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The jolt of anger drained out of her. “Flock did this to Matt,” she muttered, then shook her head. No.She’ddone this to Matt. She felt sicker than she had already.
“This isn’t your fault, Fin.”
He was wrong. Finley leaned forward, braced her forearms on her knees. When she could speak again, she explained, “We found this thumb drive hidden in the undercarriage of Derrick’s truck. Matt took it to a friend who he hoped could get beyond the password lockout. And he did, but there was nothing there. Just a bunch of photos Derrick had taken of me. Maybe Flock found out somehow and started following Matt.”
How the hell did those bastards know every step she made?
She should have kept Matt out of this thing. She’d intended to, and then in a moment of weakness she had let him in.
Jack leaned forward, matched her stance. “Fin, we talked about this. We’ve gotta get beyond this business with Dempsey.”
She closed her eyes. Squeezed them tight. “How do we do that? The original three are dead now, but what do you want to bet Dempsey will have more thugs watching me? I don’t think he’s going to be moving on until he gets whatever it is he wants from me. One of the last things Brant said before his girlfriend shot him was that the only reason I was still alive is because someone wanted me that way.”
Fury and pain roared through her, each trying to outdo the other. She thought of the medicine cabinet she’d torn out of the wall ... the broken sink and the new thumb drive. She felt it in her pocket, small and yet somehow threatening.
A new and oddly calming realization settled over her. There was only one way this was ever going to be over. She had to find the truth. All of it.
And she had to get out of here ...
“I should go talk to Houser.” She stood. Her legs felt rubbery beneath her. She wasn’t telling Jack about the thumb drive. She wasn’ttelling anyone. She would find a way to open it on her own. “Text me if there’s an update on Matt.”
Jack didn’t bother trying to stop her. He knew better than to waste his breath.
Finley felt as if her movements were more out-of-body experience than her actually walking along the sterile white corridor. Derrick was dead. The bastards who’d invaded their homethatnight were dead. But other people had been caught up in this too. Detective Houser. Whitney Lemm. Matt. Jesus Christ. Matt.
She had to make it stop.
She reached the elevators and pushed the call button. This should have ended afterthatnight. She shouldn’t have stopped until those three bastards had been arrested, gone to trial, and been properly punished.
The elevator opened, and there was the Judge.
“Fin,” her father said as he and the Judge stepped out. He threw his arms around Finley. “Any news on Matt?”
Finley felt her defenses crumbling. She couldn’t do this right now. She drew back and pointed in the direction from which she’d come. “The waiting room is just down there. Jack can give you an update. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She pushed past them and onto the elevator. It wasn’t until she’d stabbed the button for a floor that she realized she had no idea what floor Houser was on. As if she’d telegraphed the thought, Jack sent her a text giving her the floor and room numbers.
The elevator landed at the lobby before going back up to the floor she’d selected after Jack’s text. During the lag, Finley leaned against the wall and tried to regain her composure. She didn’t want to fall apart here. She had to get this done first.
The doors of the car opened, and as if the situation weren’t bad enough already, she stood face to face with the chief of police. His glare warned that he blamed her for what had happened to Matt and to his detective.
What was new? There wasn’t a cop in this town who liked her, except maybe Houser. But in this case, damn it, there was plenty of blame to go around. How did a man like Carson Dempsey climb to his current pinnacle without being caught?
The elevator doors slid closed. The silence was thick as the car climbed upward. The chief was apparently headed to the same destination.Can you sayawkward?
When the elevator stopped on Matt’s floor, she was grateful the chief exited. She rode onward and got out at the next stop. Houser’s floor.
The uniformed officer stationed outside the room announced where she would find Houser even if she hadn’t known the room number.
At the door the uni blocked her path. “I’m afraid this room is off limits to visitors.”
“Can you tell Houser that O’Sullivan is here? I think he’ll want to see me.”
The uni went into the room to convey the message. Even through the closed door, she heard Houser’s “hell yes” response, which lifted her spirits the tiniest bit.
The uni stepped back into the corridor and allowed her into the room.
Finley braced herself and walked in.
