Page 46 of State of Retribution (First Family #9)
“It was horrific. The city was on edge, and we were working around the clock to stop it before more people were killed.” He took a deep breath and tried to find the courage to continue, to tell her what she needed to know, to ruin the best thing to ever happen to him before it ever had the chance to truly begin.
“Sam led the investigation. They were looking for people with the marksmanship abilities to hit the targets from a moving car, like this person was doing.
That included investigating people within our department with that capability since it's very specialized.”
Archie stepped back from her and went to pour himself a glass of cold water. After taking a drink, he said, “They now think one of the officers we investigated is tied to your case and several others.”
“Why would he care about me?”
He forced himself to look directly at her. “Because I’d started to care about you.”
She shook her head. “Wait… So this happened to me because…”
Grimacing, he said, “He wanted revenge for me helping prove he was off having an affair when he was supposed to be at a conference. He wasn’t the sniper we were looking for, but he lost his rank, his wife and his six kids because Sam and I caught him in a lie.”
She crossed her arms as if she needed to protect herself. “I feel a little lightheaded all of a sudden.”
Archie moved quickly to put his arms around her and carefully guided her back to the sofa. He sat next to her but gave her room to breathe. “If you want to leave, I’ll take you anywhere you wish to go.”
“Do you know for sure it was him?”
“Not yet, but Sam and the others working on the case think it’s highly possible he was involved in this and several other ongoing cases, along with another guy we used to work with who was already facing felony charges.”
“Do you… Is there a photo of him that I could see?”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Not at all, but I remembered Evan earlier. I might remember something about the attacker if I saw his face.”
Archie went to get his phone in the kitchen and then returned to the living room to find photos of Ramsey and Offenbach. He got the one of Ramsey from press coverage of his legal troubles and the one of Offenbach from the department website. Then he showed them to Harlowe.
She had no reaction to Ramsey but recoiled at the sight of Offenbach. “Oh God, that’s him. That’s the guy who took me and hurt me.”
“I need to report this to my command. Is that all right with you?”
“Yes, of course. I want him punished for what he did to me.”
“They may ask you to testify. His attorneys would rip apart how you didn’t remember his face until you saw his picture.”
She gave him a defiant look. “How would they know that unless we tell them?”
Archie thought about it. “Let’s wait until they put his face on TV to say you recognized him.”
“Can you do that?”
“I shouldn’t, but I will. What does it matter? You recognized him and can attest that he’s the one who attacked you. The other guy wasn’t part of it?”
“I don’t recall ever seeing him before, but I can’t be sure. I think I might’ve been drugged.” She covered her mouth to stifle a cry. “The memories are coming back to me. Waking up naked in a dark room, not knowing where I was. Crying out for help. And then… He came in…”
Horrified, Archie put his arms around her and held her as she cried.
Sobs shook her fragile body. “I remember what he did, how he attacked me and hurt me. I tried to fight him, but he hit me so hard…”
He didn’t know what to say or how to help her. What could he say that would fix the unfixable? The sadness over realizing that any hope he had of a future with her was gone now overwhelmed him. How would she ever forgive him for being the reason for such a terrifying ordeal?
Hell, he’d never forgive himself.
“Do you want me to take you somewhere safe that isn’t here? I’d totally understand if you did.”
She shook her head. “I feel safe with you.”
“How can you feel safe with me when I’m the reason this happened to you in the first place?”
“You’re not the reason. The man who did this is to blame. Not you.”
“He attacked you because he and his coconspirator were watching us. They saw that I cared about you. They wanted to hurt me by hurting you.”
“And yet, here we are, holding on to each other as we get through this together.”
“I don’t understand.”
“What don’t you understand?”
“Why you’re holding me closer rather than running away from me.”
“Because I know in my heart that in this whole world, you’re the one person I can trust.”
“How do you know that?”
“Look at everything you’ve done for me since this happened.
When I didn’t remember you, you stayed anyway.
I knew you were outside my door making sure no one could get to me, even after Erica told you to leave.
You stayed by my side, you took time out of work, you brought me to your home and took tender care of me through the worst of days.
If I can’t trust you, I’ll never trust anyone else again.
” She leaned in and placed a sweet kiss on his cheek.
“This isn’t your fault, and I won’t let you blame yourself. ”
“Harlowe…”
“That’s all I have to say about it, Archie. That’s all I’ll ever have to say about it. Don’t do this to yourself. If you let them ruin us, then they win. I will not let them win. Do you hear me?”
Impressed by her guts and moved by her passionate defense of him, he said, “Yeah, I hear you.”
Since she wasn’t pushing him away, he held her closer, chin resting on the top of her head as he expelled a sigh of relief over realizing she wasn’t going to leave him over this.
With that settled, he vowed to do everything in his considerable power to ensure she got justice for what was done to her.