Chapter Twenty
Adam
––––––––
“CAN I HAVE A GLASSof water?”I stared at the vacant expressions of the two men and one woman sitting opposite me, ignoring the incessant throbbing pain growing in my head.The headache had started not long after I’d been brought into custody, beginning as a low-lying gnaw and ballooning into something more tiresome.Probably only dehydrated, I tried not to worry, but after my recent neurological issues, the pain was only another reason to be concerned.“Bitte, ein Glas Wasser.”
“Commander General, these are important questions.”The same officer who’d read me my rights pressed her lips into a thin line.“And we’d appreciate your cooperation before you reach The Hague.”
“Yes, and I’ve been answering your questions for hours.”Or, at least, the pain in my head gave that impression.
There was no way of judging time in the small box they’d kept me inside since I’d been driven to the main police station in the city.My eyes scanned the beige walls around me for the twentieth time, apparently hoping a clock had manifested on the wall, but inevitably, it had not.The ache in my head, though, told me I’d been sitting on that hard chair for a long time.
Too long.
Frowning, my thoughts returned to Caroline.
Where was she?Was she okay?
They’d said they’d brought her with us, but I hadn’t seen any evidence of that since I’d arrived.
“How did you find us?”It was one of the questions that had been pinballing around my head ever since they’d appeared at the front door.“Did someone rat us out?”
Logically, someone like Hans or Claude at the bank were the most likely candidates, yet I’d had no sense that they’d betray us.How bad had my judgment become when I hadn’t even seen that threat coming?
“I’m not at liberty to divulge that information.”She stared at me.“And really, this whole process will be easier for you if you answer my questions, Commander General.”
“Okay, but please,” I tried again, thoroughly unamused to having to beg for anything I wanted, let alone having my basic needs met.“Where is Miss Craness?Can you at least tell me if she is all right?”
The guy sitting to the officer’s left let out a long sigh.“Why the interest in Caroline Craness?Was she not your former prisoner in Great Britain?”
“Yes.”Guilt clawed at my chest with the admission.Sitting there, I couldn’t believe the things I’d put her through while following Ian’s instructions.Whatever happened to me, I’d never be able to reconcile that guilt.“She was once my prisoner, but we fell in love.”Why was I even telling them about that?As if the people sent to interrogate me gave a shit about my feelings.“I got her out of Britain.That’s why we’re both here.”
The two men opposite me exchanged a skeptical look.
“Is she okay?”I directed the question at the woman, hoping Ian’s old rhetoric about women being the more caring gender was at least grounded in some truth.
“Miss Craness is being looked after.”The officer’s chin rose as she met my eyes, but her stare was cold and dismissive.“She is no longer your concern.”
No longer your concern.
Those words flew at me and whipped me in the face.I closed my eyes at their sting, perturbed as the reality of my new situation dawned.The officer was right.As far as I was concerned, Caroline was gone.I had no jurisdiction over her anymore, no way of getting to her, of holding her, of telling her I loved her...
She was out of my life...maybe forever.
Pain echoed in the place my heart had once been, but I knew the organ wasn’t there anymore.It couldn’t be.Not when it belonged to Caroline.
