Roberts said, and listened intently.
“I’m here at the trailer. We’re definitely looking at a one-eight-seven.”
“Ten-four, I’ll call it in,” Roberts said. He excused himself and went out to the squad car to call in the homicide.
“Who was here?” Megan hissed as soon as the door had closed behind the officer.
“No one,” Dev hissed back.
“Dev—”
“She didn’t see anything, okay? And if she gets caught drinking, she’ll be in worse trouble than I am, so please don’t say anything.”
Megan shook her head. “I can’t go along with that—”
“You said I could trust you!” Dev cut her off with a harsh whisper. “You promised I could come to you with anything.” The latch on the door clicked, warning of the cop’s return. Dev hit Megan with a warning glare.
Megan was torn. Dev was so used to being screwed over by the adults in her life; she would see Megan’s exposure as ratting out her and her friend. On the other hand, buzzed teenagers weren’t known for having the best judgment. Withholding information from the police—no matter how harmless—wasn’t a good idea for a lot of reasons.
Still, Megan remained silent, listening as Dev told Officer Roberts in excruciating detail about the few seconds she’d been in that trailer.
“I couldn’t see that well,” Dev said. “There was no light except for the TV. At first I thought it was a movie or something, like someone had paused it.” Dev closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. “Only a sicko would pause on a scene like that, right? On a close-up of… ThenI saw the blood and realized that what was on the TV was in the room.”
Something nudged the back of Megan’s brain, like a polite fingertirying to get her attention, but she didn’t have a chance to hone in on it. At that moment, Dev’s pale cheeks took on a greenish cast and she swallowed hard. Acting on pure instinct, Megan wrapped her arm around Dev’s shoulders, hauled her off the couch, and herded her into the kitchen. They made it to the sink just in time to prevent the beer and Cheetos Dev had consumed from splattering all over the floor.
Megan got Dev a glass of water and rubbed her back as the girl rinsed and spit. She stood at the sink, her back to the door, and held Dev’s hair as she heaved into the sink again.
Poor kid.
She heard a car pull up outside, followed by heavy footfalls on the trailer’s front steps. A knock, a murmur of masculine voices was all shunted to the background as Megan focused on preventing Dev from completely falling apart.
“If you don’t mind, Roberts, I’ll take it from here.”
Everything inside Megan froze at the sound of that voice. Common sense told her to stop being ridiculous, that it couldn’t be him. Even if it was, there was no reason in hell for her body to react this way.
Her body had different ideas, and warmth radiated out from her center as every nerve ending sparked with heightened awareness. Her traitorous body, which didn’t give a damn that he’d turned his back on her in the name of duty when she’d needed him most, didn’t care that he’d broken her heart so bad she knew it would never be the same.
Her senses knew what her mind refused to accept.
She turned slowly, bracing herself as Detective Cole Williams stepped inside the trailer.
Chapter 4
M egan rubbed Dev’s back as she gagged over the sink, wondering when this would all be over.
Cole started to introduce himself as she turned to face him. “I’m—” He stopped short, his dark eyes widening, his body visibly jolting with shock. “Megan?” His hand twitched as though about to reach for her, but he regained his composure almost immediately. All emotion fled and his eyes got that flat, dead, cop look that never failed to unnerve her.
Waves of hot and cold shuddered through Megan as she attempted to follow Cole’s lead. “Hello, Detective Williams.” Her voice trembled a little at the end, and even as she mentally
“I’m here at the trailer. We’re definitely looking at a one-eight-seven.”
“Ten-four, I’ll call it in,” Roberts said. He excused himself and went out to the squad car to call in the homicide.
“Who was here?” Megan hissed as soon as the door had closed behind the officer.
“No one,” Dev hissed back.
“Dev—”
“She didn’t see anything, okay? And if she gets caught drinking, she’ll be in worse trouble than I am, so please don’t say anything.”
Megan shook her head. “I can’t go along with that—”
“You said I could trust you!” Dev cut her off with a harsh whisper. “You promised I could come to you with anything.” The latch on the door clicked, warning of the cop’s return. Dev hit Megan with a warning glare.
Megan was torn. Dev was so used to being screwed over by the adults in her life; she would see Megan’s exposure as ratting out her and her friend. On the other hand, buzzed teenagers weren’t known for having the best judgment. Withholding information from the police—no matter how harmless—wasn’t a good idea for a lot of reasons.
Still, Megan remained silent, listening as Dev told Officer Roberts in excruciating detail about the few seconds she’d been in that trailer.
“I couldn’t see that well,” Dev said. “There was no light except for the TV. At first I thought it was a movie or something, like someone had paused it.” Dev closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. “Only a sicko would pause on a scene like that, right? On a close-up of… ThenI saw the blood and realized that what was on the TV was in the room.”
Something nudged the back of Megan’s brain, like a polite fingertirying to get her attention, but she didn’t have a chance to hone in on it. At that moment, Dev’s pale cheeks took on a greenish cast and she swallowed hard. Acting on pure instinct, Megan wrapped her arm around Dev’s shoulders, hauled her off the couch, and herded her into the kitchen. They made it to the sink just in time to prevent the beer and Cheetos Dev had consumed from splattering all over the floor.
Megan got Dev a glass of water and rubbed her back as the girl rinsed and spit. She stood at the sink, her back to the door, and held Dev’s hair as she heaved into the sink again.
Poor kid.
She heard a car pull up outside, followed by heavy footfalls on the trailer’s front steps. A knock, a murmur of masculine voices was all shunted to the background as Megan focused on preventing Dev from completely falling apart.
“If you don’t mind, Roberts, I’ll take it from here.”
Everything inside Megan froze at the sound of that voice. Common sense told her to stop being ridiculous, that it couldn’t be him. Even if it was, there was no reason in hell for her body to react this way.
Her body had different ideas, and warmth radiated out from her center as every nerve ending sparked with heightened awareness. Her traitorous body, which didn’t give a damn that he’d turned his back on her in the name of duty when she’d needed him most, didn’t care that he’d broken her heart so bad she knew it would never be the same.
Her senses knew what her mind refused to accept.
She turned slowly, bracing herself as Detective Cole Williams stepped inside the trailer.
Chapter 4
M egan rubbed Dev’s back as she gagged over the sink, wondering when this would all be over.
Cole started to introduce himself as she turned to face him. “I’m—” He stopped short, his dark eyes widening, his body visibly jolting with shock. “Megan?” His hand twitched as though about to reach for her, but he regained his composure almost immediately. All emotion fled and his eyes got that flat, dead, cop look that never failed to unnerve her.
Waves of hot and cold shuddered through Megan as she attempted to follow Cole’s lead. “Hello, Detective Williams.” Her voice trembled a little at the end, and even as she mentally
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