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“I’m sorry, but I can’t listen to this anymore. My brother has nothing to do with this and I’m not going to let you come in my house and accuse him of…of…of, fuck, I can’t even say it.”
Ethan tugs a hand through his hair, his breathing ragged and filled with rage. I close my eyes, wanting all of this to go away.
There’s no way it could have been Simon, but I know the detective will not let it go without interviewing him. It feels like it will be harder to get Ethan on board with it than it will be to get Simon to go to the station.
It would be like the detective accusing Max. I’d be livid and would be responding the way Ethan is right now. Our family has been invested in this as much as we have.
There’s no way Simon has anything to do with this.
“Ethan, it’s okay. I’ll go to the station for an interview. It’s no big deal,” Simon says, resting a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Can you give me a minute to get ready and I’ll follow you over to the station?”
“You’re not going alone,” Ethan barks. “I’m going with you and so is Zoey. We both are. We know you have nothing to do with this.”
“Thanks, Ethan. It’s not really a big deal. If it helps him with who’s doing this to Zoey, I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”
“Mr. Morrison,” Detective Simmons says, and both Ethan and Simon respond. “Simon, if you have any of your cameras with you, please bring them along. Our team would like to take a look at them.”
“So when do you draw the line?” Ethan asks, the anger intensifying with each ridiculous request of the detective. “You going to fingerprint him too? Should I call my lawyer?”
“Ethan, we interviewed a number of people including Zoey’s best friend Delaney and her coworker Elissa. We interviewed her brother Max, and you didn’t have this response. This is no different,” Detective Simmons explains, but it doesn’t matter what he says, Ethan feels like his brother is being attacked and he will defend him.
Their bond is incredibly strong given they lost their parents at a young age. It’s hard for Ethan to look at Simon as anything but someone he needs to protect.
“We’ll meet you at the station,” Simon says. “And I did bring a few cameras along. I’m happy to have you take a look at them, but please remember, they’re incredibly expensive and an essential part of my job.”
“We’ll take care not to disrupt anything,” Detective Simmons says, and Ethan lets out a loud scoff, his head falling back with a condescending laugh.
“The irony in that comment, Detective,” Ethan says, shaking his head.
Without acknowledging Ethan’s comment, Detective Simmons heads toward the front door, reminding us to meet him at the station.
CHAPTER25
ETHAN
Istalk over and slam the front door shut behind Detective Simmons. “Fucking hell,” I groan as I fall back against it.
My head is pounding and it’s far too early to be awake, much less having to deal with this shit. Add to that, I’m now really fucking pissed off at the idea that this useless fucking detective somehow thinks my brother has something to do with all of this.
“Bro, it’s okay,” Simon says, shoving a rough hand through his hair. He looks just as hungover and tired as I do.
“Is it?” I ask, looking at him. “Because right now it feels like fucking harassment from an incompetent idiot who can’t seem to do his fucking job.”
Zoey and Simon just look at me, Zoey with a worried look on her face, Simon almost looking like he’s trying not to laugh. Eventually he does, walking over as he says, “Man, I forgot what a grumpy asshole you are first thing in the morning.”
Zoey laughs at this, and I watch as my brother turns to her and says, “Hey, so take two. Yes, it’s great to finally meet the woman who has my brother all smitten and shit. Come here,” he says, his arms wide.
Zoey steps into his embrace and I watch as they hug each other warmly, forgetting for a second that this is actually the first time they’ve seen each other in person.
“Alright, alright, you can let her go now,” I say, pushing off the door as I walk toward them, pulling Zoey into my arms. “Hey, baby,” I whisper, kissing the top of her head. “You okay?”
She smiles, pushing up to give me a quick kiss. “Yes, although I’m thinking I’m nowhere near as hungover as you two.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Simon says.
I grin, wrapping her in my arms. “Is that why you’re up so early?”
She shrugs before asking, “Did you have a good night?”
