“We’re still talking to him.”
My eyes scan the area, pausing on a closed door. He’s on the other side.
“I’ll wait.” I sit on a bench near the front door. I’m freezing. It would be warmer in my car or the cabin, but the thought of going to wait farther away doesn’t appeal to me.
Eventually the door to the second interrogation room opens, and Shane emerges.
As soon I stand, my muscles start to shiver. “I’m cold.”
He crosses the distance to me and drags me up against him, wrapping his arms around me. “Where’s her coat?”
“Everything she was wearing is evidence. We can give you a blanket.”
“Yeah, give me one.”
Moments later, he wraps me up and guides me outside to the cruiser. Time moves in fits and starts, as if I’m sleepwalking through patches of it.
Back at the cabin, my gaze travels over the cars. I drove here in Ethan’s Lexus. Shane’s Porsche is parked beside it. “Do we drive home separately?”
“Not right now. Come inside.”
Relief washes over me. It wouldn’t be safe for me to drive. I also don’t want to be separated from him yet. The world is chaos. He restores order.
As soon as the cabin door is closed, I exhale. It’s just the two of us now. Safe to talk.
Shane opens the front of the wood-burning stove and tosses some logs inside.
“They think I’m a psycho. They asked if I invited Daniel here. They wanted to know what kind of movies I like. The questions were crazy. They think I lured him here to kill him.Me.”
“They’re running down blind alleys because they’ve never seen anything like this. It’s a small department. They’re just covering their bases to be thorough.” Shane lights kindling and tosses it in.
“Are we staying here long?”
“We don’t have to.” He closes the stove’s grate. “We can stay long enough for you to take a hot shower and put on some warm clothes. Or we can stay the night and leave in the morning. We’ll do whatever you want.”
“Did I go too far?”
“When?”
“When I defended myself. They called it overkill. Saying I had a grudge or something. They kept asking about my relationship with him. I told the truth, but I don’t know…they exchanged looks as though I’d said the wrong thing. Just because he was an arrogant jerk at times doesn’t mean I would plot to kill him.”
When I look up, Shane is watching me. The quiet is unnerving.
“I didn’t do very well,” I say softly. “I should’ve cried, I think. Am I too calm?”
“No, you’re in shock. Survival mode.” His tone is reasonable. It makes sense. “Your mind is doing its job. To protect you.”
“The police—”
“Fuck the police,” he says coolly.
I blink and then glance at the door. They’re still out there somewhere, collecting evidence. Better if they don’t hear us cursing at them.
“I’m scared,” I admit.
“You don’t need to be.” His big hand squeezes my upper arm so firmly it’s almost painful, which helps. “You did everything right. There’s nothing to worry about. I promise.”
“I didn’t tell them it was your knife, or that you taught me how to defend myself. I thought they might blame you.”
