I stare right back at him, letting him see just how far I’ll go for this. “I know.”
The silence in the room could fucking kill me as we remain locked in each other’s feral stares. “You’re speaking of Orlando Channing. The top criminal defense lawyer in the country, your neighbor, and your girlfriend’s new stepfather,” he says. “Are you sure you’re not acting out due to personal differences? Perhaps he doesn’t approve of your relationship with his daughter.”
“Stepdaughter,” I clarify. “And you’re damn right it’s personal. The guy is the dirtiest fucking lawyer I’ve ever met. He allowed my sister’s rapist to walk free for the purpose of his own fucking ego, the little girl next door who he’s watched grow and mature into a beautiful young woman. It’s because of him that last night even happened. If he hadn’t stood in the way of true justice, Colby would have been behind bars, awaiting trial while my sister, girlfriend, and cousin wouldn’t be suffering in this goddamn hospital—”
“And Colby wouldn’t have been beaten to a pulp, suffering severe brain injuries and in an induced coma,” Officer Kennedy says.
“And if Colby hadn’t come onto private property with a fucking knife, he wouldn’t be in his current situation either,” I throw right back at him.
“Okay, okay,” Daniels says, holding out his hands. “We’re getting off track. Let’s rewind and take this back to last night. You were saying how Colby was looking for Brielle and had just alluded to the fact that he’d hurt your sister.”
“Yes.”
“Are there other witnesses who can confirm what Colby said?”
“Yes. There were a bunch of people. Jaxon, Logan. My friend Hudson, and Brielle’s friends were there too. They all heard it.”
“Okay,” he says. “Go on. What happened after that?”
“It’s a bit of a blur after that. All I could think about was my sister. If she was alive, where she was, and if he’d really hurt her like he’d done before. I think I yelled or said something because Colby turned around and saw me with Bri and he started running at us—at her—and I couldn’t let him hurt another person I loved. I was ready to take him out, but Jax was closer and lunged at him. He tried to drag him back, but Colby took him down. It happened so fast. One minute he was there trying to save everybody, and the next thing I know, everyone was screaming and blood was covering Jax’s shirt.
“Bri was pulling on my arm, and I think I pushed her away. Maybe that was later, I don’t know. All I know is, Colby was coming for us, and I had to protect her. I took him to the ground, and at some point, Hudson went to find Addison, but it’s all a blur. Colby was still swinging his knife, trying to get me off him and I think he nicked me. It wasn’t until he’d stopped moving and I was running back down the hill to check on my sister that I realized Brielle had been hurt as well. She fell into the grass and I … I couldn’t help everybody. They were all dying and there was nothing I could do to help them.”
“Everybody survived,” Detective Daniels says, watching as the trauma of the night plays on my mind. “You did what you had to do.”
I stare at the table, wishing to be anywhere but here. “What’s going to happen from here?”
“At this stage, it’s too early to give you any definite answers. Statements and evidence need to be collected. However, from where I’m sitting, it is a self-defense case. With so many people on the property, I’m sure there are enough witnesses to corroborate your story, and I wouldn’t be surprised if video footage showed up.”
“And if Colby dies?”
“That complicates things,” he says, pushing back out of his seat and standing. “For now, sit tight. This is a very messy situation you’ve gotten yourself into, and I don’t think I need to tell you the implications if you were to run from this.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“See to it that you don’t,” he says, nodding to Officer Kennedy, who reaches across the table and scoops up the recording device. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. In the meantime, let’s hope this doesn’t turn into a murder case.”
And with that, Daniels and Kennedy walk out the door, leaving me staring after them, unsure what to make of everything that just happened. Though one thing is for sure—Colby Jacobs still lives, and until his heart stops beating, I won’t stop fighting for justice. And if that justice never comes, the whole world will feel my wrath.
Chapter 4
BRIELLE
Gripping my stomach and my drip, I try to pull myself up off the toilet for the tenth time in the last fifteen minutes.
It’s useless. I’m going to die on this toilet. I’ve been bursting to pee all morning, but apparently getting onto the toilet isn’t nearly as hard as trying to pull myself off it again. Who would have known getting stabbed isn’t nearly as bad as caring for it the next twenty-four hours after?
The hospital kicked Tanner out twenty minutes ago when he started to look like the walking dead, insisting he get some rest, and as much as I love the idiot, I couldn’t wait for him to go. Pretending I didn’t need to pee all morning is a crap load harder than it ought to be. It’s stupid, I know, but Tanner still thinks I’m a sexy, deviant goddess. I don’t want him witnessing my toilet habits quite so soon, and I know damn well he would have demanded to take me.
If only I weren’t so stubborn. A normal person in my predicament would have pressed the big, red for-the-love-of-God-someone-please-help-me button that’s conveniently placed on the wall right next to the toilet paper.
Fuck my life. How did I get here?
I’ve been out of my bed for long enough, and at some point, I’m either going to tear my stitches or somebody will walk in to witness my humiliation, and knowing my luck, it’ll probably be Riley. The asshole has been non-stop messaging me all day, wondering what the deal is with my ass cherry. It’s his messed-up little way to let me know he’s thinking of me, but the joke’s on him. My ass cherry was popped long ago, I just wish it wasn’t. The whole ordeal wasn’t pretty, and I was way too underprepared for a monster like that. It only happened once, but my ass never forgave me. I said it at the track as a joke to help calm Tanner down, but now the more it’s mentioned, the more my curiosity is piqued.
Shit. I shouldn’t be thinking about ass stuff while stuck on the toilet.
Giving it another try, I suck in a breath and prepare myself for toilet domination … fuck, no. That doesn’t sound right. Unless someone feels like shoving laxatives down my throat, there will be no toilet domination today.
Planting my feet firmly on either side of the bowl and gripping the drip, I clench my eyes and give it one last try, hauling myself up and feeling as though all my guts and insides are about to come falling out of my stab wound. “Holy fuck,” I breathe, wobbling on my feet and using the wall to keep me upright.
Maybe it’s time for more painkillers.
After struggling through washing my hands, I finally get out of the bathroom, only for my whole world to crash and burn once again. My mom and Orlando crowd my room as though they have every right to be here, and the irritation I feel at seeing both their faces is like nothing I’ve ever known.