“Why?”
“I was supposed to become his wife and bear his children.”
The detective looked disgusted. “With your uncle?”
“No. I said I was told he was my uncle. He’s not.”
“Who is he to you?”
“He was the head of the gang in our neighborhood. He protected my mother and me most of my life.”
“Did he do that with everyone?”
“I’m not sure. He started being really protective of us when I turned eleven, and he thought I was becoming pretty, so he put the word out to keep away because I was his.”
He sighed, shook his head, and wrote something down.
“Will I be charged with anything?”
Kane grabbed her hand. “No, baby. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Sienna wasn’t convinced. “What am I responsible for?”
“Absolutely nothing,” Kane said before the detective could.
She looked down at her hands and noticed for the first time how dirty they were, and she had several broken nails. She almost smiled when she thought, just like a gutter rat.
“The other dead man? What did you know about him?”
“His name was Rat. That’s all I ever knew him as. He liked to hurt people.”
“Who shot him?”
“Hector.”
“Why?”
“Because he hurt me.”
The detective’s eyebrows rose again.
“He killed one of his men because they hurt you?”
“Yes. Rat wrenched my arm behind my back, dragged me around by the hair, and then hit me in the face.”
She felt Kane tense beside her. “Detective, is that enough for now? I need to take care of my girl.”
The detective stood. “Sure, I’ll come back or call if I have any more.” He turned to Sienna and grinned. “I know someone like you. A girl who came from the slums. She had a chance at a better life and ran back to what she knew instead of taking a chance. You’ve certainly come up in the world, girl.”
It could have been designed as a compliment, but the snide way he said it made it what he meant it to be. An insult.
Draven stood suddenly and went to grab the guy.
“Not really, Detective. It felt good to pretend for a while, but we all know I belong back in the slums. Right?”
The detective didn’t get a chance to answer before Draven was maneuvering him toward the elevator.
After he was gone, it was quiet. She tried to gain what strength she had left and stood.
“If you don’t mind, I need…” She waved her hand and then walked off. She didn’t care what they thought at that moment. She just needed some time to herself.