“Stop.” The word exploded from my mouth, loud enough to make all three men freeze. “Everyone, stop talking. Now.”
The men stared at me. Waiting.
“Every word spoken in this room from this moment forwardbecomes a matter of criminal record.” I kept my voice steady, professional, even as my heart hammered against my ribs. “I don’t know what happened tonight, but if I have any hope of protecting her, I need to contain this.” I turned to the others. “Jace, Axel? Out. Now.”
“Are you serious?” Jace’s face darkened. “You know we’d never?—”
“I know you won’t intentionally hurt her.” The lawyer in me had taken over. “But I’m a criminal defense attorney, and you need to trust me. The best way you can protect her is by leaving. Now get out. Don’t make me say it again.”
Jace and Axel exchanged a loaded look. These men had vowed to be here for all of us, no matter what. We never turned our backs on family, and Faith was family now. But they didn’t understand the domino effect their presence could create. Down the road, they would be questioned. Under oath. About every word, every movement, every piece of physical evidence they were witness to.
“Call us if you need anything.” Jace’s jaw clenched as he and Axel headed for the door.
The second they left, I settled Faith into one of our abandoned poker chairs. Her hand caught my shirt as I pulled back, fingers tangling weakly in the material.
“It’s okay,” I murmured, just for her. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Blake moved toward her, reaching for a fresh stream of blood trickling down her neck.
“Blake.” My warning came out sharp. “Don’t touch her. You need to leave too.”
“Fuck that. She’s bleeding.”
“We don’t know whose blood that is.” I motioned toward the blood on the opposite side of her dress.
“I’m checking her injuries?—”
“You’re contaminating evidence.”
“She has a head wound,” Blake announced, hisfingers already threading through her hair, medical instincts overriding common sense.
“Blake, stop.”
“You know how serious head trauma can be?”
“You’re mixing DNA. Imprinting yourself into a potential criminal investigation.” I kept my voice level, but inside, I was counting every second we were wasting. “You’re making yourself a witness instead of letting me handle this.”
I knew that the guilt of being separated from his sister in the foster care system was like shrapnel in Blake’s chest. He’d spent years wondering what horrors his little sister had faced alone.
But alone was what I needed right now.
“Blake, I need to ask your sister questions, and you cannot be present for her answers.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Yes, you are.”
“She needs medical attention?—”
“Do you believe her wounds are life-threatening?” I challenged, my voice going cold and precise. “Right now, this second, is she dying?”
Blake’s jaw clenched. “She has head trauma?—”
“Is. She. Dying?”
“No, but?—”
“Then back off.” I moved between him and Faith. “Because I have minutes, Blake. Minutes to establish her mental state, to preserve her statement, to control this scene before cops arrive.” I knew this was bad.
