“At the hands of another untrusting, abusive man.”
“And where were you at the time?”
“I was working and saving money to leave home. I had finished up college and was determined to get out of Charlotte and away from my mother’s problems. It’s kind of funny, when you think about it.”
“How so?” Cash asked.
“I ran as far away as I could go, established myself in a career, and tried to be careful about whom I dated, and I fell for a man who lied and manipulated me, just as my mother’s boyfriends had done.”
“How did you meet Desi?”
“I met him at one of the restaurants I was working at. It was located near Fulton’s Fish Market. A really nice quaint place that just needed their menu and decor tweaked a bit. He came in with a few guys, and I was helping the manager with some of the setup when she knocked some things over. I had to smooth things over with Desi and his friends. He was older, attractive, and seemed very nice. He played me from the start I guess.”
“Didn’t you ask him what he did for a living? Once you started dating and going out together?” the commander asked.
“He said that he inherited his money. I was innocent and naive, and he was obviously manipulative and conniving. What more do you want to know? Don’t you think I felt stupid enough to stay with him, to believe his lies, to give my virginity to the man? It was a mistake. Obviously one I will live with for the rest of my life.”
“I don’t think he used you, Chastity. I think he actually cares for you. Maybe an obsession, or a need to possess you, but men like this, they don’t do commitments,” Cash told her.
“Commitments? Men like Desi, like my mother’s killer, her exes, take total control of a woman’s mind. They get you where you no longer feel like you can live without their assistance, without their permission until you can’t breathe. They slowly take the life out of you.”
“But you left him. You broke things off,” the commander said.
“I snapped out of the fog. I was so fearful that I would end up like my mother, like other women do, that I slowly started pulling back. The more space I forced, the more things I saw. Like his over drinking, and the use of his strength. I could never fight a man like Desi off. Hence my current condition. He gave me an ultimatum the other night. So you may be right, Cash. Maybe Desi really does care for me.”
“What was the ultimatum?” the commander asked.
She was silent a moment. “Give up Nash and Riker. Break things off with them, or they would die in front of me, and then I would die, too.”
“Jesus,” Cash whispered.
The tears rolled down her cheeks, as she clasped her hands on her lap.
“I may not have known or recognized the signs soon enough that indicated Desi was a batterer and a psycho, but I know the man well enough to tell you that he will do what he said. He told me that Maggie set the bombs herself. He said that she was supposed to kill both Nash and Riker, but it got screwed up. He said that Riker and Nash wanted to catch the people setting the bomb and chose their jobs over Maggie. He wants revenge. He wants them dead. You can believe whatever you want about me, but they need protection.”
“So you weren’t working for Desi? You didn’t seduce them to get close so that Desi could kill them?”
“No. I love them more than life itself. That’s why I’m going to help you catch Desi.”
“What do you mean? How?”
“You’re going to let me leave. Desi is going to come after me, and take me away. I’m going to tell him that I broke things off with Riker and Nash, and that they said they only cared about finding the person behind the huge drug operation. He’ll believe me, and hopefully, bring me in on what’s going on.”
“We’re not using you,” Cash stated firmly, but the commander leaned back into his chair. She could tell that he wanted to cat
ch this guy. He wanted this case solved, and he didn’t care how he did it.
Nash knew that they made her feel like nothing had been worth fighting for in her life until now. Until them. But since they didn’t believe her anyway, Chastity probably didn’t care if she lived or died. She could help end this case and bring them justice and the truth.
“It’s not your choice, Cash. I can get Desi out of hiding. Let’s stop wasting time and resources. Just let me walk out of here and head to my place. Do whatever it is you agents do. I don’t care. But I’m not staying here. I’m not remaining in a place where everyone, including the two men I love, stand there and wonder if I’m really who I say I am, or if I’m lying. I’m not doing it.”
* * * *
“This is what you want, Nash? You want the woman we both love to continue to go through such heartache? To give herself up as bait to prove to us that she’s the real deal? ’Cause I’m not willing to risk her life. Desi will fucking kill her. She’s not lying. I’m telling you that she has nothing to do with Desi and the operation. Let the others figure the shit out, and let’s take care of Chastity,” Riker stated to his brother, raising his voice.
Nash just stared at Riker, and Riker wanted to shake some sense into him. Hadn’t he heard her words? Hadn’t he felt her pain?
“What do we have to lose? Our lives? So fucking what. I don’t care. None of it matters. Not the club, not our money, nothing matters but Chastity and having her in our lives, in our bed forever.”