Page 57 of Traitor

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ford

“When wasthe last time you saw the victim?”

“What were you doing at seven on the night of the twenty-third?”

“Did you and the victim have a personal relationship?”

The questions begin to blur together after the second hour into the interrogation comes and goes. A stale cup of coffee sits at my elbow, untouched. Hadley and another officer share a look across from me.

I’d been in a room like this after they picked us up from the desert. Covered in blood, I’d been shuffled off to another room for a debrief. I didn’t mind. There was nothing they could do or say to make me feel worse than I already did. It was a numb sort of pain. The kind that blotted out everything else. If I’d been in my right mind, I would have been concerned about the consequences.

But at the time, I figured fuck the consequences.

“Tell us what happened,” they’d said. “From the beginning.”

Step by step, I’d recounted the night as best I could. I stumbled over the recollection of Tate’s death. My throat closed on the words, but I didn’t hold anything back.

“After the explosion, I found the medic from the Marine support unit. It was chaos and he was busy helping others with injuries. Those who had a chance of survival. It wasn’t his fault. While he was distracted, I got in his pack, took the meds. Tate and I had made a pact about what would happen in this situation.”

It had been more Tate’s idea than mine. He was a good man, a great leader, but a proud one. He never wanted to go home broken, unable to live a normal life. Tate was strong in many ways, but that wasn’t one of them. He wasn’t like Scott, couldn’t fathom the thought of being less than the warrior he’d been his whole life.

“I held him as the life bled out of him. If you want to say I killed him, then that’s fair. I’ll take whatever punishment is coming to me. I’m sure there’s documentation of his wishes. Call me a killer, call me a traitor. I did what I thought I had to do for a friend who had no other options.”

They’d grilled me long into the night and into the next day. I could barely walk by the time they cordoned me off in a cell. By then, I was grateful for a place to shower and sleep.

“Ford,” Hadley says sharply, drawing me back from the memories and the scent of blood and dirt.

“What?” I ask.

“I said you can go, but stay close. We may have more questions.”

I nod, head swimming from past to present and back again until I can barely tell the difference.

When I get to my feet, Hadley puts a hand to my arm, stopping me as the other detective leaves us alone in the room.

“I thought we were done.”

“Look, while this investigation is ongoing, I have to do my job.”

I don’t fight him. “I get it. It’s not your fault. I want you to find out what happened.” The sooner he did, the sooner everything could go back to normal. “I have to get back to the lodge, check on my family.” And Peyton, but I didn’t say it out loud. Now that Lola had been found and her story had been validated, it was no longer an option that she stay in town. It wasn’t safe. Hell, the night Tate had been killed, we’d been surrounded by some of the most elite military in the world and he still hadn’t been safe.

They’d already tried to take her life once. I won’t let them get a second chance. I’d make sure of it.

“Before you go, there’s something else.”

“Spit it out,” I growl. I didn’t have time for this shit.

“Peyton. She reported a break-in this afternoon at her place. I sent some deputies out to take her statement. She’s all right now, Ford, but she’s understandably shaken up.”

“I gotta go,” I say over my shoulder, as I push through the door. It slaps against the wall and crashes shut. I can feel Hadley’s eyes on me as I cut through the crowded onlookers.

Mercy calls. I answer with a terse, “Not right now.”

“There’s reporters camped out on the front lawn. You want me to get out the .22?”

“Only if they start hassling you. Call Hadley if they give you any problems. Offer the guests free food and booze to compensate for the inconvenience. I’ve gotta go check on Peyton, her house was broken into.” Silence answers me. “Did you hear me?” Now is not the time for Mercy’s shit. “Do I need to call Nell instead?”