Page 76 of The Truth Will Out
On closer inspection, Sam could see that her eyes seemed hollow. They were almost lifeless, as if life had taken its toll on her over the years.
“You did your best,” Sam replied. “No one could ask for more. Is that why you left?”
“Yes. I tried to help the children. The owners said I was a fool and ordered me to stop getting in the way. I felt like I was fighting a losing battle. In the end, I threw in the towel. I disappeared. I needed to get my life back on track first. I questioned everything, life itself at times. The horrors of what those children went through haunted me day and night. There were nights I barely slept. We had to do the right thing for the children in the end: avenge theirdeaths and the torture some of those innocent souls had to endure.”
Choosing Ivy’s moment of weakness, Sam withdrew her Taser. “Drop the syringe, Penn. Now. This ends here. Rhys did nothing wrong.”
Penn took a step forward. “Don’t you understand? We had no choice. The people we sought out and killed made it through the cracks. Every one of them wore their guilt like a mask. We took pleasure in stripping that from them.”
The door burst open, and the rest of the team barged into the room, Tasers drawn. Penn lunged at Rhys, syringe held high, ready to sink it into his neck. Liam was the first to react. He fired. The Taser wires entered Penn’s chest, and he dropped to the floor, fifty thousand volts surging through him.
Michele paused for a moment, then made her move. She searched for the syringe that had landed close to her feet. Sam pounced on her, preferring to tackle the woman herself rather than resort to using her Taser.
“Don’t be foolish,” Sam snapped, kicking the syringe out of Michele’s grasp.
“I need to do it. To get revenge for the children who suffered at the hands of their aggressors.”
“You’re not listening. Rhys had nothing to do with it.”
“He was there. I know he heard the screams. Why won’t he admit it?”
“I didn’t. I spent three weeks there, that’s all, Ivy. Sorry, Michele, whatever your bloody name is now,” Rhys objected. “Untie me. Get me out of here, Sam.”
Sam stared at him, suddenly seeing him in a different light. Something about his demeanour had changed, making her question the trust she once had in him. “Nick, can you free Rhys?”
“Of course, boss.”
Sam took a step back and watched as her three colleagues dealt with the two suspects and her fiancé.
A knife dropped to the floor—one Michele had concealed up hersleeve. Rhys would never realise how lucky he had been; Sam was sure of that.
It was over… or was it?
“Do you need medical care?” she asked Rhys.
He shook his head firmly. “No, they didn’t hurt me. You rescued me before they got the chance.”
Sam smiled, but inside, her stomach was churning. There was something in his smile that didn’t sit comfortably with her. “Call for backup. We need to get the three of them transferred to the station ASAP.”
“Wait, you want me to go to the station?” Rhys queried.
“Yes. You’ll need to give us a statement.”
His eyes narrowed. “Can’t that wait? I’ve been held prisoner for a few days, and the first thing you want from me is astatement? I don’t get it, Sam.”
She shrugged and stood back into the shadows, confused by the emotions stirring within her.
Three patrol cars arrived. The suspects and Rhys were loaded into separate cars, and the convoy headed back to the station. Sam had the tech guy, Adam, sitting beside her during the journey. He kept silent, sensing she wasn’t in the mood to hold a conversation with him.
At the station, Jason asked how she wanted to proceed with the suspects and Rhys.
“I’ll interview the suspects in the morning, but I want to get Rhys’s statement down now.”
Her three colleagues stood in the background, probably wondering what the heck was going on.
Sam turned to face them, her smile catching each of them off guard. “You did good this evening, boys. I couldn’t be prouder of you. Go on, off you go. We’ll go over what has happened in the morning. Hopefully, Bob will be back with us, then.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to hang around with you, boss?” Nick asked.
