Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Probably because he’d tried time and again to stop me from this vengeance quest, and I wouldn’t. Hell, I couldn’t.
The demons inside me needed it.
The buzz of the front gate as it opened silenced the room. Andrew Castro, my attorney, stood and faced me.
“I know you like to take charge, Sadie. But I need you to listen to me carefully. Don’t let Agent Beck goad you into making any admissions, and look at me before you answer every question. Every fucking one, Sadie. Even something as simple as your name or address. Got it?”
My instinct was to balk at his tone. He worked for me and talked to me like I was his goddamn employee. Andrew was expensive, but I hired him because he was the best. He got off on beating government lawyers, and that impressed me.
“Yes, Andrew, I got it.”
Thomas stood at the front door, my ever-present protector, and waited patiently. I could see regret and failure swimming in his eyes, as if he could have protected me from this. No one could have, but Thomas wouldn’t hear it even if I tried to tell him. At my nod, he opened the door.
Agent Marshall entered first with the warrant, which Andrew quickly accepted and read thoroughly. He turned to me as Agent Beck entered with two uniformed officers behind her, one of them mine.
“All this for little ol’ me?”
Virgil snickered, but he still looked like he wanted to rip the redheaded agent’s head off.
Agent Beck had her chin high in the air. Victory swam in her bright blue eyes as she stood in front of me.
“Sadie Rose Ashby, you are under arrest on suspicion of murder.”
She was so fucking proud of herself; the delight was evident in every syllable of the Miranda warning.
“Cuff her, boys.”
“Is that necessary?” Andrew asked, his tone brisk and angry.
“It is,” Beck shot back.
“Don’t worry, Andrew, it’s not the first time a good-looking man has had me in cuffs,” I snarked.
The officers laughed, a move that pissed off Agent Beck.
Good.
“Don’t think your family can intimidate us, either. We are the law,” Beck practically growled at me.
I laughed and shook my head. “You poor, stupid girl. This isn’t for you; it’s for me. If you had family, you would understand that nothing is more important during these trying times than having the support of your family. That’s why they’re all here.”
A hint of anger flashed in her eyes, and I smiled before the boys in blue cuffed me and led me to the squad car.
“I’ll meet you there,” Andrew called out as he headed for his own car. He was paid well and loyal, and I knew he would likely be waiting for me in the interrogation room when I got to the station.
What I didn’t expect was to see Jameson pass me on the way to the interrogation room. I thought it was strange that he wasn’t already sitting inside the room as an intimidation tactic. Just then, Maddie’s warning came to me, and I realized this wasn’t just about the investigation into Bonnie and Mueller’s deaths.
“Take a seat, ma’am.”
I took the seat that left my back facing the observation glass because I refused to give that bitch, Beck, any kind of ammunition. I felt her gaze on me through the thick glass, but I didn’t squirm, didn’t flinch or fidget. I sat stock-still with a bored expression on my face while I waited for my attorney as well as my interrogators.
Beck entered first, the cat that ate the canary smile on her face. “Hope we didn’t keep you waiting too long?”
“Has my attorney arrived?” If she thought she would get anything out of me without Andrew present, then she wasn’t as competent as she seemed.
Beck shrugged. “We don’t need the men. We could talk, just us girls.”
My lips curled into a smile at her clumsy attempt to get me talking.
“I didn’t think so.” She shrugged again and waved Andrew in, Agent Marshall right behind him. So eager to nail me, she didn’t even wait until everyone was settled at the rickety metal table. “The evening that Bonnie Ashby and Dietrich Mueller were murdered, where were you?”
Andrew cleared his throat and I turned to him. He gave a brief nod, and I turned back to Beck. “At home, where I spend most evenings.”
“Can anyone who isn’t related to you or on your payroll verify that you were at home?”
Andrew cleared his throat, but I ignored him and sat back in the uncomfortable chair. “And who is at your home late at night that isn’t related to you or working for you, Agent Beck?”
“This isn’t about me, Sadie.”
I blinked and looked at Andrew and then Agent Marshall. “Are we on a first-name basis now, Addison? I mean, it does make sense given that your father used to work for me. Does that make us like family?”