AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The police station is a cold and miserable place with lime-green doorframes and yellowed tiles. The interrogation room is freezing cold. I’m sure it’s on purpose. So is the humiliating full body search that a female officer executes with surgical gloves and probing fingers.
She asks me to open my mouth before pushing down my tongue. Then she instructs me to bend over and touch my toes. I die a thousand deaths as she does a thorough feel-around in all my private places.
I’m shivering from cold and embarrassment when she’s done. She tells me in a neutral tone to get dressed, watching me as I do so. Her gaze slides over me until I’ve tied my laces, her expression giving nothing away. No words are exchanged and no explanations offered. She simply grabs my arm and escorts me to another room with a metal table and two chairs. A camera that sits in the corner of the ceiling is pointed toward the table. One-sided glass forms a window in the back wall.
A guard enters and handcuffs me to the table. After securing my ankles with chains, they leave and shut the door.
For a long time, nothing happens. I’m alone, shivering with cold. I’m hurting both inside and outside. The hard seat of the wooden chair doesn’t help. I breathe in and out, trying to still my violent trembling and to simply exist without thinking, but as I’m filling my lungs with the stale air that smells of urine and bleach, the time ticks by slowly, and nobody comes.
I know what they’re doing. I know why they stripped me and searched me so thoroughly. I know why they’re letting me sit here in the cold, chained to a table and the floor. They want to break me. They’re hoping I’ll cooperate when they finally come back for me, and I understand why.
The answer is Angelo Russo.
That’s why they planted the drugs on me. I’ve been an idiot to give them my coat. It’s a hard lesson, but one I learned well. I won’t make the same stupid mistake again.
After what feels like hours, the door finally opens and the man who brought me here enters with a file in his hands. I watch him closely as he crosses the floor and takes a seat. His sympathetic look doesn’t fool me. Underneath the surface, I sense his excitement.
He opens the file and studies the piece of paper that lies on top. “Mrs. Russo.” He looks up from the paper and catches my gaze. “My name is Lieutenant Lavigne. I just got the report from the officer who searched you.” He watches me with a penetrating stare. “The report states signs of abuse.”
Not making it easy for him, I raise an eyebrow and wait.
“Marks on your body that indicate a beating,” he says after a couple of seconds.
I tilt my head. “We’ve just been married.”
“Exactly.” He drops the paper and folds his hands on the table. “That doesn’t seem very romantic.”
“Yes, well, each to his own. We have different sexual preferences, if you know what I mean. Have you never tried spanking in the bedroom?” I shrug. “I suppose that’s not your taste.”
He stares at me for a long moment before speaking again. “I’m not a fool, Mrs. Russo. I know who Angelo Russo is and where he comes from.” He leans back with a self-satisfied grin. “I also did a little search on you and where you are from. You come from a prestigious family with ties in high places. It seems very unlikely for someone of your standing to marry a person like Mr. Russo out of your own free will.”
My laugh is nervous despite the confidence I’m striving for. “I don’t think it’s your job to make assumptions. Isn’t your job gathering facts?”
He continues as if he hasn’t heard me. “I’m going to offer you a way out. Give me information on Angelo Russo, any evidence that will help me to put him away, and all your problems will be solved. When he’s behind bars, you can divorce him and go home.”
Wow. I didn’t expect him to be so direct. I suppose he has limited time. He must know Angelo is most probably trying to bail me out as we speak. Not because my husband cares about me. He just wants to make sure I don’t talk.
He crosses his arms. “It’s something to consider—your freedom.”
If only he knew. I don’t dare open my mouth. Ever. It won’t bear well for Ryan or my family who are accomplices in murder. No, I’m stuck. I’m in this marriage for better or worse, for as long as I live, and judging by the way it’s going, it’s leaning toward the worse end of the scale.
“Mrs. Russo.” He sighs. “I’m going to put Angelo Russo behind bars if it’s the last thing I do. There are only two sides in this war. You better make sure you choose the right one. Silence makes you guilty too. When the time comes to lock him away for life, you don’t want to share that sentence.”
“Is that why you planted the drugs on me?” I ask, looking straight at the camera. “So that you could drag me down here to offer me a deal?”
He only smiles. “Take a little time to think about it.” Leaning forward, he says in a tone soft enough not to be caught on the recording, “I’ll be back for you.”
The threat hangs between us, our breaths making white puffs as the words dissipate into the frigid air. The promise feels like a noose around my neck, and the rope is in Lieutenant Lavigne’s hands. Is he bluffing? I can’t get a read on him. There’s no way of telling.
Taking a business card from the pocket of his padded jacket, he pins it with a finger on the table and slides it toward me. “That’s my number. Memorize it. You can call me when you have an answer or information.” He adds in a dark tone, “Or anytime you need my help.”
I look from the card to his face. “Your help? After what you just did, what makes you think I’ll ever trust you?”
“Your husband has a reputation. Let’s just say he has an appetite for violence. You may need me sooner than you think.”
I swallow at that, because he may be right. Only, I can never turn to him for help. I can’t turn to anyone for that matter.
The door opens with a squeak. We both turn our heads that way. A tall man in a three-piece suit carrying a briefcase in his hand enters. His dark-blond hair and pale blue eyes remind me of Colin. My chest tightens at the thought of my friend and how I left him. I hope he’s all right. I wish I could check on him. I wish I could call Ryan and make sure they’re fine.
