AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You could make this so much easier on yourself, Vanessa.” Beckett leaned in closer, drops of her blood still on his lips—a reminder that her lies couldn’t be hidden from us. “Tell us what we need to know. Cooperate, and maybe we can help you.”
She scoffed, her bright eyes dulling with hopelessness. “No one can help me. None of you can understand what you are attempting to discover.”
My cheek twitched, red-hot fury simmering just below the surface, but I reined it in. We didn’t have time for loss of control. “Well, what we have discovered is far from appealing.” I looked her up and down, unable to stop my heart from twitching at the obvious fear now spreading across her features. Whatever Elliot had done to her, it wasn’t good. Just as Logan had left his mark on me, Elliot had left a mark on Vanessa.
“You can’t stop us,” Beckett added. “So, you might as well talk.”
“I can’t.” Her voice was courser through the tears that blotched her face.
“I still believe you want to help people.” I softened my posture and voice, lowering both to a soothing level. We’d successfully scared her and caught her in enough lies; she knew she wasn’t going to be able to escape this anymore. Now was the time to show sympathy, that we were not an enemy unless she made us one. “So, please explain to me how you are connected to this man. You could save so many people. You could help.”
Betrayal still coursed through me, a pain I struggled to accept pulling at me over everything Vanessa had done. Yet, she had truly seemed genuine from the beginning; she had helped me break through so many walls around myself. She obviously enjoyed helping others, or she wouldn’t be a psycho-physician.
But maybe it wasn’t as pure as I once thought. Maybe it wasn’t a calling, but penance for something she had done.
And I knew deep in my soul that that something was connected to Elliot Wells.
“Why did you try and drug me?” I asked the selfish question I desperately wanted an answer to.
“To escape.”
Liv’s hold on her loosened as she straightened up, placing her hands on Vanessa’s shoulders in warning.
“From him kidnapping you? Killing you?” I guessed.
“There is so much more to him than any of you even realize.” Her gaze went vacant, her face slack.“I’ve seen things I can never unsee. I’ve done things I can never take back.”
“Then let us help you,” I pleaded.
“No one can help me.” She shook her head, looking right into my eyes, her void gaze chilling me to my bones. “I’m already damned. If I can’t run, then I’m as good as dead once I’m no longer of use to him.”
“What does that mean?”
“Protect yourself, Kasha,” she warned. “That’s all I can say.”
“You need to give me more.” I leaned across the table. “Tell us how he’s threatening you or what he’s done. We can protect you, we can take him down if you just help us.”
We stared at each other, and for one brief second, I hoped that she could see I was determined to protect her from this man who obviously brought her nothing but fear.
“Even in your deceit, you helped me, Vanessa,” I said. “Please, I want to return the favor. Just let me help you.”
“I can’t.” She shook her head, her fingers starting to bleed around the nailbeds as she picked at them. “I just can’t.”
Her stubborn, heartbreaking words pierced through something in me, opening my eyes to the whole situation. We had discovered a lot in the short time we’d talked, but it was nothing of substance. Still, she was obviously convinced she was in danger, even with the protection of the Onyx Guard and the Compound surrounding her. I could see the struggle just below the surface: she wanted to help, but she had to decide between her own safety and the safety of others.
She was choosing her own safety. For now.
“Should we keep going?”I looked to Beckett and Liv.
Beckett stared at her for a moment, licking the last few drops of blood from his lips before turning back to me.“She’s terrified, and convinced that nothing we say will calm it. Right now, we’ve pushed her as far as she can handle today.”
“Damnit.”
“We still got plenty to hold her,”Liv said, pulling a cloth from her pocket and handing it to Beckett, who wiped at the cut on Vanessa’s hand, the shaking of her fingers slowing as she realized we were coming to an end.“She’s connected to Elliot somehow. It will just take us a bit more time to discover what exactly it is. Once she realizes she has no other options, I’d bet money she’ll start opening up more.”
I nodded, letting the truth of their words wash over me before I turned my attention back to her. “Maybe a few days in the cells will change your mind.”
“Kasha...” She tried to reach for me, but I yanked my arms away, abruptly standing to put distance between us.
