Page 21 of Ghost Among Lies

"I want to try to make things right even if I can never tell him why I left."

Anita and Beckett shared a look I couldn't quite decipher. I didn't have the heart to ask them what it meant either.

"All right. Let's go in there and change things up."

With any luck, Hayes would stop hating me. Or I was about to make things worse with all the secrets I held.

CHAPTER TWELVE

HAYES

I couldn't get Sloane's words out of my head. What choice did she have taken away from her, and what did I say that caused her to shut down?

It didn't matter what she did to me all those years ago. I never wanted to intentionally hurt her.

Did that make me a fool? Probably, but I never claimed I wasn't when it came to her. Sloane was my Achilles’ heel, and everyone knew it.

I waited for what felt like forever before the heavy door opened again. Anita and Beckett walked in first with Sloane trailing behind. When they took up positions in front of me, it was clear the first two were there to guard Sloane from me.

I wanted to ask what the hell they could possibly need to guard her for, while I was tied to a chair, but circumstances changed drastically. Anita walked behind me and untied my binds.

"Is this some kind of test?" If it was, I wanted to know what the hell I needed to do to pass.

"Think of it as a sign of good faith." Anita stepped back in front of me and stood with her legs shoulder width apart. One leg slightly in front of the other. I knew that stance. She was gearing up to fight if I so much as hinted I planned to attack. "I figured you would be more likely to answer our questions if you weren't held prisoner."

"It's a start, but first, I would like to talk to Sloane alone. I have a few questions of my own."

"Not gonna happen. Anything you have to say to her, you can do so in front of us."

I stared at my ex and silently pleaded with Sloane to hear me out, but she shook her head. "Ask whatever questions you want, but I can't promise to answer them all. There are certain things best left unsaid."

I begged to differ, but I would take what I could get at the moment. I preferred privacy. I hated knowing I would be airing my dirty laundry to these two strangers, but it looked like I didn't have a choice. Sloane wasn't budging.

"Why did you leave?"

Sloane's eyes glossed over as she stared at a spot just over my shoulder. Almost like she was reliving that moment. "I had no choice. It wasn't safe for me to live there anymore."

Is that what she meant earlier when she said a choice was taken from her? "What do you mean it wasn't safe? I would've protected you. You had to know that."

"Not this time you couldn't."

"So your parents had nothing to do with the reason you left me?"

I could see the wheels turning in Sloane's head. Either she was finding a way to lie to me or she didn't know how she wanted to answer the question.

"If you're asking if they knew about you, then yes. But I didn't know that until the night I left. I went to them for help, and they turned their backs on me. Blamed me for what happened. I made the decision to leave, and they cut me off. I haven't spoken to them since that night."

"And you're not going to tell me what happened?" I phrased it like a question even though I knew in my heart it was more a statement. She already told me such.

Sloane shook her head. "I can't. It's better this way."

"Better for who? You or me?"

"Believe it or not, it's better for both of us. I know that's hard to understand, but you have to know I've always had your best interest at heart. I didn't want to hurt you. But there are some things that are out of our control."

It was hard for me to accept that. My first reaction would always be to want to solve all her problems. She wasn't giving me that option, and I wasn't sure how I was supposed to proceed.

"I get you believe that, but let me be the one to decide what's good for me. You'd be surprised what I can handle."