and she was left to stress out in peace. She hadn’t seen Langley on her trip through the station, which meant there would be no conferring before this meeting. She was on her own.
Best get used to that.
Minutes later, her police escort returned and set a paper cup of water in front of her.
When Detective Rio showed up, he came with Lucas and Brett. That surprised her. She’d expected to be interviewed on her own.
Lucas sat next to her. But Brett and Detective Addario pulled out chairs across the table. She fought the weepy feeling that Brett had just chosen sides, and it wasn’t hers.
“How you holding up?” There was concern in Lucas’s voice and eyes.
Not so much in Brett’s. No sir, the man whose memory had glued her together for the past two years looked guarded. Distant.
A caricature of the man she’d once known.
The pain struck sudden and deep. Since it hurt too much to look at Brett, she focused on Lucas, offering an unsteady smile. “Okay, I guess. I appreciate you being here for me.”
“Hey, we take care of our own.” He reached for her fingers, but dropped his hand before they touched.
“Has anyone contacted Mitch? Let him know that I’m free?” She looked at Detective Addario but couldn’t read anything on his expressionless face.
Lucas glanced at the two men across the table before turning back to her. “He’s been called multiple times. He’s not picking up.”
His voice was monotone, a sure sign he was hiding something. He was probably worried about Mitch. None of Mitch’s teammates had a clue about the rot beneath his façade. He’d fooled everyone. And like Lucas had just said, SEALs took care of their own. That went double for teammates.
The fact Mitch wasn’t returning his buddies’ calls was a surprise, though. Mitch was a slimy, manipulative bastard. Why wasn’t he busy manipulating them?
“Did anyone pick up my purse?” She needed her phone. Maybe Mitch would answer if he recognized her number.
“It’s been recovered,” Addario said. “You’ll get it back once it’s been processed.”
Processed? Sarah’s eyebrows rose. “You do realize I’m the victim here, right?”
When the detective simply stared back, she stiffened. Did Addario know something? Was that why he was so suspicious?
“Have you talked to your fiancé since you were taken?” Addario asked, his voice flat.
“Ex-fiancé.” The correction popped out without thinking, but she let it stand. It was pretty obvious Mitch had cut her loose. And after his refusal to pay her ransom, it wouldn’t look odd that she’d broken the engagement. “And no. I haven’t talked to Mitch. The guy who took me and Langley called him constantly. Like over and over again. He left countless messages. He even had me speak into the phone while Mitch’s voicemail was going, but Mitch never came on the line. He never called back. He just left me there.” She paused, frowning. “Do you think something happened to him?”
Not that she gave a crap if her rotten fiancé was in trouble. His demise would be worth celebrating. Still…his refusal to pay the kidnapper made no sense.
While Mitch didn’t care about her, he should have cared about his partner. He should have cared about staying in business. He should have cared about repercussions if he didn’t make good on his debt.
Gunrunners were not the kind of people one wanted to get on the bad side of, so why had Mitch refused to pay up?
Another round of glances went around the table.
Okay…what was that about? It looked like she wasn’t the only one holding onto secrets.
“Do you have reason to believe someone is after Mitch too?” The detective asked.
“No,” Sarah said after a long moment. “The guy who took Langley and me never said anything about anyone else.”
Detective Addario pulled a white legal pad closer to him and uncapped a pen. “Take me through what happened today.”
“Okay.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Where do you want me to start?”
“From the beginning.” He stared at her with dark, distrustful eyes.
She drew another breath…even deeper and shakier. Suddenly, huge, shocked eyes flashed through her mind. Choppy, shallow breaths.
“I didn’t mean to kill him,” she whispered, staring blankly down at the table, while raspy, choking breathing filled her memory. “I was trying to take the gun from him, but it went off.” Her shudder shook her entire frame. “It was an accident.”
Brett stirred, his hands twitching. He pulled them off the table.
Scooting his chair closer, Lucas leaned over to give her a one-armed hug. “It was self-defense,