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“I'm nervous because I've never been arrested before.” Fiddling with my fingers, I stared right at him, doing my best to remove the emotions that were running rampant. “So yeah, this is making me a little uncomfortable. It doesn't help that you assholes didn't let me get dressed and gave me this shitty jumpsuit to wear instead.” Plucking my shoulder, I let the fabric drop back onto my skin as I arched a distasteful brow. “And maybe it would help if you told me why you're so interested in that family you brought up. They're all adults, don't adults have the right to be missing if they want to?”

I had been afraid that they found out what happened with Antoine and his family. But the detective didn't say anything about this being a murder investigation, and I figured he definitely would have if that was the case. He kept referring to it as a disappearance. He hadn't spoken of finding water logged bodies or gun casings in the sand.

Luckily, I wasn't naive or a rambler. I was going to wait for him to give up the reason, not feed him information he might not know.

But this was something else, something different. He was far too relaxed for this to be about murder. Maybe it was about the truck they stole last year or the money that Nick had me launder through the bar.

Either way, he didn't have enough to charge anyone, let alone me. Because if he did, we'd all be behind bars right now and he wouldn't be sitting here fishing for information on me.

“Look, you're not under arrest. We read you your rights because we have to, and we put cuffs on you for our own safety. You were a bit wild back there, we had to be cautious.”

“If I'm not under arrest, then I want to leave. You can't hold me here if I don't want to stay.”

“Okay, alright, I get it.” Letting out an audible exhale, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I just want to know who you are. There's no record of a Cyprus Rottera anywhere. You obviously came from somewhere. I'm just trying to sort this all out.”

“And I'm trying to figure out why you thought you had the right to come storming into our home the way you did.”

“Well,” he said, sucking air in through thin lips. “If what we think is true, Nicholi and Birch are going to be put away for a long time. People talk and secrets don't stay buried forever. So if you want to help them, you can start by telling me where you came from. The sooner you tell me, the sooner you can get out of here. I'm just trying to help, that's it.”

Bullshit. Trying to help? He's trying to get me to talk.

“What kind of shit? You need to give me more than that.”

“Well for starters, we've been keeping a close eye on Nick for years. Never really had much until recently. It turns out he was pretty close to the men we're looking for.” Resting his head on his hand, he smiled smugly. “Now it's your turn. Who are you?”

I sat in silence. How could I even give him an answer when I didn't know myself. If they had done their job to begin with, we wouldn't be sitting here wondering what name I was born with.

The two of us glared at each other, neither one ready to break the silence. My loyalty wasn't with the police, it was with my family. I would do anything to protect them and they would do the same for me.

That's how this worked, that was the binding holding it all together.

“Do you really know the people you're living with?” he asked, tilting his head a hair. “Do you have any idea?”

“I do. And I know that what you think of them is wrong. You see bad people doing bad things, I see the family that has taken care of me and provided for me. Bad people don't do that.”

“Cared for you?” His eyes flirted with mine, leaving me to wonder what the hell he was thinking. “I hate to burst the little bubble you're living in, but bad people do a lot of shit, even when it seems good. There's always a layer of selfishness built inside. I can guarantee it's no different right now.”

A knock at the door cut through the air, forcing the banter between us to stop.

An older woman with gray hair poked her head in, her face sullen and concerned. “I'm sorry to interrupt, Sir, but Detective French needs you for a minute.”

Nodding, Jones grabbed his notebook and pen, and stood up. “I'll be back. Take this time to think about what you want. Do you want to spend time behind bars for these assholes? Or do you want to be free to live your life? It's up to you.”

Holding the door in his hand, he gave me one last look over his shoulder and stepped outside the room.

Why should I have to chose?

Dropping my head to the table, I wasn't sure what the hell I should do. A piece of me wanted to tell him the truth, to tell him that he was asking me a question I didn't have an answer for.

I wanted to tell him how this family had found me and taken care of me for all these years. I wanted him to know that I owed them my life and that without them, I'd probably be dead.

But why should I? Why did he deserve the pleasure of listening to me spill the deep dark secret I was holding inside?

Shouldn't he know this already? Shouldn't there be a record of me in their system from all those years ago?

The thought made me pause, it chipped away at my brain, making me question why he wasn't already aware that I was the girl Nick had found.

Fuck them, they never gave a shit anyway.