Page 49 of Lost in the Light

I put my wallet in my pocket and pulled my coat on, along with a wooly hat. The coat wasn’t as warm as the one Eli had bought for me, but that had been destroyed when I pulled Kane from the fire. This one would do for now. Jordan had brought it from my ridiculously over filled closet at the house. My gloves were in my coat pockets, and my boots sat by the door. It would be enough to stop Asher from being annoyed with me when he and Eli were finally allowed to come home with me.

“We need to talk about this, Angel. I’m sure Asher wouldn’t want you putting yourself through this,” Kane said as he appeared in the doorway and leant against the door jamb.

“I’m doing it, Kane. I don’t have time to argue. Will you drive me or should I order a car, and grab one of the guards from outside to come with me?” I asked stubbornly. I wasn’t going to go off alone and do anything stupid, but nothing was going to stop me.

“You’re so fucking stubborn!” he snapped, but I smiled triumphantly when he stormed off, positive he was coming with me, much to my relief. I was dreading having to grab a guard I didn’t know and leave alone with them.

***

“…and you will stay between the three of us at all times. Do you hear me? This is such a stupid fucking idea. This could have been exactly what the fuckers after you were waiting for! We’re probably walking right into a trap!” Kane ranted, just as he had continued to do throughout the blessedly short drive throughthe city. Luckily, it was pretty late, so the usual chaos filled streets had been quieter than I’d seen them before.

Adam and Jordan were with me too, all of them insisting they come with me, even if Kane seemed really annoyed that he had to be there.

There were security guards in two separate cars, one in front and one behind us, and Kane had his gun holster in place over his shoulders, concealed underneath the leather jacket he’d pulled on. He was positive this was a trap, and I’d have been stupid not to be scared after the amount of ranting he’d done about that fact on the drive, but I was still determined to walk into the station and give my statement. Once we were inside, I knew we’d be safe surrounded by cops. Even outside the station we were now parked before, there were a ton of cops milling around. Add to that the six guys Kane had insisted we bring along in the two cars and I was pretty sure no one was getting anywhere near me.

I looked around nervously as all six of those security guards got out of the two parked SUV’s, in perfect synchronicity.Do they practice that?I questioned myself in my head.

“They are not coming inside with us, Kane,” I uttered as I looked to them all again, now forming a protective arch around the back door I would need to exit the car through.

“They’re just going to make sure you get inside safely, then they’ll wait out here,” Kane assured me.

“Good,” I nodded. “Okay, let’s get moving.”

The cops that were milling around the police cars out front, stopped to stare, probably wondering who was arriving with such a huge entourage. I was sure they were all bitterly disappointed when they saw it was me – a complete no one.

Adam, Jordan, and Kane surrounded me as we walked inside. They all seemed nervous, but I was just eager to get in there and do my part to get my brothers the hell out of that place. They had been there for over fourteen hours now, and I knew Eli had to be struggling, even if Asher was managing to keep it together.

“I need to see detective Harding. My name’s Adeline Brooks. He wants to speak with me,” I told the guy sat behind the desk inside the station. He looked half asleep and bored out of his mind, but he did manage to glance up at me as I spoke. When he saw the guys surrounding me he seemed to sit up straighter and his hand automatically moved to rest over the gun at his hip.

“Take a seat. I’ll call him,” he told me as he watched the guys dubiously.

“Can one of us go in the room with Addy?” Jordan asked once we’d all sat. He was at my side in the cold metal chairs, mounted to the wall. I heard the concern in his question and placed my hand over his knee, hoping to reassure him.

“Not unless one of you passed the Barr and didn’t tell me,” Kane replied. He refused to sit, pacing back and forth before me while he watched our surroundings like a hawk. There were cops in and out, and a few people waiting near the door, all looking a little the worst for wear. I wondered if they had been brought in because they were obviously intoxicated. Thankfully, they weren’t interested in us, and kept their distance.

“Maybe if we explain the situation, they’d allow us to go in with her,” Jordan worried.

“Jord, I’ll be fine. I can handle this. I’m only giving a statement,” I tried to reassure him. I was trying so hard to appear outwardly calm, but inside I was freaking out quite a bit. Just being back in a police station had me flashing back to the interviews inVegas that had pushed me to breaking point. The idea of doing that again, and this time having to recall some of the graphic memories I had recovered, was scary as heck.

I had barely gotten the bravado filled statement out before my name was loudly barked.

“Adeline?!” My full name said in that sharp tone instantly took me back to the sound of my mother doing that very same thing, countless times a day.

I looked up, refusing to freeze or freak out, and saw a middle aged man poking his head out of a door off to our right. He had a thick head of salt and pepper dark hair and he was slim. His eyes latched onto me the second I forced myself to get to my feet and I didn’t like what I saw in them. He was sizing me up, and I had to wonder what for.

“Yes?” I squeaked as I approached him. I was going to have to be tougher than that, I realized instantly.

“I’m detective Harding. You want to give a statement?” he asked, sounding as if he’d rather be anywhere else.

“That’s right. I have information about Joseph Lyle,” I told him, trying to maintain my calm, even if I was freaking out like a crazy woman on the inside.

“You mean your father?” he threw back with raised eyebrows.

I winced at the comment, but nodded anyway. The monster was my father, I couldn’t deny that, no matter how badly I wanted to.

“I’ll be accompanying her.” I looked behind me at the sound of Kane’s voice, and found him standing protectively behind me.

“Oh good. You brought your fancy ass lawyer too,” Harding declared sarcastically, looking back to me with nothing but derision.

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