Page 8 of Dominate
I shake my head. “I don’t remember anything after getting out of the limo.”
“Ms. Montgomery?” The man looks at Sloan. “It seems your injuries were less severe. What do you recall?”
Sloan stares at me with nervous eyes. Eyes that I want to soothe and kiss and take all this ugly pain away from, but I can’t.
She clears her throat and replies, “I heard men’s voices, but I don’t know what they said. It all happened so quickly.”
“Have a think and try again,” the officer says, crossing his arms over his chest like he’s interrogating her. “You got out of the limo, walked up the steps, went inside, and…”
Sloan’s face tightens with horror as she recalls the blow to her face. The blow that apparently knocked her unconscious.
“I don’t know,” she croaks, her eyes welling with tears.
“Come now, it’s right there,” the officer says and my blood pressure instantly spikes.
“She told you she doesn’t know,” I snap, my voice deep and gruff, pushing the dull headache I have in my skull to a full-on migraine. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”
The officer slides his beady eyes to me. “Mr. Harris, please understand, your memory will never be better than it is right now. The more we know now, the more we can do to catch whoever did this.”
“I understand that, but we’re not recalling anything. And I don’t like how you’re speaking to her.”
“Gareth, it’s fine,” Sloan murmurs softly.
“It’s not,” I retort dismissively. “She’s not the criminal here. She’s the victim. Fucking treat her as such.”
The female officer places a reassuring hand on Sloan’s shoulder. “You’re right. We have enough information for tonight. We have your mobile numbers and you have our cards. Just call us if anything else comes to mind.”
The male officer doesn’t look pleased but begins to follow the female out. He pauses in the doorway and turns back to add, “Your home is currently a crime scene, and it will take us a day to clear. You’ll need to find other accommodations until then.”
“Very well,” I reply through a clenched jaw. This prat is an obnoxious sod on a fucking ego trip. I need him to disappear.
As soon as the officer is out of sight, I exhale and realise how tense my body was the entire time they were in the room.
“Gareth, your pulse is racing,” Sloan says, rubbing my shoulder.
“Fucking wanker,” I mumble and attempt to relax my jaw.
“He’s just doing his job,” Sloan states softly.
“Sloan, that guy was pushing you way too fucking hard. You’ve just been attacked for Christ’s sake.” I turn my eyes to her sitting in the chair beside my bed. She’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt, her messy hair scraped back into a low ponytail. The circles under her eyes are shadowy alongside the faint bruise darkening above her cheekbone. Anyone can see that she’s been through a trauma. “He should have directed everything at me. It’s my bloody fault we’re here.”
“What are you talking about?” she gasps, her golden eyes red-rimmed and glossy.
I ball my hands up into fists and stare straight ahead. “I should have been paying attention. I should have noticed something was amiss. I was so up my own arse, I wasn’t thinking straight. It’s my fault we’re here.”
“Well, I think some of that distraction was my fault, too,” she retorts with a huff.
“No, it wasn’t,” I state firmly, looking at her again. “Don’t push me on this, Sloan. I’m fucking sick over what could have happened to you tonight. I can’t imagine if—” My voice cuts off. I clear my throat and push through the last part of my sentence that is almost too difficult to utter. “You have a child.”
Sloan’s eyes fill with tears that quickly fall down her cheeks. “I know that.”
“Sheneedsher mother,” I state to the universe just as much as to Sloan. Sophia is near the age I was when I lost my own mother, and that realisation isn’t lost on me.
Sloan sniffs loudly, then licks her lips as she grabs hold of my fisted hand. She pulls it to her mouth and drops a kiss on my knuckles. “I know that, Gareth. And I’m fine. Look at me. I’m right here and I’m okay.”
I shake my head in disgust. “Where is Sophia?”
Sloan swallows and her chin begins to wobble. “She’s at Callum’s. She has no clue what’s happened, and I’m going to keep it that way if I can.”
