Page 55 of Deceit & Desire

Mr. Brandt’s expression hardened, his voice dropping to a gruff whisper. “She told me she was coming here to get you back. Said she couldn’t live without you and, more than that, wouldn’t live without you.” He looked down for a moment, shaking his head. “Let’s just pray she knows what the hell she’s doing.”

Kat, standing a few feet away, crossed her arms over her chest, her voice sharp and unwavering. “She’s a brilliant businesswoman, Roman. It’s made her millions of dollars. Hell, she took down David Michaelson practically single-handedly the other day and managed to benefit the company she used to work for while she was at it.”

“So?” I arched a brow at her.

Her lips quirked into a faint smirk, confidence radiating from her. “So I have faith that she knows what she’s doing.”

I wanted to believe her, to trust in Zoe’s plan. But as I stood there, the weight of what she was doing—what she’d sacrificed to protect me—pressed down on me like a storm cloud.

“She’d better,” I murmured, my voice barely audible. “Because if anything happens to her…”

The words hung in the air, unspoken but understood by everyone. Mr. Brandt placed a steadying hand on my shoulder, his grip firm. “She’s strong, Roman. Stronger than any of us give her credit for. Now it’s our turn to trust her.”

I nodded, the tension in my chest easing just enough to let me breathe. But as we left the station, the storm inside me only grew darker, each step away from Zoe feeling like a betrayal of everything we’d promised each other.

Chapter22

No Turning Back

PLAYLIST: “SEVEN DEVILS” BY FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

ZOE

When Landon walked backin and closed the interrogation room door behind him, I felt like I might suffocate to death, like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room, but we’d made a deal, and I’d hold up my end.

“You already know Missy and I had a very public fight at Twisted Creek ranch the day she died.”

“Yes.” Landon nodded. “She kissed Roman in front of you, and you and Missy proceeded to have a shouting match in which you called her a back-stabbing bitch and a slut, among other things. And she accused you of being a jealous, stuck-up bitch who was just fooling around with the help, but didn’t really care about Roman until someone else came sniffing around him. Witnesses also said she called you a spoiled, entitled brat of a rancher’s daughter who didn’t know what she wanted until someone else took it away.”

“That’s all true, yes.”

“And what’s the big secret that you’ve been keeping for the past ten years?”

“Missy and I had another fight that day. In the barn. After the first fight. With no witnesses. A continuation of the first fight, really.”

Landon’s gaze sharpened, his body going unnaturally still, like a predator locking onto prey. “A second fight. In the barn. No witnesses. And you didn’t think to mention this in the past ten years because…?”

“Because I didn’t want anyone to know,” I said, my voice low but steady. “Not Roman. Not my father. And sure as hell not you.”

Landon’s lips thinned, but he didn’t interrupt. He waited, the silence between us thick and suffocating, pushing me to fill it.

“She cornered me,” I continued, the words dragging out of me like splinters. “She wasn’t finished after what happened outside. She followed me into the barn, still fuming, and she… she said things. About Roman. About me. Things meant to hurt. She was good at that when she was in a temper fit.”

“What kind of things?” Landon pressed, his voice calm but razor-sharp.

I hesitated, my fingers curling into the edge of the table. “She said I didn’t deserve him. That Roman was just another notch on my belt, a way to piss off my father. She said I’d never really love him because I didn’t know how to love anything that didn’t come with a silver spoon.”

“And how did you respond to that?” Landon’s tone was clinical, detached, but his eyes were anything but. They were locked on mine, scrutinizing every word, every flicker of emotion.

“I told her to shut her goddamn mouth,” I said bluntly. “Told her she didn’t know a damn thing about me or Roman. I told her she was a shitty excuse for a best friend. And then I—” My voice cracked, and I sucked in a breath, forcing myself to go on. “I grabbed her arm. Told her to get out of my face and stay the hell away from Roman.”

Landon leaned forward slightly, his elbows on the table. “And did she?”

“For a moment, yes,” I said, swallowing hard. “She backed off, but not because I scared her. She smirked at me like she’d already won and said… she said Roman would figure out sooner or later that he deserved better than some overgrown princess playing at rebellion. Then she walked away. That’s the last time I saw her alive.”

Landon studied me, his gaze unrelenting. “And you expect me to believe that after all of that, you just let her walk away?”

I met his gaze head-on, my voice unwavering. “Believe whatever the hell you want, Landon. But I didn’t kill her. And neither did Roman.”

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