Chapter 18
Claire
What the fuck is happening?
I don’t know how Cano found out about me, but if what he said about Chris is the truth, then the sky has officially dropped.
The tears keep falling even though I’m desperate to not show any weakness.
When the Ryan Lorentz got out of the car, I thought I was going to pass out. This is so much bigger than I anticipated.
But I have a secret: a knife, tucked into my shoe. It’s been my mainstay any time I leave my house. Chris—or whatever his name is—doesn’t even know I’ve been carrying it around. With all the information that’s come to light, I haven’t been able to focus long enough to grab it.
That’s about to change, though. With Cano distracted by Lorentz, I can slowly work my way into my shoe.
I’m distracted momentarily by Lorentz opening the box with the huge-ass diamond in it. Then, I quickly pop out the knife and lunge for Cano at the same time the doors surrounding the warehouse burst open.
“Police, hands up!” Yells echo in the empty space.
So much happens in the span of what feels like three seconds. I’m handcuffed and yanked off the floor.
A woman grabs my arms. “Right this way. We’ll get you down to our office and figure out the rest later.”
“Nova! Shit.” I hear Chris curse, but I can’t see him.
I pull against the hold the woman has on me, but she shoves me toward the open door.
That’s when I hear gunshots.
“No!” I scream, trying to run toward the sounds, but I’m yanked back.
“You are not getting killed on my watch. Head down,” the woman practically growls.
Once I’m locked in the car, she sprints toward the action, and I’m left wondering what the hell is happening.
I watch for any sign of Chris or Cano, but none come.
Time passes in a warp. I can’t tell if thirty seconds pass or thirty minutes.
When the woman comes back, she tucks her gun in her holster before slipping into the driver’s seat and leaving the warehouse.
“What’s going on?” I ask frantically.
“You’re being taken for questioning. You’ll sit tight until that mess gets sorted, then we’ll have a conversation and go from there.”
“Am I being arrested?”
“We’ll determine that once the dust settles.”
“Who are you?” I ask, trying desperately to find answers.
“I’m Deputy U.S. Marshal Juliette Knight.”
“Marshals? I thought they handled fugitives,” I mutter to myself.
“Some do. We just happen to be running a bigger operation.”
“And Chris is a Marshal too?” I ask.
“Chris? Ah, yes. He is.” The way she says it means that Chris isn’t his real name, but I have a feeling I don’t have the right to ask for it. “Is he alright?”
She looks at me in the rearview mirror. “What’s he to you?”
Great question. What is Chris to me? I know I want more time with him. I know I like him far too much. And I also know that I know nothing about him. He’s law enforcement, for God’s sake.
Holy shit, how much trouble am I in?
“I … have no idea.”
The drive to the police department is far quicker than my head needs to catch up on what’s going on. Juliette gets me out of the car and into what I assume is an interview room. She is nice enough to unlock the cuffs and get me some water.
“One of us will be back in a few.” Then she’s gone.
Now, I have all the time in the world to think about what the fuck happened today. Too bad my head is stuck on if I’m going to prison. I mean, I was helping move all those artifacts. I literally jammed myself into a position closer to Cano, so they likely have way more dirt on me.
How many years would all that get me?
Cano.
I remember lunging before all hell broke loose.
My mind works tirelessly to figure out if I made contact or not.
My hand moves up into my field of vision.
The feeling of your blood draining or being so shocked your body feels like electricity is zapping it hits me hard.
It’s wired yet sluggish at the same time.
Darkened red blood covers my right hand. I look all over it, trying to find the source but find no cuts. Did I actually hit Cano? If I did, was I able to do enough damage?
Oh no … I’m here because I murdered him.
I always knew it would come to this. I had contingencies on contingencies. Most of them involved me fleeing the country. I’ve only ever thought about what going to prison would be like a couple of times. I always assumed I would either get away with it or die, honestly.
This is definitely not that.
“Miss Daniels, is it?” A tall man walks in, startling me.
“Y-y-yes.”
“I’m Deputy Sinclair. Can you tell me why you were in that warehouse?”
“Am I in trouble?” My hands are shaking uncontrollably.
“Not currently. We’re just trying to get a handle on how you got involved in all of this.” He sits across from me.
“I just work at Bella’s.” I can hear the pleading in my voice.
“And the warehouse?”
My mouth opens and closes a couple of times before I decide maybe my best course is honesty. “I was with Chris Roth, delivering an artifact to Oscar Cano.”
“And how did you get involved with the dealing of artifacts?” His no-nonsense tone is frightening, but there’s something else there too that makes me trust him. Just like Chris.
“I met Chris and had become friendly. One night, we ran into each other at Bella’s, where he needed to borrow an article of clothing in order to wrap up a delivery. It snowballed from there.”
“And you thought things would just work out, or did you have an ulterior motive?”
“I wanted to get close to Cano in order to avenge my twin brother, who died because of him.” In for a penny, in for a pound.
“I see. Thank you for being honest. I need to run this by my boss, but we’ll be back shortly.”
Just like Deputy Knight, he’s gone as fast as he came.
God knows how many hours I’ve sat in this chair. Multiple people have come in to get me drinks, food, and bathroom breaks, but there have been no further questions.
I have no clue what happened in the aftermath of the warehouse, even though I’ve asked every single person who’s walked through the door since Deputy Sinclair left.
I’m at a loss. There’s nothing to do and no one coming to talk, just me and my overanxious thoughts. And those are barely making sense anymore.
The door slams open this time, rattling the glass and scaring the shit out of me.
“I’m Deputy Collins. I’ll be arranging where you go from here.” He’s not even looking at me. Instead, his focus is on a manila folder.
“Umm, what?”
It’s then he finally looks at me. “Think of it like witness protection with more freedom. We’re going to need you in a safe house until we can round up the bulk of Cano’s crew. You seem to have an incredible memory that we can use.”
His words make me snap. From somewhere deep inside of me, the stubborn, hard-ass Nova resurfaces. “Did Chris tell you that? What if I say no?”
There’s a hint of a smirk on this man’s face, but I barely register it.
“If you are willing, we need your testimony on everything you’ve seen. More specifically, who you’ve seen. We’re not entirely sure just how far Cano’s reach goes, so we’re putting you in a safe house until we have a handle on things and have these bastards in jail.”
“Am I going to jail?” I arch an eyebrow.
“If you agree to work with us, no. If you refuse, you’ll be going down for Oscar Cano’s murder.”
“He’s dead?” I gasp.
“He is.”
“And I killed him?” Elation and relief, mixed with fear, paralyze my body.
“You did some good damage. I don’t have the final word if it was your knife to the neck or one of the shots that killed him, but I will use this to my advantage.”
“By blackmailing me.”
“By enticing you to do the right thing. Some people on our team believe you have some good in that heart and head. I’m not so sure, but it’s not my call. If you help us, you have blanket immunity.” He shrugs like he doesn’t care what choice I make.
My mind reels at the fact that Chris went to bat for me. It’s the only reason I can think of that this deal is even on the table.
“Do I get to see Chris?” Might as well go for broke and ask, right?
“You do not. I need your answer so we can move you immediately. You’ll stay in the city, but no one will know where you land. It’ll be your job to stay under the radar. We can only protect you so much since you wouldn’t be fully in witness protection.”
My decision is a reflex. “When do we leave?”
“Right now.” He stands up, motioning for me to go out the door before he leads me out the back to a blacked-out SUV.
The drive is so long that I end up falling asleep wondering if I made the right choice because I have a feeling my whole life is about to change.