Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I crouch in front of her. “I’m not letting anything happen to you.”
She lifts her gaze to mine, and I see the tears behind her eyes. She’s strong, but this? It’s too much. “I’m worried they might try to pin this on you.”
I nod. “We’re close. And someone’s trying to silence us before we get there.”
Knight glances up. “You think this is Helena?”
“I think it’s her or someone she’s directing,” I say. “This feels like a cleanup. She was so smug when I blew up on the guys. Like she planned this.”
Arrow frowns. “But what’s the angle? Frame Gage for murder? Use it to smear River in the press?”
“Or keep her scared,” I say darkly. “Either way I’m not going down for this. We need to figure out what happened.”
River’s hands tighten into fists. “I want to be angry. I want to scream. But right now, I’m just terrified that this isn’t the end. What if we’re next?”
I take her hands in mine. “They want us to feel that way. But you’re not alone anymore, River. I’ve got you. We’ve got you.”
She nods slowly, a tear escaping down her cheek.
Just then, a knock sounds at the door.
Arrow checks the peephole. “It’s the cops. Showtime.”
I stand and steel myself. “Let’s give them the clean version. No drama, no defensiveness. Just the truth.”
“Got your back,” Knight mutters.
The interview takes a while.
Two detectives. A lot of questions.
They prod at our version of the night—ask about the altercation, about what was said, who saw it. I admit I lost my temper, that I told them off, but I never touched them.
“Where were you after the party?” the cop asks.
“I went to a place with River. It’s an old print shop on Riverside.” I rattle off the address, and they write it down in their stupid little pad of paper.
“Can you confirm this?” the other cop asks. He looks at River like she’s the scum on the bottom of his shoe. They’re obviously not buying anything we’re putting out there.
River nods. “Yes, we were together.”
The cop glances at his phone, and answers. “Yes. Yes. Yes, Ma’am. Got it.” He hangs up the phone, shoving it into his back pocket and then reaching for his handcuffs off his belt. “Gage Dawson, you’re under arrest for the murder of Alan Rottledge. Benjamin Foster. And Ryan Carmine.” He goes through the motions of slapping the cuffs on my wrists.
“Don’t say a fucking word,” Dean Maddox says through the Zoom call.
Arrow nods. “We’ll get this all settled. Hang tight,” he tells me.
River stares at me and starts crying. “He didn’t do this,” she tries to plead with the cops, but they’re not listening.
“Don’t cry,” I tell her, knowing full well whatever they’ve got on me won’t stick, because…well obviously. I didn’t fucking do it.
I, however, keep quiet. Arrow’s attorney friend talks through the speakers asking what they’ve got on me. The other cop takes the bait, and mentions a video of me doing the crime.
How convenient.
THIRTY-NINE
RIVER
I’m still in yesterday’s clothes.
My hair’s a mess, my eyes burn from lack of sleep, and I’m cradling Gage’s hoodie like it might be the only thing holding me together. I can still smell him in it. Soap and heat and something that’s just… him.
I don’t know what time it is. The light filtering through the blinds looks like morning, but I haven’t slept. Not really.
Not since the cops showed up.
Not since they shoved Gage against the wall and handcuffed him right here in his apartment like he was some kind of monster.
Their words still echo in my skull.
“River,” he said, calm and careful, even with panic dancing in his eyes. “Stay strong, okay?”
Then he was gone.
Just like that.
Now I’m curled on the couch, arms wrapped around my knees, staring at the spot where he stood. I can still feel the heat of his body, still hear the way his voice dropped when he told me I was his. That we were real.
How can someone like him be accused of murder?
He was with me all night. I know he didn’t do it.
But the police claim they have video evidence. That they saw him leaving the warehouse near the river where the bodies were found.
Another deep fake.
Obviously.
There’s motion at the front door. A key. Unlocking.
Arrow barrels in through the door, followed by Juno, Knight, and Lark. When Gage was arrested they went to the station to try to bail him out. To figure out what could be done. I stayed behind, they said it was safer. I still don’t agree.
“Anything?” I ask as soon as the door shuts. My voice sounds so small. “They said there’s footage—proof. But it’s fake. It has to be.”
Arrow kneels beside me, resting his hand on my arm. “We’re gonna fix this.”
Knight paces behind the couch, furious. “What’s the chain of custody? Who gave them the footage? Who leaked it?”