AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Once we’re all crammed into what used to be Rocco’s office, we sit down around the desk. The detectives are sitting with their backs to the door, opposite the rest of us. And me, I’m positioned between Cain and Gray.
“So you want to speak to our princess,” Cain says, earning a glare from Gray. “That’s going to cost ya.”
Detective Nelson pinches the bridge of her nose. “Good to see you again, Cain.”
“No, it’s not,” he says, waggling his eyebrows at her. “Don’t be such a sore loser, Tania. It was years ago. Get over it.”
Steven laughs good-naturedly, but quickly tries to mask it as a cough when Tania turns her frosty glare on him.
As the three of them discuss an old case, one where Cain was a suspect who managed to dance around them until they gave up, I sag in my seat. The longer it takes for them to tell me why they want to talk to me, the more nervous I become.
“Why are you here?” I ask, interrupting them, not willing to wait any longer before I get some answers.
Steven clears his throat. “We wanted to see for ourselves that you’re safe, Zoe.”
“The fuck,” Gray mumbles.
“Why?” I ask. “What’s my safety to you?”
I wait with bated breath as Tania opens her briefcase and pulls some documents from it. “Have a look at these.”
Curiosity drives me to take the pictures she’s pushing across the table, and when I hold them in front of my face, I gasp in surprise. They’re of dad in our lawyer’s office, which I guess isn’t so weird. But what immediately catches my attention is the date and time stamp in the top left corner.
As I flick through each picture, it shows dad there at least once a week for the month leading up to the attack that brutally ripped my mom and sister from this world.
“Why are you frowning, Zoe?” Tania asks in an annoyingly knowing tone.
This woman seriously gets on my nerves.
“Because you’re showing me pictures of my dad with no context,” I deadpan.
Gray takes the pictures from my hand and throws them back on the table. “If you’re just here to waste our time, this meeting ends here,” he thunders, pushing his chair back as he stands.
“Tania,” Steven says, sounding like she’s trying his patience as well. “Let’s not play games.”
Shrugging, she leans back in her chair and crosses one leg over the other. “I’m not playing any games,” she replies. “I merely wondered why Zoe was frowning.” Turning her head back to me, she cocks an eyebrow. “Maybe I should ask your dad instead. Do you know where he is?”
My body practically vibrates with anger, and my breath comes out in short, angry puffs. Red coats my vision as she casually talks about my dad like he’s… like we’re… like he didn’t discard his entire family for a biker whore.
I’m not aware I’m out of my chair until I’m crawling across the table, headed straight for the woman across from me. “You know what I wonder?” I seethe, ignoring Gray’s hand on my calf. “I wonder why you’re so fucking insecure you have to play mind-games to get what you want—”
“I’m not—”
“And,” I say louder, not letting her interrupt me. “I wonder why the fuck you have nothing better to do than to come harass me.”
Gray lets out a string of curses while Cain laughs, like this is the best entertainment ever. “If you want to punch her, go for it,” he says.
Letting go of my leg, Gray echoes the sentiment. “Want me to hold her for you, Princess?”
I don’t need to look at him to know he’s serious—that they both are. But that’s not at all what I want. Okay, so maybe a small part of me would love nothing more than to wipe the arrogance from her face.
“Maybe another time,” I say. Then I return to my seat as gracefully as possible. This time I take Gray’s hand into mine, letting the touch soothe my frazzled nerves.
Fuck, I can’t just go nuclear because I don’t like the woman’s attitude.
It’s barely noticeable, but Steven discreetly shifts his chair so he’s no longer sitting so close to his partner. I wonder if that’s on purpose or if he just needed to move.
“We didn’t come here to play games, Zoe,” he says. “We really were worried about you, but we also have some questions.”
