AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His phone began buzzing, and he glanced down at it. His eyes narrowed, and from his expression, Cami guessed that it was either Fraser on the line again, handing out more pressure to solve this case fast, or else it was Ethan with a new lead.
But seeing the grim lines in Connor's face were not easing, Cami's money was on Fraser. Connor's boss was calling again, and she knew this added pressure was only going to complicate an already tense scenario.
"We'll be back."
With a nod at Cami, Connor got up and strode outside, heading down the corridor at full speed to take the call.
Cami followed, hustling out of the room, hoping that once this was over, the break in proceedings might make Mario more willing to actually confess.
She turned to close the door, but as she did, her eyes met his. To her surprise, he held her gaze and did so in a way that told her, in unspoken language, that he had more to say.
He stared at her in appeal. "Please. Listen to me," he whispered.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Cami hesitated, knowing that she shouldn't speak to Mario at this time. It was probably disallowed or, at any rate, discouraged. Feeling conflicted, she glanced at Connor, but he was striding down the corridor, already busy with what she guessed was going to be a difficult call.
And from his position in the interview room, Mario was staring at her in appeal.
Cami felt instantly suspicious. Was he trying to persuade her that he was innocent, using his looks to convince her, just because she happened to be a woman? She definitely thought so as she stared into his dark eyes, framed by those long lashes.
"I need your help," he mouthed.
Cami shrugged, hardening her heart. He was wasting his time. Appealing to her would get him precisely nowhere. Apart from the fact that he’d tried to kill her with a spanner, there was the minor point that she wasn't even an FBI agent. She had zero influence over what would happen to him.
He had the wrong end of the stick here, and if he pulled any harder on it, all he would do was fall over, she thought, embellishing the analogy to herself briefly.
"I can't help you," she said to him shortly.
She pulled her cap down lower, feeling a slight irritation at him. A whispered appeal wasn't enough to make her advocate for him. He'd been caught, and he'd need to be on stronger ground to convince her that he was innocent. If he thought he could use his looks to escape the law, he was wrong. She was going to be on hand to make sure that he didn't.
He was the one who'd broken the law, and he was the one who'd decided not to disclose the places he'd been on those three days. A glaring lack of an alibi was going to sink him, and she wasn't going to save him.
But, as she turned away, he pleaded with her again.
"l need your help," he said. “I can see you understand me, that you can see there’s another side to this. I saw it in your eyes. You don’t look like the others here. Are you really a cop?”
Cami turned. "I'm sorry, I can't help you. You probably need to get a lawyer right now," she told him.
"I'll be honest, I don't have the money to pay for a lawyer, and I don't want to use one."
"Then you need to start talking," Cami said, before she could stop herself.
He stared at her, and she could see the wheels in his head turning. He was trying to find a way to convince her to help him. She felt annoyed, as she decided that he was trying to play her.
"You could listen to me," he said, his voice a low whisper.
Cami shook her head. Connor could be back any minute, and she didn't want to be caught in a compromising position. She needed to get herself out of there.She didn't need to fix his problems. She didn't owe him anything. He was the one who'd screwed up his life, and now he was looking for her to throw him a lifeline that didn't exist.
"I'm going to tell you anyway," he pleaded. "All you have to do is hear me."
"Tell me what?" She didn't want to get into trouble by speaking to him, but now, she wasn't sure that this was even being recorded. Had Connor paused the machine before he left? She'd been so focused on trying to work out who was calling him that she hadn't noticed. But perhaps Mario had, she thought with a sudden flash of insight. He'd clearly been in this situation before, and perhaps he had seen the button being pressed and knew that this conversation was now off the record. She glanced at the machine and couldn’t see the light flashing.
"Listen, I can't say where I was. This whole thing's turned into a disaster."
"Why can't you say?"
"Because I was helping a friend. Long story. The friend is trying to organize payback that some very bad people deserve. It has to be done under the radar. We've been busy the last few days. Working anonymously. Even being arrested is going to get the wrong people's attention. That's why I ran when I saw you."
