Letterman nodded. “So, enlighten me.” He looked down at his notes. “Your neighbors say you two live here alone. How do two girls afford such a nice place? That money must come from somewhere.”
My eyes widened at the implication in his voice when the room began to spin again.
He thought we were whores.
Ones who deserved to get killed overdrugs?
“Get out.” The words left my mouth before they even registered in my brain.
Letterman remained seated, but his nonchalant demeanor turned frigid. “What did you—”
“Get the fuck out of my house!” I tried to shove past Cooper, but he held out an arm, refraining from grabbing me and making matters worse.
“You realize I can detain you, right?” Letterman’s threat was as weak as he was fucking ugly. He was lucky Detective Cooper chose that moment to seize my hand and pull me behind him.
“Letterman, that’s enough,” he snarled. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Letterman rolled his eyes at his partner but stood, pushing the chair back. “Fine. But we need answers, Cooper. And this isn’t getting us anywhere. Handle this.”
He cursed as he stepped around the puddle from my spilled drink and stalked away.
Cooper turned to me, his eyes soft with apology. “He’s under a lot of pressure. There’s been an increase in gang wars, and we need to be certain…”
His moving lips went in and out of focus as a cold sweat broke out across my skin. My heart galloped in a frenzy, like itwas trying to break free of my ribcage. I wanted nothing more than to be on the cold tile floor. Curled up in a pitiful ball.
I took a deep breath, desperate to calm the anger inside my chest. The fear. The overwhelming loneliness. But the claws of panic crept up my spine. It would consume me.
Dad, Mom, Toya. There’d be no one left.
Another deep breath.Snap out of it.I shook my head.Dad would’ve known what to do.I clenched my fists.What do I do?I dug my nails into my palms, using the sharp pain to try and keep myself grounded.
But it was the detective’s resonating voice that yanked me from the edge.
“Miss Sullivan.” He repeated my name, though given the way his shoulders relaxed, he knew he’d already pulled me from being stuck inside my head.
I blinked a few times, re-acclimatizing my eyes to the bright overhead lights.
Cooper and I were alone again. It seemed the gawking officers had returned to their jobs, looking for clues about whotookmy sister…
Because she was still alive. She had to be.
“Miss Sullivan,” he said again, “perhaps you should sit.”
“No,” I said, my voice hard. I walked over to the paper towel roll on the counter and pulled it from its holder. “My sister is missing… and your asshole partner said that to find her, I need to answer your questions.” I got on my knees, tucking a box braid behind my ear before swiping at the embarrassing tears staining my cheeks. “So, ask.”
Cooper’s face went through a series of emotions. Pity was the first of them, but it was a look resembling pride that quelled my anger. And his squatting down in front of me had me confused—until he reached out a hand for the paper towels. “Okay, Miss Sullivan, we’ll begin after this.”
I passed him the roll with a nod. “Call me Joey,” I muttered, staring at the puddle on the floor. “I don’t like people calling me Miss Sullivan.”
Detective Cooper looked up from ripping off a few sheets and offered a small, reassuring smile. “Alright, Joey… And you can call me James.”
Chapter One
Joanna
Istared at the phone in my hands, reading the text from James for the twentieth time.
We need to talk about your sister, Joey.
