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“I’ll leave y’all alone.” Cruz starts to walk away.
“No, you can stay.”
His eyes meet mine again, and this time, there’s a slight glimmer.
“Dade Lewis’ lawyer got him out on bail. The charges are pretty solid, but there’s a chance one of his suppliers is going to take the fall for the drugs. As for the arson on the house, his hands are clean. He may have had someone start the fire, but it wasn’t him or Bart. So far, they’re claiming innocence.”
“Okay,” I answer wearily. “What about Natalie’s fight, or the package he sent with the bolts?”
“Natalie’s fight can’t be pinned on him, and the bolts were purely meant to scare you. We’ve all had our vehicles checked out. Robbie’s is the only one that had a missing piece, but it wasn’t the same as the one in your package.”
“He played me.”
“He played on your devotion to the ones you loved. He didn’t want you to forget who was in control.”
I hang my head in shame. If only I’d talked to someone.
“Please let me know if he contacts you.”
“Why would he contact me? We have nothing to discuss.”
“It’s only a precaution. He’s managed to keep himself clean, but ABI is still after him. Who knows what he’s up to now. He seemed to like you, though. The only thing he admitted to was the blackmail and extortion. He says Natalie owed him money for a loan and said you’d pay the debt. She’s backing up his story, not admitting to it being a drug debt. My guess is she’s petrified.
“In his interrogation, he showed concern for you.”
“Ugh, that’s not good. Another reason for Robbie to be upset.” I huff.
“This seems like a huge coincidence that Ember would be meeting with a known drug dealer the same day you guys decide to bust him. The same day he insisted she come to him. How’d that all come about?” Cruz asks.
“It was probably one of the largest coincidences in my career. There is no way Dade could have orchestrated it. We were solid, and our information was right. He knew who Robbie was, obviously, and where he worked. But he had no clue we were working on this. He admitted to thinking Robbie was a fraud investigator.”
“That’s some crazy shit.” Cruz blows out a whistle.
“I know this sounds outrageous, but I was surprised by him. He blackmailed me and forced me to lie to the people I love, but when we met, he was nice. In my mind, I expected a large, overpowering, scary guy. But that wasn’t at all what he turned out to be.”
“Ember, he took a liking to you. It’s almost impossible not to,” James tells me softly.
“Because of him, I made choices that I can never erase.”
Both James and Cruz’s expressions turn sympathetic.
“James, is Robbie still at the office?”
His face goes solid, and I know something’s wrong.
“No, Ember, he’s taking some time off.”
“He is?”
“Thought he told you.”
“No, he hasn’t spoken to me very much at all lately.”
“I’d like to say this again, and hopefully, you’ll listen this time. If you ever need to talk, or need anything for that matter, you can come to me.”
“I’m really sorry, James.”
“Don’t apologize, sweet girl. It took enormous courage to do what you did and protect not only my children, but those you love. I hate you were put in that position, but know there’s someone on your side.” His eyes slice to Cruz in disappointment. Then he gives me a supportive smile and squeezes my hand. At least one person seems to have forgiven me.
