Page 54 of Carver’s Crusade

“Because the worst happens. I didn’t think you believed me before, so I didn’t trust that you’d believe me this time. Besides, I would have had to explain why I was following Tony, which would have meant admitting that I remembered more about the night behind his gym. I didn’t know if I could trust the cops. Or you.”

The words crack out harsher than I mean them to.

Silence slams into the room again.

I fold my arms tight across my chest, trying to hold myself together. “I couldn’t risk it.”

Shield stares at me. “Risk what?”

“Getting blamed.” My throat feels raw suddenly. “Getting arrested while Tony walks away clean because he knows how to lie better than I do.”

Carver shifts slightly in his chair but still doesn’t interrupt.

I shake my head and look away from both of them. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see him. Guys like that always know how to turn things around.”

Shield rocks forward. “We could have arrested him. We probably would have found the drug he used on her on him.”

“Do you really think he would still have it on him? He could have come up with a lie so easily. All he had to do was deny he was taking the girl. How could I have proved it? He could have said he stopped at the bar looking for his friends and was on his way out when I attacked him. Hell, he could have accused me of being in cahoots with the person who stole his car. That would explain how I was found behind his gym. He probably has a million lies ready to unleash if he finds himself in need of one.”

Shield drags a hand over his jaw, frustration flashing across his face. “Jesus Christ, Raven. That girl could’ve died.”

“But she didn’t.” The words come out sharp. “Because I stepped in.”

“And then you disappeared.”

I flinch as if he slapped me.

For a second, nobody speaks.

Carver finally exhales and stands from his chair. “Enough.”

Shield’s eyes stay locked on mine another moment before he looks away.

The tension in the apartment doesn’t disappear, but it shifts. Loosens just enough for me to breathe again.

Carver moves toward the kitchen slowly. “Girl’s alive,” he says evenly. “That’s what matters right now.”

Shield doesn’t answer.

I can tell by the look on his face that he still thinks I should’ve called the police. He still thinks I made the wrong choice.

Maybe I did.

But the image of handcuffs snapping around my wrists while Tony smirks from the sidelines rises in my mind so vividly it makes me sick.

I stand and move to the window to stare outside.

The silence after Shield’s accusation sits heavy in my apartment, thick enough to choke on.

Then Carver breaks the tension.

“Question is,” he says slowly, “why the hell was Tony there alone?”

I look up.

Shield’s attention shifts toward him, irritation easing slightly from his face.

Carver leans against the counter now, thoughtful instead of angry. “Think about it. Why did Tony meet up with his friends only to go to a bar alone? That doesn’t make sense.”