My stomach clenched, and I was glad I hadn’t eaten anything yet today because I might’ve puked it up.
Before I could reply, he laughed. “But unfortunately, I wouldn’t know how to help you with your—hypothetical.” He arched a knowing brow. “Because I’m not a killer.”
Myhands went numb as the guards announced that time was up.
I shook my head, dazed. “No. It can’t be time yet.”
But the guards were already getting him to his feet.
He smiled wider than ever before. “Perhaps we can talk again, pretty Skye.” He winked.
My lip wobbled as tears burned. I couldn’t let him win, but I couldn’t keep myself together. I wanted to say something, to ask one more question, but the officers had already turned him around. The next thing I knew, they ushered him out of the same metal door he had come through.
And then he was gone.
19
Fox
Myknucklesblanchedwhitearound the steering wheel. My jaw ached from clenching down hard as rain pelted the windshield. Tension crackled through the small space, and I was very aware of how close Skye sat in the passenger seat.
She hadn’t spoken much since she was in a room with a monster. Alone.
We’d been driving for over an hour, headed right into a fall thunderstorm that got worse and worse the longer we were on the road.
I quickly glanced at Skye before focusing back on the road barely visible through the heavy rain. She stared straight ahead, her body tense but unmoving.
When she’d first come out of that room, I’d known something was wrong. She was so pale, her eyes wide and rimmed in red as if she held back tears.
“I don’t think I got him to say anything incriminating enough,” she’d whispered, her hands shaking.
I asked her what he’d done, but she said she needed some time to process. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it. Watching the pain in her face was agonizing when she wouldn’t let me help.
I’d known this interview wasn’t a good idea. The Shadow Stalker wouldn’t have risked something like this if he wasn’t getting anything in return. He probably needed someone to fuck around with.
But Skye saw this as an opportunity to get an exclusive that no one else had. She was willing to risk about anything for the possibility of talking to the alleged killer.
“Talk to me, Skye,” I said, for the third time. I hated feeling so helpless.
My gaze was trained on what little of the road I could see out of my windshield. We were on a state highway, but visibility through the rain combined with speeding vehicles had me even more on edge. In my periphery, Skye tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“I can’t.”
Her voice was calm, almost too much so. She sounded robotic. Another stab of worry shot through my chest.
I let out a breath. “But why?”
Worry and anger simmered beneath my skin. The thought of her being in the same vicinity as a cold-blooded killer was almost unbearable.
“I’m sorry.”
Her whispered words had me glancing over at her. Her hands were clutched tight together in her lap, and our gazes met briefly before I looked back out onto the road. I wasn’t sure if I’d seen correctly, but I was almost certain those were tears glistening in her eyes.
“You’ve done so much for me already and I’m so thankful for that.”
“Are you?” I asked, unable to decipher the truth.
“Yes,” she breathed.
