Page 175 of Tell No Lies

I stared through the window to where Tucker was sitting behind a table. “Yes.”

The officer escorting us gave a curt nod and opened the door before waving us through.

My breath caught when Tucker met my eyes. Where was the fun, flirty guy from school? The person in front of me looked haggard and menacing.

Carter kept hold of my hand as he pulled out a chair for me, and we sat across from Tucker. No lawyers were present, since we’d arranged this and gotten approval. He already pled guilty and made his statements, so what else could happen?

“Surprised to see me, Aubrey?” His smirk was vile. “I mean, did you ever suspect it was me?”

I glared at him, wishing I could somehow cause him the pain he caused me over the past several months.

“Of course not! I was brilliant.” He was so confident. He was sitting in a jumpsuit handcuffed to a table, and he was looking at me as if he was king of the world.

“Why, Tucker?”

“Why?”

“Why did you do this to me?” My voice was cracking as my resolve dissolved.

“You ruined my family. You had to pay.”

I knew this part from his notes, but it still wasn’t making sense.

“Morgan, my cousin. You ruined his life. You destroyed my aunt. Everything he ever worked for was ripped from him. Their names were ruined. My aunt had to leave the city.”

“Everything was settled out of court. I thought no one knew.”

“No one knew who the victim was, just that Morgan was some sick lunatic. I was the only one who knew the truth. You had to pay for what you did to him.”

“What I did to him? He assaulted me. He drugged me and tried to kidnap me!”

“You think you’re so innocent. Like you didn’t ask for that!”

Tucker was insane. He was just as sick as Morgan.

“The day I saw you on the plane, when I saw your name on the bag, I knew it was you. You were moving on with your life, so happy, while Morgan was locked up. It wasn’t fair!”

He’d been planning this since the moment he saw me? I squeezed Carter’s hand, needing to know I wasn’t alone now.

“How did you find me? How did you get in my home?”

He laughed darkly. “Ah, that was so easy it was almost insulting. My friend from the team lives there. I know the security guards.” He shrugged his shoulders like that was all he needed to say. “I told them there was an emergency one day, and they both took off. I stole a master key.”

That was it? He had a physical key? What else did he have?

“But the alarm …”

He cut me off. “Don’t insult me, Aubrey. That was child’s play.” He looked over at Carter. “Cute attempt, though.”

“The pictures? You were with me in some of them.”

“Oh, Aubrey, you’re so simple-minded. I asked one of the girls for the pictures she took over the weekend. I kept the ones of you. Geez, if I’d known how easy you were to mess with, I would have had a lot more fun!”

That was enough. Talking to him wasn’t making me feel better or safer, just more vulnerable. I stood suddenly and pulled on Carter’s hand. He was up in a blink and ushering me through the door.

“Are you okay?” He was gripping my shoulders and staring at my face.

“No. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I couldn’t listen to any more.”