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“Truthfully, I had nothing to do with that.”
“You expect me to believe you had nothing to do with faking your own death?”
He holds up his hands.“I don’t expect you to believe anything.Ihopeyou believe me, but I know how all of this must sound.If I were in your shoes, I’d be just as skeptical.Trust me when I say I don’t have the skills to fake my own death.I wouldn’t even know how to go about doing that.I was more than happy to stay hidden.Which is what I’ve spent the past ten years doing.”
“Then why come out of hiding now?If someone went through the trouble of making the world think you were dead, why not reap the benefits of that?”
His jaw clenches, the vein in his neck throbbing.“It was one thing for the world to think I was responsible for killing your brother.For nearly killing the princess, too.”He swallows hard, his voice heavy with anguish when he speaks again.“I can’t stand aside and let them accuse me of harming Callie.I…”
He closes his eyes in an attempt to get his emotions under control.Then he returns his determined gaze to mine.
“She’s why I came out of hiding.Why I’m risking everything.I need to get her the justice she deserves.But to do that, I need help.”He gives me a hopeful look.“Yourhelp.”
“You can’t be—”
“Believe me.If there was anyone else I could trust to do the right thing, I’d ask them.But I have no one.So I’m begging you to do the right thing and help me.”
“The right thing would be to turn you into the police.”I lift my gun.“Or put a bullet in your head.You deserve it for what you’ve done.”
His mouth warps into a crooked smile.It’s not conniving so much as it is resigned.“I think we both know you already would have done that if you didn’t have doubts of your own.You don’t strike me as the type of guy who’d break the rules without good cause.”
I part my lips, but I have no response to his assessment.
The truth is, Ihavequestioned Hayes Barlow’s involvement in Adam’s death.But that’s only because of Esme’s dreams.
As I’ve reminded myself, it was just a dream.There’s a mountain of physical evidence tying Hayes to my brother’s murder.
Even if there wasn’t, even if his storywasconvincing, I can’t help him.It’s bad enough I haven’t already called the police.The last thing I need right now is to jeopardize my future.Agreeing to help Hayes Barlow clear his name would do just that.
“You need to leave,” I tell him in an even voice.“Now.”
He doesn’t move right away, as if waiting for me to change my mind.
When several protracted seconds pass and I don’t relent, he releases a long sigh.Then he shuffles away from the window.But as he passes the desk, he pauses, grabbing a pen.I tighten my hold on my weapon, not taking any chances.
Finding a sticky note, he scribbles on it.I nearly berate him for making any changes to this room that’s been kept the same since the day my brother died, but I’m curious about what he’s writing.
Once he finishes, he places the pen in the exact place he found it, as if he knows this room has been frozen in the past.Then he walks toward me and presses the sticky note to my shirt.
“In case you change your mind.”His eyes meet mine one last time before he disappears into the hallway.
I don’t move for several seconds, listening as his footsteps retreat.It’s not until I hear the front door close that I relax, returning my weapon to its holster and peeling off the sticky note, my gaze skating over his barely legible scrawl.
I want to believe he’s guilty.That he’s responsible for my brother’s death.
And now Callie Sloane’s murder.
But if he is, why would he give me his address?
ChapterThree
Esme
A seaof photographers and reporters swarm outside the Monarch Hotel when Archie pulls up in front of it, the night sky illuminated by the constant flash from the cameras.This is the last place I want to be right now.
After the news of Callie Sloane’s death, it feels wrong to carry on with our lives as if nothing has changed.
I didn’t even know her, but the news of her passing hit me hard.
