Page 79 of Whispers of You
Lawson leaned forward in his chair. “I thought you said you were mistaken. That it was only two.”
“The cops back then... They made me doubt everything I remembered if it didn’t fit with their narrative.”
“Assholes,” Holt muttered.
Lawson sent him a quelling look. “Trust me. I’m not a fan of how they handled things back then either. But they were under a hell of a lot of pressure to lock this one up and throw away the key. That led to them forcing things where they probably shouldn’t have. The truth has its own timeline.”
But the time it took to get there could sometimes do irreparable harm. They knew that better than most because they’d seen Roan be destroyed by questions over whether he had been involved. It didn’t matter that none of us believed it. That suspicion had changed him, and he hadn’t been the same since.
Nash studied me. “Randy and Paul always swore up and down that it was only the two of them. No one else. Don’t you think they’d want their partner doing time with them?”
I pulled my hand from Holt’s, and he let me go this time as if he sensed that I needed freedom to move. I twisted my fingers together as I rocked from the back of my heels to the balls of my feet. “I’ve played that night over and over in my head—even when it was the last thing I wanted to think about. I heard someone downstairs. Abel had told me the police were on their way, and I thought it was them, that they were sneaking upstairs. I thought I was going to be okay.”
A muscle in Holt’s jaw ticked wildly as he gripped the back of a chair.
I didn’t let it stop me. I had to get it out. “I heard them coming up the stairs and then heard someone say, ‘Where the hell is Holt? We need them both.’”
The room around me went wired. I’d never told anyone but the police exactly what I’d heard. I’d never recounted any of this to Holt. Every time I’d tried to talk about what had happened, he’d shut me down, saying it wasn’t good to rehash it all.
I turned to him. “I was glad you weren’t there,” I whispered. “I never would’ve made it if something had happened to you.”
So many emotions blazed across Holt’s face. They moved so quickly, I could barely track one before it morphed into the next. Then he was moving. He pulled me against him, wrapping his arms around me. “I’m right here, Cricket.”
Hope flickered to life in my chest. It was a hope that terrified me, but I couldn’t pull away. I gripped his shirt, my hands fisting there. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“We need to go back over the original case,” Nash said.
I turned in Holt’s arms, facing Lawson and Nash, but Holt didn’t let me go. The heat of his body seeped into my back and felt far too comforting. “It was ten years ago.”
Lawson began typing on his keyboard. “You never know what we might find. We’ve still got all the evidence and records filed. I’ll have them brought up so we can go over everything.”
“Want an extra set of eyes?” Holt asked.
Lawson shook his head. “I’ll keep you in the loop, but we can’t have you in the room. If we do find something, having you there could call chain of custody into question.”
Holt’s jaw worked but he nodded. “Call me if you find anything.”
“I will.”
Holt turned me back to him, brushing the hair out of my face. “I’ll pick you up at the end of your shift.”
“Thanks.”
“Remember, nowhere alone.”
I made a face at him. “I know. And I will be surrounded by cops all day. I think I’ll be safe.”
“We’ll make sure Little Williams doesn’t get into any trouble,” Nash said with a smirk.
Lawson sent Nash a quelling look and then turned back to me. “Holt’s right about being careful. We don’t know if the footprints outside your place are related to this. But until we know otherwise, we have to assume they are.”
My stomach pitched, and Holt sent a glare in Lawson’s direction. I worked to keep the worry off my face. “I’ll be cautious. I promise. But right now, I need to get to work.”
Holt lowered his head to brush his lips across mine. “Call me if you need me.”
I swallowed the ball of emotion gathering in my throat. How often had I wanted to do just that? I would’ve given anything to hear Holt’s voice on the other end of the line countless times. “Okay.”
I forced myself to take a step back. “I should get to my desk.”
