Page 95 of The Tomorrows After You
“Why don’t we take the conversation back to our satellite office where there won’t be as many distractions?”The mansmirkedhumorlessly.
“Are we under arrest?” I askedindignantly.
The woman’s smilefaltered, almost irritated.“No, but wehavequestions. For the both of you actually, thank you for making this a one-stop pick up.”
I’ddealtwith law enforcement in my career plenty. Ihadto be careful not to underestimate these two. Usually, the rulewasthe greener the cop, the dumber theywere. But the older ones neverlistenedto any theories other than whatprovedto be the easiest close. The young ones stillfanciedpretendingtheywerein a cop show and would be the next one to“blow the case open”. If Iwentwith them, maybe I could convince them to look into whatI’ddiscovered.
“I’ll go,” I said, grabbing my bag off the counter. Riot’s incredulous eyes followed me.
“Then I’m going too. You should knowthisone is a chronic, pathological liar.”
37
Riot
Hurt, pain, disappointment, devastation, anger, heartbreak. I couldn’t think of a single word that encompassed the utter hollowness I was feeling. I liked the anger. It felt good. It felt hot. I knew when I stopped being angry I would start to break so I held on to it for dear life. Betrayal wracked my body, leaving me hollow and shaking.
As we got into the backseat, the questions flooded my brain.How could she?Had it all been a game? Had it all been for the story? Was I just another plot angle? I knew her professional career was in the toilet but did she have it in her to use me like that for ajob?
Istaredout the backseat window, the distant but distinct memory of the last timeI’dbeen in the back seat of a law enforcement vehicleflashedinto my brain.
The lights, the sirens. The smoke coming from the house theyextinguished. And then therewasthe panic. Notknowingwhatwasgoingtohappen to me. Or to my brother.
It felt different this time. These weren’t Godot officers, and I wasn’t in handcuffs. There wasn’t even a partition between the back seat and the front.
When weparkedoutside the town courthouse, Isearchedfor the other car thathadtakenmy brother away but I didn’t see it. Dreadcreptthrough me with its skeletal hand.
I could feel Nicolette’s eyes on me,beggingme to look at her but I couldn’t. IknewI would see pleadingmixedwith wide-eyedfear and despite how viciously Itoldmyself Ihatedher, her tear-stainedface would melt me and Iwantedto hold on to my anger.
Inever wrote the story, I decided very early on that I wasn’t going to.
Could that be true? Ihatedmyself for the hope thatbloomedin my chest.
Iavoidedher gaze as the two officersledus into a small study room in the courthouse.
“We’ll be right back, make yourselves at home.”Iwantedto punch the condescending tone right out of his voice box.
When the door shut behind them we were alone and I braced myself for Nicolette to launch into more defense, but when I stole a glance over she was quiet, gazing around the room before her eyes landed on the door.
“Who did you tell?” I seethed through gritted teeth.
She spoke without looking at me. “I didn’t tell anyone, Riot.” The solemnness on her face almost made me believe her. “When you opened the door, and they showed you their badges, what did it say?”
I didn’t like the tightness in her voice. “They said they were federal agents.”
Her eyes whipped to me. I saw her chest rise and fall and despite myself I let my focus fall to her mouth before meeting her gaze, our eyes tangled with unspoken questions. She turned back around in her chair and scrunched up her eyebrows.
“What would federal agents want with us?”shewhisperedto herself.
“Sorry to keep you.”The female agent re-enteredthe room with a folder, and two cell phones in her hand.
“What are we doing here?” I demanded.
The woman paused. She looked mid-forties, had a slight frame, and piercing green eyes that were innately trustworthy.
“I’m Agent Billings. But you can call me Sam.” She sat down and clasped her hands together across the table like we were ordering lunch.
“Where is my brother?” I demanded. Nicolette softened next to me like she was telling me to tread carefully.
