Page 23 of Carnival

Rose

“I don’t know!”

I scream out in frustration, my breathing heavy. My hands are fisted on my lap, and I’m pretty sure I look like shit — hair messy, bags under my eyes, with the stupid apron still wrapped around my waist.

It’s been seven hours since James got arrested and seven hours since I got taken in for questioning. I’m no law student, but I’m almost certain they’re not doing everything by the book. They’re quite literally not allowing me to get an attorney, and I’m pissed.

“Miss Ashford,’’ Agent Knightly presses, his lips thinned into a line. “You’re his girlfriend. You’re really trying to convince me that you didn’t know your boyfriend is a serial killer? You never, not even once, suspected anything?”

“For the last time,’’ I groan, leaning back in the uncomfortable chair, exasperated already. “He isn’t my boyfriend!”

“He was arrested in your apartment, Miss Ashford,’’ he grinds his teeth, leaning forward. I’m honestly quite glad to see that I’m not the only one suffering here and getting angrier by the second. “Stop lying to me and tell me what I want to know.’’

This time, he doesn’t raise his voice, and I can’t say I’m not a little scared.

I’ve never had trouble with the law before, and for my first time to be…

well, this is making me anxious. The other agent in the interrogation room is a woman, seemingly in her mid-thirties, casually leaning against the wall behind Agent Knightly.

I didn’t expect the FBI to be looking for James or that they’d be involved in this.

As time passes, painfully slow, I’m struggling. Knightly is pressing me, knowing which buttons to push, and the fact that his partner, Agent Davis, hasn’t said a word is grating my nerves. She’s just observing me, profiling me, and I’m failing the test miserably.

When he mentions New Orleans, the blood in my veins freezes. He must’ve noticed the brief moment of my expression falling apart before I managed to mask it back to a stoic one, because a low smirk tugs on his lips.

I swallow thickly, suddenly feeling very claustrophobic. I wasn’t allowed a phone call, a lawyer, or even a glass of water in the past seven hours. I’m starting to panic, because outside of my apartment were Hudson’s men.

If he cannot get to me, it means something is very fucking fishy, and I’m scared.

The look on James’ face when he was put in handcuffs continues to replay in my mind, right behind my eyes. It will haunt me for as long as I’m alive. He didn’t care that they forcefully pushed him to the ground and put shackles on him as if he were an animal — no, his eyes were on me.

Any trace of vulnerability that he’d displayed for the past two weeks was suddenly gone, and I could see his walls building back up, but this time, they were made out of iron. The look of pure hatred on his face, the look of betrayal, and perhaps a look of disappointment.

He didn’t say a word, and once they started ushering him out, he didn’t even turn to look at me. My heart clenches at the vivid image of this morning, and I’m struggling to keep it all in. I wasn’t the one who turned him in; I’d never do that, but at this point, I’ll never be able to prove it.

“Two people can simply be friends,’’ I scoff. “It doesn’t automatically mean we’re dating.’’

Agent Knightly slams his fist on the table that’s separating us, but I don’t flinch. I don’t even look at his fisted hand and keep my eyes on his face instead. He’s definitely getting more and more furious as seconds tick by, but I can’t show him fear, or he’ll swallow me whole.

“I didn’t want to do this,’’ he says, then takes a deep breath, as if to steel himself, before pulling out his phone. He taps on the device a couple of times, then puts it on the table and pushes it toward me.

My eyes flick down at the screen, and my heart sinks. A wave of nausea builds in my throat, and I try my best to swallow it down. It’s not the feeling I felt when I watched videos of James killing people. This one shouldn’t even exist.

It’s the carnival from two years ago… the part when James and I had sex for the first time.

There weren’t supposed to be any cameras there, and I don’t think James would’ve lied about that.

Meaning, he was unaware of them, and it’s from different angles, too.

I try my best not to make any sort of reaction to the video, but my hands start trembling on my lap as I watch the video, reliving the memory.

“What about this?” I lift my eyes up and meet his dark ones.

“This is proof of you being sexually involved with him.’’

My eyes dip down to the video again, and a small smile tugs on my lips as I tap my index finger on the table.

“My birthday is on October 31st,’’ I state.

“And?” He blinks.

“This was recorded on October 30th at ten p.m., two years ago. Meaning, you have a sex tape of a minor on your phone.’’

His brows narrow, jaw clenching. “That’s not—’’

“I don’t care,’’ I interrupt. “You know damn well you can’t use this in court, because if you do, the first thing my attorney will do is question why you were watching a minor having sex.’’

He opens his mouth to protest, but the door opens, and the biggest sigh of relief slips from me. Niko, Noelle’s younger brother, enters the interrogation room, dressed in a professional suit, with a briefcase and a stern look on his face.

“Who the hell are you?” Agent Knightly rises to his feet, and even his partner pushes off the wall, her hand on her gun.

“Nikolas De Santis,’’ he pulls out a business card and slides it over the table. “Her attorney. Let’s go, Rosalie.’’

I don’t waste a second as I stand up, my back cracking from sitting in the same spot for seven hours.

“You cannot take her away.’’

Niko stops in his tracks, then comes to stand by my side.

He pushes my hair behind my shoulder and flicks my earring.

