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I waited a few minutes for the sound of his steps to fade and then followed.
“Where are you going?”
“To see what he’s hiding,” I muttered, following him up the stairs. At the top was a long hall, and I spied Brian making his way down it. He got to a door at the end and reached into his pocket. Withdrawing a small key, he opened the door. So he was keeping her locked in? Good to know.
He spoke, and I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Then he stuck his hand into the room, and there was a cry of pain. I started forward. I couldn’t hold myself back.
“Is there a problem?” My voice boomed along the hall. Brian stilled and then stepped back. He muttered something under his breath, and Laura stepped onto the landing. She was wearing pajamas, tiny sleep shorts that revealed her long legs, and a small cami top that left little to the imagination. I nearly tripped over my jaw. Her mug shot hadn’t nearly done her justice, even though she had been stunning in it. She turned her tired eyes to me. Those eyes didn’t look like twenty-one-year-old’s eyes. They were world-weary and jaded all at once, and it felt wrong to see them. All my protective instincts rushed to the surface again, like they seemed determined to do around this woman.
“No, no problem. Laura likes to sleep in.” Brian chuckled.
“There’s no need to lock her in her room unless she’s thinking of running, right, Laura?” I looked at her. She met my gaze for a long moment and then blinked away, shrugging.
“Yes, well, like you said, considering what she’s accused of, it makes sense to take precautions,” Brian muttered. I’d only said that to goad him into letting us get eyes in the house. Did Brian Lavin really think his own family would hurt him? All the annoying unanswered questions came bubbling back up in my mind.
“Can we talk?” I turned to Laura. She tensed and waited until Brian nodded before agreeing.
“Ah, yes, Bennet, before I forget. I meant to mention that my son, Benjamin, will be returning home today. He was staying with his aunt until all of this blew over,” Brian said.
My eyebrows nearly popped off my head.“Has it blown over? His sister, who has been accused of attempted murder and made no attempt to deny it, has just been allowed home on bail. I can’t believe anyone signed off on that.”
“Well, believe it. When you have friends in the right places, nothing is impossible. My family belongs together, at home.”
Brian was resolute and arrogant, as he waved the fact that he had to have greased palms to get his son home already. Why would he bother, though? There was too much I didn’t know, and it was pissing me off.
Brian’s cell rang, and he groped his khaki pocket for it, before turning away. “I have to take this.”
I watched him disappear down the hall.
“I would never hurt Benji,” Laura whispered. I turned back to her. She was watching her stepfather, her face unreadable.
“No?”
“Never. He’s the most important thing in my life,” she murmured. “Do you have any siblings?” Her question caught me off guard.
“A younger sister.”
She nodded. “Then you know.”
“You haven’t told anyone why you hurt Doug Greyson,” I said quietly, desperate to know.
Her eyes shuttered and her gaze turned stone-like in the wake of my voice. I’d lost her.“We all get hurt, Mr. Archer. It just doesn’t always show,” she said and then turned toward her room.
My hand shot out too fast to stop it. “Have you been hurt? Did he hurt you?”
She hesitated, turning to look down at my hand. I held her gently, and she didn’t pull away.
“Why do you want to know? Do you need to know for your job, or is it just morbid curiosity about what can make a good girl snap?”
Her question robbed me of words. She was right, after all. What did I want to know? What was I going to do with the information? Why was her file and photo the last thing I had looked at last night and the first thing this morning?
“Why aren’t you telling anyone? Why hide your side of the story, I don’t get it,” I told her, evading her original question.
She laughed, a hollow, brittle sound. “There is no my side and his side. There’s only what they want you to know. You can’t save me, Mr. Archer, so don’t try. It’s a waste of time,” she muttered. Her eyes finally met mine. I swallowed a hot knot of protest in my throat. Was I trying to save her? Damn right I was, if I could. It was what I did. I told myself that to convince myself that this was about simple justice, and not all about Laura Lavin specifically and the way she drew me in.
“What do I need to do to get you to call me Bennet?” I wondered, as my eyes dropped to her lips. She had a full mouth, flushed a rosy pink, even without make-up. Her slight overbite was adorable. Adorable? Ok, I needed a cold shower and to get a grip.
She’s too young for you, Bennet.Right, and she could be heading to jail.
