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Needing to get it together around her, he got up from the floor and sat in the chair on the other side of the end table. “Tell me the reason you called Rocco, and why you were at the Olsen ranch.”
“First, you have to agree not to haul me in as a witness.”
“Depends on what you tell me.”
“Either you agree that this stays between us for now, off the record, or I have nothing else to say.”
Brian had made a promise to Rocco, and going into this, he knew Charlie wouldn’t make things easy. “I’m capable of coloring outside the lines, but I won’t aid and abet.”
Resting an elbow on her thigh, she pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead and stared down at her muddy sneakers. “I guess this is harder, repeating everything to you than it was telling my cousin.”
Totally understandable. Normal even. “But I need to hear it from you.”
“To see if I’m lying?” Those green eyes flashed up at him.
“When you play a game of whisper down the lane or telephone, details in the message tend to get lost.” As a former human intelligence officer, getting information from people was his specialty. Firsthand was always best.
To weed out the lies.
To dig deeper to the truth.
To read between the lines of what they didn’t want you to know.
“I was locking up USD when Haley called me.” Tension was evident in the stiffness of her neck and bone-white knuckles of her clasped hands. “She told me that Seth was going to kill her. He was beating her again.”
Frowning, Brian scooted to the edge of his seat. This was precisely what he wanted to avoid. A game of whispers. “What were her exact words?”
“He’s going to kill me. He hurt me. It’s bad.”She made a noncommittal gesture as if she wasn’t completely certain. “Then she asked me to come help her.”
“She saidhe, not Seth?”
“Yeah, so what?”
There were rumors that Haley was unfaithful. The same applied to Seth. If true, they were both cheaters. “It’s possible she was referring to a third party. Maybe a lover.”
“At her house? Beating her?” Charlie yanked down her pant leg and jumped to her feet. “She never mentioned having a lover to me.”
Most cheaters didn’t go around bragging. “Doesn’t mean it isn’t possible.” He wouldn’t sugarcoat this. “What I don’t understand,” he said, standing and striding closer to her, “is why Haley would call you instead of the police.”
“Calling the cops was useless. The lot of you stick together.” She waved an accusatory hand in his direction. “The one time she dialed 911, he had coerced her to say that she fell to explain her injuries. After those boys in blue left, he made her regret it. Most of the abuse was psychological, but not always. Many times, he left bruises and scars that I saw myself.”
Brian’s mind reeled. He had always considered Seth to be a good guy. Not an abusive jerk. Hell, Seth was not only a fellow cop, but they played tackle football together with some other guys on the force. Hung out from time to time afterward, having a few beers. Occasionally dinner. They weren’t quite friends, like he was with Rocco, but they were certainly chummy.
All things he had shared with Rocco in full disclosure. Things his buddy thought best not to tell Charlie.
“That still doesn’t explain why you,” he stated. “Surely she has family or friends. Why did Haley Olsen call you?”
No way they were BFFs. Charlie wasn’t the type to have a best friend. She was a lone wolf. Tortured and forbidding. All he wanted to do was get her to stop running. To show her that she didn’t have do it all on her own. To chase the shadows from her gaze.
Could he?
She picked up her drink, took a swig and gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I don’t know.”
He stepped toward her. “I think you do.”
A beat. A second’s hesitation. She blinked before looking away and setting her glass down with aclink. “I don’t. She shared a lot with me during training sessions at USD. It’s good to vent while you’re sweating. Maybe she felt that she could trust me to help her.”
“What would instill that degree of trust? To ask you to intervene with her husband?”
