“Anything I say can and will be used against me in a court of law,” Daniel snapped, cutting him off. “It’s me, Jake. Talk to me like a human being. Talk to me like the man you’ve known for five years.”
A tense moment passed between the two men, a flicker of something barely checked in each of their eyes, and then Jake said, “If I had any other choice, I’d take it, brother. My hand to God.”
All of the outrage Daniel hadn’t let himself feel, all of the resentment and anger he’d shoved deep down somewhere beneath his heart broke over him now in one terrible wave, and his fury outgrew him as he glowered at the man who had come bearing a warrant for his arrest.
“Don’t.” His voice was hard as iron behind gritted teeth. “For once in your life, Jake, don’t. God has nothing to do with this.”
Jake leaned in until their noses were an inch apart. “There’s an easy way to do this and a hard way. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I won’t use force if I have to. I swear to you I will.”
There was a click at his waist, and Daniel looked down, eyes narrowing at the firearm Jake had silently removed from his holster.
Slowly, he looked into Jake’s face again.
“Why don’t you ask me outright if I murdered Jamie,” he said, voice deadly calm. “Go on, ask. Would it kill you to have a conversation without handcuffs or guns, or are you that afraid of what might happen without them?”
Jake’s entire body stiffened, and anger the likes of which Daniel had never seen in his friend’s eyes burned there now.
“Ask?” Jake shot back. “And then what, you’ll tell me thetruth? Just like you’ve been telling me the truth all these years, Nico?”
The name was a slap across the face—swift and painful—and Daniel made a decision he knew was wrong, shifting where he stood, moving his foot to nudge the door open wide and give Jake a clear look at what was inside.
Jake’s gaze slid past him and caught Annie where she stood in the living room, wearing Daniel’s underwear and T-shirt. A brief flicker of confusion crossed his face, then something like distress. Behind Daniel the floor creaked as Annie took a step forward.
“Jake…” she said quietly, “I can explain.”
But Jake’s face had hardened, and he turned away, his blue eyes burning as they found Daniel’s again.
“Since you already know your rights, it’s time to go.”
Without waiting for a response, Jake closed his fingers around Daniel’s wrist and yanked him out of the doorway, pushing him into the clearing, where he wedged the cold barrel of the gun between his shoulder blades.
Daniel stumbled forward, feet scuffing on the gravel.
He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t prepared to say his farewell to this place, but farewell was upon him now. This was the last time he would see his home. The last time he would ever be beside the lake or hear the wind in the pines, but when he turned to look back over his shoulder, there was only one thing he latched on to.
As Jake led him away to meet his fate, Daniel held fast to the sight of the woman standing in the doorway.
Chapter 36ANNIE
It was the hottest morning of the summer by far, and the sunlight was bright and glaring. It blazed down over the pines behind the community pool and burned through the windshield of the Jeep, where Annie sat with her hands twisting in her lap.
No breath of wind stirred the tree boughs, no clouds broke the endlessly blue sky, and the temperature inside the car was close to smothering as she waited, the parking lot filling slowly around her with pool patrons eager to escape the heat.
Annie glanced at her watch for the dozenth time. She’d been sitting here for an hour and a half, and it was nearing ten in the morning, but the man she was waiting for had not yet arrived to work.
She needed to get to the station. Needed to clear the air with Jake and get their working relationship back to normal after what had happened last night. It still made her face burn to think about the state Jake had seen her in and the thoughts that must have crossed his mind in that moment, but stronger than the shame she felt was the hollow, gutted feeling of knowing Daniel was in custody.
She hadn’t gotten the straight answer she wanted from him aboutthe lighter, but there was still a chance, still a distinct possibility, that it belonged to someone else, and that Daniel honestly had nothing to do with Jamie’s death. He was still innocent until proven guilty, at least in her mind if not in Jake’s, and after a few restless hours of sleep, Annie had woken more determined than ever to see the investigation through to its end—whatever that might be.
Yes, she’d deal with the fallout with Jake as soon as possible, but first, this. Another fish to fry. A slippery little fish named Ian Ward.
At ten fifteen, a black SUV with wide, custom rims rolled into the parking lot and took the spot markedMANAGER ONLY. The driver angled the vehicle in a deliberately crooked diagonal that far overshot the painted white lines, and inside the Jeep, Annie rolled her eyes.
Definitely Ian.
Two minutes after he climbed out of the SUV and disappeared through the gate, Annie followed, rounding the pool and storming into his office without knocking. She left the door open behind her as she crossed the room and seated herself facing him at the wide, cluttered desk, enjoying the gaping astonishment on his face.
Intent on keeping him off guard, she deliberately swept aside a crumpled pile of receipts, sending several fluttering to the floor, then folded her hands on the desktop as she leveled a cool gaze in his direction.
