Page 136 of Between Regrets and Promises

“Yes.” I shake his hand next.

Yep. Déjà vu.

At least I’m not getting cuffed and thrown into the back of a cop car this time.

I sit next to Liam with Sophie on my other side. We clasp hands, and when the silence takes over, it’s then I can see the blue and red lights still flashing outside. I imagine all our neighbors are out on the sidewalks, trying to figure out what happened. Kilan is going to flip when he finds out. The house he was trying to sell is now a crime scene.

“So Liam and Hunter have told us most of what happened, but I’d like to get your version.” Officer Fisher directs his words toward me. “Can you start from the beginning?”

I clench my jaw, thinking back to when Sophie first mentioned Dalton. “Well, I guess I should start with how I got arrested for killing his brother.”

The officer nods, clearly not fazed. He’s probably heard and seen so much shit in this city that nothing is out of the ordinary.

Several minutes later, I discuss how we went looking for Sophie, and when we got the text messages. Then I talk about how I recognized the dildo statue from Kilan’s house and Liam’s plan to go in first since he had a gun.

“What dildo statue?” Sophie asks me quietly, her brows pinched together.

“The one that Hunter knocked over,” I say. “I’ll explain later,” I tell her with a grin, then I direct my attention back to the officer. “Kilan was a friend of ours, and we partied together a lot, so we recognized it when I saw it in one of the pictures he sent.”

“Can you tell me what you saw when you entered the house?” he asks. “Walk me through the events as you remember it.”

“Dalton had his gun pointed at Sophie’s head, spewing all kinds of threats at her. She was duct-taped to a chair and completely helpless. Just by looking at her, I could tell he’d hit and touched her. He’d sent pictures, so I knew she wasn’t able to defend herself. I went in after Liam and Hunter, and once the statue fell, Dalton shifted and directed his gun toward the other room. That’s when Liam shot his shoulder, and the gun fell from his hand. I charged forward, knocking him down, but he continued to struggle against me and reached for his gun. I tried to restrain him, but he continued to put up a fight, so Liam shot his leg. After a minute, Hunter held him down as I went to free Sophie. Liam held him at gunpoint while Hunter called 911, and I got us out of there. Then I brought her here.”

Recalling everything wasn’t easy, but I’m not going to let my best friends down, knowing my statement is needed to keep them out of any legal trouble. Sure, Dalton is the criminal here, but not calling the authorities as soon as we knew she’d been kidnapped could come back to bite us in the ass unless we have a solid case as to why we couldn’t. I’m not sure threats will be enough although we all know what he was capable of.

“Got it, thank you,” he says as he finishes writing his notes. “Now, Sophie. I know this isn’t gonna be easy for you, so we’ll take it as slow as you need to. According to Liam, you left the house earlier today with Maddie and Dalton. Can you tell me what happened after that?”

She swallows and nods, and it’s then I realize one of us needs to fill Maddie in on what happened if Lennon hasn’t already.

Sophie tells him everything. From how she met him at the meetings, to becoming friends, to how they connected in the grieving circle. She discusses how she hadn’t planned on attending any more meetings, but how he talked her into joining him tonight with a sob story. Sophie explains from when he picked her up, to leaving and getting knocked out in his car. My heart pounds hard with rage, and when my fist clenches, Liam notices. He gives me a pointed look to calm my shit, knowing that getting all fired up isn’t going to help anything.

“I went to the bathroom shortly before the meeting ended, and when I came back, he was acting weird. I didn’t know it at the time, but he had seen my text messages from Mason, and that’s when he pushed his plan to happen tonight instead. Dalton deleted the messages, along with the missed calls and voicemails, so I never got the warnings.”

“And Mason, you’re the one who figured out who he really was. Is that right?” Officer Fisher asks, but by the look on his face, he already knows the answer.

“Correct. I had a friend run his plates, and that’s when I connected his last name to Weston’s. It’s how I found out his entire story was a lie, and that he had been a suspect in his wife’s death this past year. I texted Sophie, hoping she’d see it before her meeting was over and not get into his car. If I’d gone to the church and picked her up myself, he would’ve never taken her.” I lower my eyes at the realization that my messages are what put her in danger.

“You didn’t know,” Sophie says softly, squeezing my hand. “I should’ve taken my phone with me. I normally do, but I left my clutch on my chair because I wasn’t gonna be gone for more than a couple of minutes.”

“Well, if Mr. Westbrook intended to eventually take you, then it might’ve been harder to find you,” the officer concludes. “He would’ve had more time to execute it properly, and that would’ve made things much worse for everyone. I understand you couldn’t call for help given his threats, but all four of you could’ve been killed tonight.” Officer Fisher gives us all a pointed look, especially me.

Fuck, Iknow.

“Well, because of me, one personisdead,” Sophie tells him.

“What do you mean?” Officer Fisher asks.

Sophie looks down at our hands in her lap, and I rub the pad of my thumb over knuckles, giving her the encouragement and strength to continue.

“My friend Dacia. We met in group together, and when I hosted a dinner party last weekend, she didn’t show up. Dalton told me she couldn’t make it, but I never heard from her. I brushed it off because I knew she was going through some emotional stuff after her twin brother died. She often talked a lot about how she gets through the dark days, so I thought she needed some space. I know people aren’t always as strong as they try to seem. But tonight, Dalton told me she was getting in the way of his ultimate plan, and he had to get rid of her.” Sophie chokes up, and I squeeze her hand, letting her know I’m still here.

“What else did he say?” the officer asks. “Did he admit to killing her?”

“Yes,” Sophie answers, tears falling down her cheeks. “He took her and then stuffed her into his trunk. Are you guys able to check? She deserves a proper burial.”

She wipes her cheeks, and the officer nods. “Of course. I’ll get my guys on it right away.”

He talks into his radio and gives the order.

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