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I followed him down a hall into an interrogation room and he offered me a seat.
“Do you want something to drink? Coffee? Water?” he offered.
“No, thank you. I’m alright,” I smiled. He sat back and slurped his coffee again. I waited for him to swallow.
“Now what is it you wanted to talk about?” he asked, and I started to feel more at ease. He reminded me a little of Santa Claus and that made him easier to talk to. I missed Cyrus’ warm gaze though.
The deputy watched me with increasing interest as I told my story. When I’d gotten to the part about the fire, someone knocked on the door. He called out for them to open it and two tall and lanky cops filed in.
“Can we steal you for a few minutes?” one of them asked. They glanced to me and back, but I couldn’t really get a read on their expressions. They didn’t seem particularly worried, maybe a little bored like everyone else in the place. I relaxed against the back of my seat, watching their exchange closely, but more comfortably now.
“Yeah. I’ll be back in just a second to continue this, Ava,” the deputy said warmly.
“Thanks,” I smiled. He got up and followed the officers out of the room, leaving me by myself with the worries that soon consumed my mind.
I sat back against the metal chair with a sigh. I hoped I’d made the right decision in coming here and that these men weren’t on Anthony’s payroll after all. To pass the time, I started to look around the room. There was a massive mirror on one wall that I guessed was a two-way of some kind. Up in the corners, there were a few cameras with red blinking lights. I wondered if anyone was watching me at this very moment.
I shivered at the thought and returned to studying the boring room again just to distract myself.
The walls were plain and painted a dull gray. The paint was flaking in many places, revealing a dank color that might have once been white beneath it. The floor was covered in cheap office tiles, some of which were peeling up in places. The table I was sitting at was made of steel, but the surface was covered in scratches and dents. The metal chair wasn’t overly comfortable, and I pushed it back and stood up, flinching when the legs squealed against the floor.
I paced back and forth. I didn’t have anything on me to pass the time. I’d lost my phone at some point, which was probably a good thing in case Anthony could track it somehow. I was a bit worried that James and Cyrus might be able to find me based off the location of the car I’d borrowed though.
What if I’d made a wrong decision? What if they were out there letting the Montagna family know that I was sitting here right now?
When the door swung open, I expected to see Deputy Lawson once again and I grinned expectantly.
It wasn’t him though.
Cyrus walked through that door in his place and my mouth went dry.
His expression was stormy. His jawline was tense, and his gaze was hard. I quieted a tiny gasp of surprise. My heart pounded with trepidation, and I took a step back, his very presence stealing every ounce of air from the room. In this small space, he seemed so much bigger and more intimidating than I remembered.
“Cyrus,” I exclaimed, my disbelief showing with every trembling syllable.
He didn’t say anything for several moments and I floundered under his hard stare. He shrugged his jacket off his shoulders and tossed it on the deputy’s chair. He unbuttoned his cuff and rolled it up his left arm. I couldn’t look away as the corded muscles of his biceps flexed and when he repeated the motion on the right side, I completely lost my train of thought.
I should have tried to explain myself, but not a single word came to mind.
“When I left you in my friend’s care, I expected you to stay put,” he finally said and I took another step sideways, wanting to put as much distance between us as I could. He closed it in a fraction of a second and I squeaked nervously.
His hands slammed against the wall to either side of my head. I found it hard to breathe at all even though he wasn’t touching me. I could feel the restraint and tension radiating off him and for the first time, he scared me.
“Coming to the cops was foolish, Ava. Anthony has plenty of officers on his payroll and you were very fortunate that my people were able to get to you first before his could,” he rebuked fiercely. My belly fluttered with butterflies as I stared up at him, feeling smaller by the second. He wouldn’t look away. I desperately wanted him to so that I could breathe.
“I didn’t—” I began, and he cut me off.
“You need to understand something, little girl. I won’t let anything happen to you. If someone touched you, I’d have them killed, no questions asked, but you need to let me protect you. I told you to stay put and you disobeyed me,” he growled.
“Cyrus,” I pleaded quickly, hoping he’d listen for just a second so I could come up with some reasonable explanation.
“You will call me sir when you’re about to be punished,” he cut me off.
“Wait. You wouldn’t. Not here,” I gasped.
His jawline tensed and I knew immediately that he definitely would. “I warned you several times and you disregarded that. Now you’re going to find out how I deal with disobedient little girls who need to be reminded to follow the rules.” His voice rumbled with danger, and I had the sudden feeling that I was way more out of depth than I had originally thought.
“I didn’t mean to make you angry,” I whispered, and he shook his head.
