At her continued silence, the officer scowled in anger. “Matilda—”
“It’s Tilly,” she ground out. “And Ididn’tdo it. No amount of intimidation from you can make me say otherwise.” She swallowed and blinked the tears away, refusing to give this man the satisfaction of seeing her cry. “You know how stupid it sounds, right? That my father would shoot Jake, take the watch, give it back to me, then I’d put it in my drawer at work so I can hold it while Jake steps into my office?”
“Yeah, it does sound stupid.” The officer scowled. “But then, the Taylor family hasn’t really been known for their smarts.”
If she wasn’t cuffed, exhausted, and in pain, she’d slug this guy. It wasn’t like she had anything to lose, she was already being blamed for goddamnmurder.
The officer had just risen and begun to ask her another round of questions, when the door behind him opened.
The deputy turned. “I’m not finished with her, Walker. I haven’t gotten a confession.”
“What the hell are you doing here? I sent Paxley in to question her.”
“Yeah, well, I took over.”
Fury washed over Eastern’s face as he moved into the officer’s space. “That’s not your call. Get out and I’ll deal with you later.”
“I still have—”
“Get. Out.Now.”
The guy huffed, giving her one final glare before storming out of the room.
Eastern knelt down and undid her cuffs, cursing when he saw the red marks on her wrists. “Fuck. I’m so sorry. I didn’tknow he was in here. And you shouldn’t have been cuffed for questioning.”
“I said that.” She lifted a hand to massage her temple. “He didn’t care that the cuffs weren’t necessary or that they were hurting me.”
Anger darkened Eastern’s features. “I’m sorry. I should have checked on you earlier.”
She just nodded, not really having the energy for more words.
“Come on.” Gently, he helped her rise, and when she wobbled on her feet, he grabbed her elbow to steady her. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a headache and haven’t had any water since I arrived.”
Eastern cursed. “I’m gonna kill Jarrad. That’s if Kayden doesn’t kill me first.”
She frowned. “Kayden’s here?”
A part of her had wondered whether Kayden had heard about this, and what he thought about it all. Did he wonder if she was guilty like Jake had?
“Yeah, and he’s been giving me hell to get you out of here since he arrived.” Eastern led her to the kitchen, where he got her a glass of water before taking her to the waiting area.
Kayden was the first person she saw…the only person.
The second his gaze collided with hers, he was marching toward her, like a warrior with eyes only for her.
He stopped right in front of her and lifted a hand to her cheek, his other going to her hip. “Are you okay?”
“Not really.” She couldn’t even muster a lie. She was too physically and mentally exhausted, and by the look on Kayden’s face, he knew it.
His gaze trailed down her body, pausing on her wrists. He lifted her left hand and lightly grazed a thumb over the redness.When she flinched, his eyes turned black as his gaze slid over to Eastern.
“What the fuck is this?”
“I know,” Eastern said, his voice low and hard. “Another officer took over her questioning without my knowledge. I’ll deal with it.”
“You’lldealwith it? Her wrists are fucking red and raw.”