“I can. These are recorders. If we listen to it and find out you denied her the right of an attorney, anything she said here will be inadmissible in court. Unless you have solid evidence of her involvement in the murders or anything that proves she knew that James Maddox had been committing those murders, we’re done here. ’’

He urges me out of the room; Agent Knightly’s voice follows behind me as he promises that this isn’t over. It’s as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and for a moment, as we leave the police station, with everyone staring at us, I’m grateful Niko isn’t speaking much.

“Are you alright?” He asks once we’re in his car, and I slump in the passenger's seat.

“No,’’ I admit. “By the way, these earrings were thrifted.’’

Niko snorts. “He doesn’t know that.’’

“But what if he starts questioning it?”

“Rose, listen to me,’’ Niko takes a quick glance at me before his attention is back on the road in front of him. “You will never, and I mean never, be in that court. It doesn’t matter if he starts questioning it; nothing will ever come of it.’’

I take a deep breath. “Alright. Thank you for coming, Niko. But you people sure took your time.’’

He groans. “I’m so fucking sorry. It took our men a while to give me an actual profile as an attorney, to put me in the system, and to make it seem believable. Noelle is worried sick, and Aria’s ready to kill people.’’

“This situation is very shitty.’’

“It is,’’ he says, and once I spot the familiar neighborhood of Noelle and Hudson’s home, my defenses crumble entirely. I’m happy to be home, and I can’t wait to be inside of the walls that have always made me feel safer than anything.

The front door opens before I even leave the car, and before I know it, I’m roughly being yanked out of the car and pulled into a bone-crushing hug. The familiar scent of lilies calms my nerves more, and Noelle’s hands wrap around me like a shield.

I return the hug, and I don’t even understand what she’s saying. I can only feel the warmth of her body, the reassurance of her hug.

Noelle makes distance between us. “Are you okay, Rosie?”

Her soft voice causes a small smile to break on my face. “I’m better now.’’

Niko follows behind us as we enter the manor, and in the living room is Aria, pacing around before she sees me and comes to a halt. Immediately, she’s inspecting me for any sort of injuries, making sure I’m okay.

Blair and Arlo are sitting on the couch, and I can see the relief on their faces.

“Sit,’’ Arlo motions toward the empty armchair. “We need to talk.’’

“Let her breathe, Arlo,’’ Aria hisses.

“I can’t,’’ he gives her a pointed look. “The sooner we know everything, the better,’’ his eyes then flick to mine. “Tell me everything, and don’t miss a detail.’’

Blair takes one of my hands in hers, rubbing soothing circles on the back of my palm, not saying a word.

This sweet woman has suffered through so much, yet she’s here, offering me support in the softest way she knows.

It gives me the encouragement I need to start talking, mainly looking at my feet.

No one interrupts, and before I know it, I’ve told them everything that happened from the moment I woke up this morning to the moment Niko came for me at the station.

“You have no idea who sent you the tapes?” Noelle asks, her tone serious.

I shake my head. “No. If I had to guess, it’d probably be someone from the organization. James said he just… stopped working for them, and I don’t think they took that announcement well.’’

“They wanted him out,’’ Arlo sighs. “I don’t know why they involved you, though.’’

“If they know of his obsession with Rose, then it’s possible they wanted to sever the ties between the two of them. James is unpredictable, at best. If he thinks that Rose betrayed him, he might be more inclined to work for them again,’’ Blair adds.

“Then why send him to jail?” Aria asks, handing me a glass of water, and I drink it all down as if I hadn’t had water in ages.

“Because they’re not sure,’’ Noelle speaks.

“As you said, he is unpredictable. If he thinks Rose betrayed him, he’ll either become more obsessed with her or want her dead, and they didn’t know which one it’ll end up being.

Him being in prison is their safety net, and they’ll probably easily get him out. ’’

“So what now?” I glance around the room. “What happens now? To James? To me?”

No one says a word, because they have no idea what happens next. The front door opens, and Hudson comes in, a weary expression on his face. A hint of relaxation flashes in his eyes when they set on me.

“Dad,’’ Aria speaks, somewhat reluctantly. “What happened?”

“I’ve pulled all connections I possibly could, and what happened to you today, Rose, will not go unpunished, I promise.’’

I smile. “Thank you. What about James, though? I’m assuming he’ll need a hell of a lawyer.’’

Hudson and Noelle lock eyes, and no one utters a word. The matriarch and patriarch of the De Santis family are having a silent conversation, one no one dares to interrupt. Noelle ends up nodding, as if understanding the mere look in his eyes.

Hudson’s eyes flick back to me.

“There’s no need for a lawyer.’’

“What?”

He pauses, and for the first time since I’ve met Hudson, something similar to hesitation is on his face.

“There’s no need for a lawyer because… there won’t be a trial. James is being transferred to the prison as we speak. A life sentence, and the DA is trying to push for a death sentence. Most likely, he’s on Vivian’s payroll.’’

Hudson continues to speak, but I’m no longer listening — I cannot focus on anything else.

No trial.

On his way to prison.

Death sentence.

For the first time today, I break down. I can’t control the tears that start rolling down my cheeks, the uncontrollable sobs, or the way my heart shatters into a million pieces. In the midst of all this, I never would have anticipated it.

They want James dead.

And if they succeed, he’ll die thinking I betrayed him.

The kind of guilt I’ll never be able to live with.