“No,” Mason says. “Leo got her killed.”
“I just want to go home,” she sighs. “I’m tired and sore.”
“They won’t bug you for too long with questions. They’ll probably just have you come up to the station later for a full statement,” Jake says, and she nods. I can tell she wants to lean into me, but she stops herself. I know she’s blaming herself, but I don’t want to push her. I feel so fucking numb thinking about Stacy’s body lying in that cabin with that monster.
When a horde of cops shows up, Jake tells Sadie to stay with me to limit where the blood is. She is responding well to bluntness, but I can tell she’s going to shut down again.
Jake’s supervisor, Greg McCrea, is the one to question Sadie. She goes through everything detail by detail and ends with her getting to Stacy. Greg goes in with a few others and locatesthe camera and Leo’s phone. It has a cracked screen, but it is still open on the feed of the room. He and a detective watch the footage from Leo’s phone to confirm Sadie’s story. They are standing alone with her, so we can’t hear anything, but she has tears rolling down her cheeks as she listens to the video play.
Once they clear her, Greg asks how we found her. We explain that Leo had left the lamb and note that she and Stacy started wearing bracelets so they could be tracked. They take Sadie’s bracelet, then tell us we can take her.
“Am I in trouble?” Sadie asks Greg.
“No,” Greg says. “That video is pretty clear-cut as self-defense. You did what you had to do to get him to stop choking you. You did run at him, but he had the gun pointed at you. You are not in trouble. We may have to bring you in for more questions if something comes up with their autopsy, but that video is, again, very clear.”
“So, I can go?” she asks.
“Yes,” he says. “Sadie, I am sorry for your loss. She was lucky to have you in that moment.”
Sadie nods and turns to walk toward the cars. Mason gets a blanket from the trunk for her to wrap up in, then has her sit in his lap in the back seat.
“Can I go see her?” I ask when Sadie is shut in the car.
“Yeah,” Greg says. “Was she your girlfriend?”
“Uh, yeah,” I say. “I was about to ask her to marry me.”
“Just don’t touch her or anything else,” Greg says as we walk in. “But take your time.”
I walk over to Stacy’s body and squat down. “Thank you for saving Sadie,” I whisper. “I love you so fucking much, Stacy. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I promise, I’ll never forget just how amazing you were. You deserved better than this… You didn’t deserve to die…”
I stand and walk past Greg to get to the car. I wipe my tears before I open the driver’s side door and get in.
“All set?” Dean asks.
“Mhmm,” I say as I start the car.
“I’m sorry, Todd,” Sadie says. I say nothing, because I don’t know what to say. It’s not her fault, but it feels like it doesn’t matter what I say. She’s going to continue to blame herself. I know I should be comforting her right now, but everything is so crushing. I just want to be alone.
Chapter Twenty Two
Sadie
Four Days Later
It’s been four dayssince I got Stacy murdered. Four days since I spoke. After we got into the car, I completely shut down. Everyone but Todd helped me get clean and dressed. They all took turns lying with me, so I wasn’t alone, but I was silent.
Todd was forced to stay here with everyone so we can all be together, but he’s not happy about it. He’s been snappy with everyone, but no one gets upset with him.
I still get up and do the things I need to do. I eat, bathe, and I’ve even done a bit of paperwork for the office. I am realizing that the world does not stop turning just because I am grieving, but that doesn’t mean I have to talk. I have no interest in saying anything.
I am devoid of tears now, so I don’t cry. I haven’t since Todd ignored me in the car when I apologized. He looked so fucking broken coming out of that cabin, and having him not acknowledge me confirmed that he blames me for her death. He’s mad at me, and I don’t blame him. I avoid sitting near him, and he avoids looking at me. Occasionally, he will say something that someone else sent him to say, but otherwise… I’m doing exactly what she told me not to. Stacy asked me to not push him away, and it’s the first fucking thing I did.
“Dinner is ready,” Todd says, stepping into the basement. I shut the treadmill off and nod. He watches me as I wipe the sweat from my face and grab my water.
I walk past him and go upstairs. Everyone turns and looks at me as I walk into the kitchen, but I ignore them and go to the master bedroom to rinse off in the shower. Once I am dressed again, I walk to the kitchen.
“Have a good run?” Lance asks, kissing me softly. I nod and go to walk into the dining room. I sigh when he grabs me and pulls me back to him. “You’ve got to talk at some point.”
