Page 51 of Wasted

She held his gaze, fighting to keep her expression open and calm, a feat that was becoming more difficult by the second. “Not at all. Merely giving you all the facts, as I’m sure you want me to. We are not dating, and, yes, he was at the house with me and can confirm everything I’ve shared about the intruder and the evidence we found.”

“You have a lot to learn if you think that’s evidence. But maybe you’ll learn as we keep chatting. Now, tell me again when you befriended Briscoe and became his confidant. And how you got him to give you the security codes to his property and house.”

Wonderful. Apparently, they were starting at the beginning again with the same innuendo, suggesting Victoria had conned her way into Thomas’s affections for personal gain. Perhaps she should have followed Cillian’s advice and called a lawyer instead of agreeing to speak with the detective.

She still could say she wanted a lawyer. She knew that much from the bit of TV and movies she had watched. But doing so would only make her appear guilty and increase the personal vendetta McCully already seemed to have against her. Men like him did not appreciate someone else being right when they were proven wrong. He must be seething over the fact that the autopsy did not prove his accidental death theory correct, despite his insistence that it would. Yet that did not excuse detaining her so long when she hadn’t even been able to reschedule her appointments.

“Detective McCully,” she maintained a calm, controlled tone, “I’m willing to help you however I can. But could you tell me how much longer this will take? I have two more patient appointments scheduled for this afternoon.”

“Had appointments. You said you want to cooperate, right?”

She squashed the urge to narrow her eyes at his use of her own words against her. She didn’t know if he had the right to hold her longer or not, but since she was claiming innocence and trying to prove it by cooperating, she had no other choice but to stay. Even if she tried to leave, he might then decide to detain her overnight or even arrest her. The thought nearly made her shudder.

Then she would have to call a lawyer. But calling a lawyer would mean calling her father. It was bad enough that she was being questioned as a suspect at a police station. Having her father find out would be far worse.

No, she would have to deal with the detective herself. By using the peacemaking skills she’d honed during sixteen years of managing the Weston family dynamics, she should be able to handle this detective. She would simply cooperate and give him what he wanted—short of a confession of guilt—until he finally, hopefully, let her go free.

“This is insane. You know she was the first one trying to make you people see he was murdered, right? She could sue.” Cillian dropped the threats on the officer who’d been sent to the front desk at the police station when Cillian had demanded to see someone about Victoria. The guy was one of the two backup cops McCully had brought with him to drag Victoria away for questioning.

“She hasn’t been arrested yet. Detective McCully is only talking to her.”

That yet didn’t help cool the hot blood rushing through Cillian’s veins. “He isn’t seriously going to try to hold her, is he? She’s already been detained well beyond her legal rights.”

“She’s stated that she wants to cooperate.”

Come on, Victoria. Frustration gripped his gut. She would play long, trying to follow all the rules like she did with her father. That wasn’t exactly keeping her out of trouble this time. He glared at the cop. “I don’t think she meant she wants to give up all her legal rights. What if I call her a lawyer?”

“She’s agreed to be interviewed without one.”

Terrific. The one time Cillian almost wished Victoria had called her father, and she apparently wouldn’t. With his connections, he could get her out in two minutes flat. But she was probably afraid that would get her in more hot water with McCully. Or her father.

Cillian glanced at his watch. “Did she agree to be questioned for three hours? I don’t think so.”

“She hasn’t been interviewed for that whole time.”

“Oh, that helps a lot.” Cillian laced the response with heavy sarcasm. “What were you?—”

The heavy door where the officer had emerged opened.

Victoria.

Cillian’s heart lurched as she walked into the lobby, followed by the female officer who’d helped take her away. He hurried to Victoria, stopping short of pulling her into his arms like he wanted to.

Strands of auburn hair had pulled free from her bun and framed her beautiful face. Her green scrubs beneath her open jacket intensified the color of her eyes. Worry and fatigue reflected in them as she met his gaze, twisting his gut.

Oh, forget it. He reached for her and pulled her into his arms. He had to show her it was going to be okay. To be the strong one for her so she didn’t have to be strong for herself and everyone else, just for one moment.

She didn’t fight it. Didn’t pull away.

She actually let her cheek rest against his chest. She was letting him hold her. In public, no less.

His heart thumped harder, probably crashing into his ribs where she would feel it.

She pulled away in one graceful move, leaving his arms and heart feeling empty and lost without her.

Man, he’d missed her. But the fact she’d let him hug her showed how badly she needed support and comfort right now, even if a guy couldn’t tell from her poised and composed exterior. He still needed to give her that support somehow, no matter how badly he wanted to hold her longer and much more often.

“Did they let you go?” He scanned the lobby. No sign of the officer who’d brought her out or the one Cillian had been blasting.