Page 84 of Pushed

Chapter Twenty-Two

Imperial

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“Miss Klein, do understandthe severity of what we're dealing with here?”

Nodding, I let my eyes settle over the detective's. “I do.”

The detective had been trying to befriend me, acting like he was there for me, like he was on my side. He wasn't.

If he had any concern for me at all, he wouldn't ignore my questions. I didn't like it, and I didn't like him. He was so fake, I could smell it through his pine tree scented cologne and dull eyes.

His gray suit splayed open as he leaned over, revealing a burgundy dress shirt underneath. His hair reminded me of a stretched steel sponge. The silver curls were all looped together but tousled, like he had used a little too much gel and just threw his hands into his hair, spreading it without looking.

“And you're requesting to not give us a statement? I don't understand, why would you protect the man who kidnapped you?”

Shrugging my shoulder, I angled my chin into my chest. “He protected me, he kept me safe. Doesn't that mean anything?”

There were two detectives sitting across from me, giving each other a confused look. They couldn't understand. Both of them expected me to be so rattled and upset that I'd spew a story that would help cement their case against Machi.

But neither one considered what he did to set me free.

Bad men don't go out of their way to help their captive escape, evil men don't expose the callous nature of the world they lived in; especially if they wanted to keep it whole.

Machi took a risk and he led the police through an open door.

Why would he do that if he wasn't working against the men inside?

“Look, we don't want to put you through any more trauma. I know you've already been through enough.” The detective held his hand up, unsure of what to say or how to direct the interview. “But, Imperial, two men lost their lives, are you even thinking about that?”

The lead detective had given me his name and introduced me to his partner when they first walked in the room. But I couldn't remember who was who, and honestly, I didn't really care.

No one would tell me shit. Both men kept skirting around my questions, refusing to let me know if Machi had been hurt, or why they were treating him like the villain when all I could see was a hero.

“Don't I deserve answers as much as you do?” Scooting my chair closer to the table, I laid my hands down flat. “Those men were not innocent, there's no doubt in my mind about that. I've seen the men they catered to, I've seen women with bruises and scars. So am I thinking about it—yes, I am.But I'm not going to tell you I feel bad about what happened to them. And you know why?” Lifting my chin, I stared right at them. “Because Machi saved me from them.”

Rolling his eyes, the detective folded his hands over his notebook, clearing his throat. Forcing a smile, he spoke firm. “Miss Klein, this is serious, whether or not those men were bad isn't the issue. We know they were both pieces of shit, but that doesn't change what Machi did.” Perching his fingers up on the tips, he tapped the paper. “Murder is murder, and this. . . This was a cold-blooded execution.”

Biting my bottom lip, my eyes flared wide. “Maybe you need to stop looking at what he did and take a better look at what he prevented. He stopped the sale of innocent women to sick perverts. He did what you guys couldn't do. . .” Pausing, my fists balled up on the cold table top. “He saved lives, so what if he took a few in the process. Why is he considered the bad guy when he did something good?”

“That's not how it works. You don't get to decide on your own if someone should die. That's why we have a justice system.” Throwing himself back in the chair, he picked up his pen and started spinning it around. “If we all made decisions like that, the world would go to shit. Is that—”

Throwing my back into the chair, I held my hands out, stopping him from talking. “I want to talk to Officer Roberts.”

Cutting the air with his hand, he said, “No, we're here, so talk to us.”

Folding my arms over my chest, I tucked my fingers deep into my ribs. “Looks like we're done then.”

I wasn't going to tell them one more word until I got answers of my own.

If Machi trusted Bentley enough to ask him for help, then maybe he was the one I needed to talk to instead.

The two men exchanged a glance, both of them standing up at the same time. “Give us some time, we'll see what we can do.”

I sat in the room for what seemed like hours. It was strange to be in another place that kept time hidden from view. In this room I didn't have the luxury of noise from the outside world to hint at how much time had passed.

The silence was screwing with my head, making it jump from thought to thought. I was worried about Machi and whether he was all right, I was afraid that they were going to take the man I loved and lock him up forever.

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