Page 103 of Only Be Mine

“I should’ve done more,” he said, still not looking at me. “After that night. After the fight.”

My stomach tightened again, not with nausea this time, but something colder.

“What are you saying?” I asked.

Seth finally met my eyes, and there was something in his expression that made my skin go tight.

Not answers.

Not yet.

But the outline of them.

“I’m saying…” His voice broke, and he looked past me, down the hallway toward the exit. “I’m saying I let too much time pass.”

The detective appeared at the end of the hall, walking toward us with the same folder, the same careful face.

“Ms. Larkin,” he said, “we do need to ask you a few questions. Both of you.”

My chest tightened.

Seth’s shoulders rose like he was bracing for impact.

Chapter 35

Cate

Present

They put us in a small room with a metal table and three chairs.

No windows. No clock. The air felt recycled, thin and faintly stale, like it had been breathed too many times already. A camera sat in the corner, dark and unblinking. The hum of fluorescent lights filled the space where comfort should’ve been.

Seth took the chair beside me. He didn’t sit back. He perched on the edge like he might bolt at any second.

Detective Marshall closed the door behind us.

“Thank you for your patience,” he said, and it sounded like a lie he’d practiced.

I folded my hands in my lap to keep them from shaking.

“This is just routine,” he continued. “We’re going to ask a few questions. Some of them may feel… personal.”

I almost laughed. Personal had lost all meaning tonight.

“Let’s start simple,” he said, opening his folder. “When was the last time you saw John Rosewood?”

The room seemed to tilt.

I answered automatically. “Ten years ago. May 10. The night he disappeared.”

“What time?”

I hesitated. “Late. After dinner. He said he needed air.”

“Did you argue?”

Seth’s breath hitched beside me.