Bang.
Angie dropped to the ground.
Scarlette screamed.
The police pulled up and surrounded us with their guns drawn. One ran to Angie while another approached me. A third reached Scarlette as I put my gun down and my hands above my head. “You’ll find my gun on the ground and another in the console of my truck.”
“She’s dead, sir,” one of the officers said.
Scarlette sat in the truck as the officer spoke to her. I could just make out her unsteady voice as she recounted the events.
I looked over my shoulder. “May I go to my girlfriend?”
“After you tell us what happened.”
Irritation bloomed inside me, but I knew it wouldn’t any good. So I recounted the events as the officers took notes. My phone call to the police reporting this incident was on record. I also had my video surveillance. Right now, I had to get through this red tape. Scarlette looked lost, and it made me more anxious.
“Can I see Scarlette?”
The prick stared at me for a second, knowing he had the power in this situation. “Yes, Mr. Thomas, you can go to Ms. Noelle now.”
Without a response, I walked over to Scarlette and took her into my arms. She began to sob.
“Shh… I’ve got you.”
She grabbed on to me tighter. “Is sh-she dead?” I nodded, and she let out another sob. “She killed herself.”
“I know, sweetheart. It’s not how I wanted things to end.”
Fuck.
Scarlette’s small frame shook. One of the police officers approached us. “We’ll need you to come to the precinct and sign official statements now. Officer Faust will escort you. And, of course, you’ll need to stay in the area.”
“Of course,” I responded.
I held Scarlette closer to me and whispered into her ear, “We need to go to the station first. Okay?”
“Okay.” Her broken voice nearly tore me to shreds.
“I’ll follow you to the station.”
The prick only nodded. Asshole. I knew the type—large ego, wanted to make his mark. I couldn’t stand them when I was in the Marines, and I loathed them even more now.
I walked away, trying to keep my senses about me. I doubted anything would happen, but I didn’t know these guys. Trust was earned, not assumed. I placed Scarlette in the passenger seat and buckled her in.
I put the truck in gear and drove out of there. Scarlette looked out the window as tears streamed down her face. A police car followed us.
She glanced my way, and I saw the devastation. Shit. I was calloused to death after having taken so many lives myself. She wasn’t. Double shit.
Scarlette sat silently beside me with her shoulders drawn in. On the drive, I kept trying to talk to Scarlette, but she only nodded or gave one-word answers. I had to make this right.
Please don’t give up on us. Please.
5
Scarlette
Austin was holding me, and the warmth of his chest was comforting. There was something terrible ho