“I don’t even have her name.” Short guy frowns. “I need details.”
“Jane.” Sarah reaches my side and leans into me. “Jane Doe…erty. Jane Doherty.”
Goddamnit.
She’s not even striving for subtlety.
“I’m going to need to see your badge.” The taller man demands of me. “And I’ll be noting this in our report.”
Fuck.
I do as he asks, snatching my ID from my pocket to flip open my credentials.
I’m going to get in so much shit for this—the involvement in a police matter. Escorting a victim/witness from the scene under false pretenses. And, no doubt, the disappearance of said victim/witness when they later search for her.
Sarah won’t go to a hospital. They’ll never find her again. Not once Cole gets involved.
“Is there anything else you need from me, Officer?” I keep showing my badge as he takes note of my details.
“No. Get her to the emergency room. We’ll check in with her once we’re finished here.”
“Great.” I keep the sarcasm from my tone and start for my car while Sarah hobbles at my side. Once we’re out of listening range, the wail of more sirens approaching in the distance, I shoot her a glance. “What the hell happened?”
“Don’t know. Can’t remember.” Her words are sharp. Pointy.
“Right.” I stop in the middle of the street, the peanut gallery on the footpath watching our every move. “Maybe I should leave you with the cops then.”
She glares, the expression made all the more fierce by the bruising and swelling taking over the bridge of her nose. “I need a goddamn phone. Can I borrow yours?”
“No problem, just as soon as you tell me what happened.”
She scoffs, then winces. “You’re going to be that bitch? Really?”
“I’m trying to help you. At the expense of my career, I might add, seeing as though you just threw me under the bus.”
“Don’t pretend you don’t have your own agenda.” She shuffles ahead, moving away from me.
“An agenda? What agenda could I possibly have right now? I got you out of there and all I want in return is to know if Robert was involved. For my own fucking safety.”
She shoots me a skeptical glance, the faintest hint of surprise flashing in her gaze.
“Yes, I know he’s still alive.” I follow after her. “Cole came to see me last night. I need to know if this was Robert’s doing.”
“I can’t remember.” She shrugs. “And I would’ve kept telling the cops the same thing.”
“Okay. Fine.” I walk faster, outpacing her. “Find your own way home. God forbid you take my help.”
A string of muttered curses brush my ears as I place a few feet of space between us
“It’s not like you’re more gracious than I am,” she snarls. “You were just as thankful for my help when I brought you back from Greece.”
I scoff, not stopping my stride until I reach the police tape and duck underneath. “There’s a big difference.”
“Of course there is,” she calls from behind me. “Because I’m in a shitload of pain… and I’m fucking scared. Okay?”
My heart squeezes. Twists.
I keep hold of the tape. Not moving.
I’ve learned a lot about Sarah through my investigations. About her massive loss. Her orphan status. I don’t blame her for falling in with the wrong crowd when she had nobody else in her life. And for her to be scared after everything she’s been through would surely mean a woman like me should be petrified.
I wait for her to catch up before I meet her gaze. “Why are you scared?”
Her face hardens. “I don’t know, Miss Priss. Maybe because someone plowed their truck into my face, then sprayed bullets like confetti.” One hand fidgets at her side. “I really need a phone. Can’t you let me make one call?”
“Who was the shooter?”
“Don’t know.”
Again with the short and sharp response.
She’s hiding something.
“It was Robert, wasn’t it?” I scope our surroundings, taking in the potential witnesses. “He did this. He tried to kill you.”
Any number of nearby people could probably confirm my suspicions. I could simply start asking them. I know what Robert looks like. I’ll never forget his features.
“I honestly don’t know,” she repeats. “I blacked out. I didn’t see him. Now can you please give me your goddamn cell?”
“Fine.” I reach into my pocket, seeing three missed calls from Easton on the screen before I hand it over. “Make sure you choose your words wisely. That’s a work phone.”
I continue to my car, giving her privacy as I attempt to figure out how the hell I’m going to explain this to the officers on scene. To Easton. To my boss.
This will act as another nail in my career coffin.
The long list of grievances the Bureau has against me is currently superficial. They align me with the bad name of my father. They despise me for being Cole’s alibi when his father escaped custody. But this…
My actions here go against protocol. I’m helping a criminal flee a crime scene.
What the hell am I doing?
I bypass a traffic cop now directing the banked up vehicles away from the area, and slump against the hood of my car, watching Sarah.
She’s frantic in her conversation, sheer panic etched across her face.
I want to help her despite our differences, even without the connection to Robert.
It has to be another side effect of Stockholm.
The rev of an engine draws my attention to the back of the waiting line of cars. The deep vibration transforms into a screech of wheels, then a streak of black as a familiar Porsche accelerates along the parking lane to stop behind me.
Cole climbs out, stalking forward, cell in his hand, scowl set in stone. The closer he gets the deeper his brows pinch, until he’s glaring at me.
“Thank Christ.” Sarah jogs toward us, her arm tight around her ribs. “I tried calling Hunter but he must be on the phone. And Luca isn’t answering. Where is everyone?”
“My house. Or on the way there. What the fuck happened? Where’s Penny?”
Penny?
Sarah doesn’t speak, but the fear in her eyes says it all as she stares at Cole.
“She’s meant to be here?” I ask. “She was in the car with you?”
They ignore me, Cole’s face tightening, his shoulders stiff.
“Robert has her?” I push from the car, demanding their attention.
“I was out of it,” Sarah pleads with Cole. “I don’t know if she ran or if she was taken?”
My stomach free falls.
“She was taken,” I confirm. “Witnesses watched a man put a woman in the trunk of a car before he sped off. I need you both to tell me everything you know.” I step closer, right up to Cole. “What information do you have on him?”
“The time for shared knowledge is over,” he states in a flat tone. Emotionless. Detached. “That was your choice.”
“Don’t be an asshole. If Penny’s in trouble—”
“Penny is none of your concern.”