelle too. If I’m being honest, it was a premeditated strike. Not self-defense.”
Anger hit hard. “That man sexually assaulted you. That’s the very definition of bodily harm. You acted to save yourself and your sister.”
She looked away as if embarrassed. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest. Her voice was hoarse but steady. “I can testify to the abuse and to my intent to make sure he slept all night so he wouldn’t hurt me or Michelle, but I can’t say I’m sorry he died.” She turned to face him. “You might think less of me, Jarek, but I was not sorry to learn he’d died that night.”
“Di, please, listen to me.” He reached out to touch her arm. She didn’t pull away. “No jury on earth is going to find you guilty of premeditated murder.” He hesitated, then asked, “Did your mother know?”
“About the sleeping pills? She suspected.” Di shrugged. “She made my life miserable, whining about not having enough money after Eddie’s death.”
“No, I meant about the abuse.” He searched her gaze in the darkness. “She knew, and she didn’t stop it.”
Di shrugged again. “They were her sleeping pills. She used them to ignore what was happening. Taking action would have resulted in her losing her meal ticket.” A harsh laugh emerged from her throat. “That was not an option.”
“I’m sorry, Di. No child should have to endure that.” He tightened his grip on her arm. “If you ask me, Eddie’s death is more your mother’s fault than yours.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” she said dryly.
He sighed as snippets of their previous conversations washed over him. Everything made sense now that he understood what had transpired all those years ago. “This is why you kept telling me you wouldn’t become a cop.”
“Can’t be a cop if I’m in jail.” She dropped her arms, ran her fingers through her hair, and stepped closer. “You’re really not going to arrest me?”
“Never. What happens next is up to you.” He cupped her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. “You don’t have to tell anyone about your role in Eddie’s death. Or you can provide a full statement and see what happens. The law you broke was giving someone a potentially dangerous drug without their permission.” With good reason, he thought darkly. “I am sure the statute of limitations has passed, and there won’t be any legal ramifications for what happened. And I’ll be honest, getting the truth out in the open might make you feel better.”
She nodded. “I already feel better. I guess I didn’t realize how heavy that secret weighed me down until I blurted out the truth to Buck.” She slipped her arms around his waist to hug him, burying her face against his chest. “I expected you to hate me.”
“No, Di, I could never hate you.” He pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I love you.”
“Love?” A strangled sound came from her throat. She lifted her head to look up at him. “You can’t love me. We barely like each other.”
The kernel of hope in his chest withered and died, but he did his best to hide his feelings. “I like you plenty. And I love you even more. But I also understand you’ve been through a lot these past few days.” When she didn’t say anything, he added, “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I understand that’s asking too much. But know this, Di. I will always be your friend. I’ll support you through whatever you decide to do moving forward.”
“I do feel the same way.” She flushed and sighed. “It’s crazy, but the whole time we were in the warehouse, I felt guilty for dragging you into this mess with me. I knew you would be better off without me.”
She hadn’t said the words I love you, but her admission filled him with hope. “I would rather be with you. Besides, I’m pretty sure it was my idea to be partners.”
A low chuckle escaped her. “That’s true. I only agreed because I wanted inside information only law enforcement was privy to.”
He laughed softly and brushed a quick kiss on her forehead. “I knew that and used it to my advantage. As it turned out, we made quite a pair.”
“Yeah. We are.” Her smile faded as she tipped her head to the side, her gaze serious. “I need to ask you one more question.”
