Somewhere Between Water and Sky (Shattered Things #2) (33 page)

“
I
’
ll be safe, Jude.
”

He closes his eyes.

“
You have to trust me.
”

When he opens them I see a sliver of confidence.
“
I know. And I do trust you. More than you know.
”
He smiles.
“
You can talk to the police, Stephanie. But let me go with you. Let me at least be there so I can field any legal questions they may have.
”

I study his face for a moment and then nod.

“
Deal.
”

I turn and look at Jessa and Ren.

“
Listen. You guys have been amazing. You don
’
t have to come
—
I can do this on my own. I
’
m sorry
—
I know I
’
ve ruined your day.
”

Ren frowns and Jessa balks.

“
Are you kidding?! I
’
m not leaving you.
”
She lifts her wrist and the bracelet dangles, the key catching the light above us.
“
I
’
m in this.
”
She winks.
“
Besides. This totally beats having guys hit on me at the coffee store.
”

Ren rolls his eyes and then catches my gaze.

“
Ren?
”

He shakes his head.
“
I
’
m in too, Mystery Girl.
”
He looks away and then a slow grin spreads across his face.
“
Besides. How could I miss out on all of this character study?
”

I groan and grab my purse, walking away from them.

“
What?
”
Ren calls after me.
“
It
’
s only truth. Stephanie. You
’
re like
…
fucking friends with Jack Bauer.
”

Jude, now walking beside me down the hall, hears that and crinkles his eyes.

“
Jack Bauer?
”
He mouths at me.

I shrug.

“
What can I say?
”
I nudge him with my elbow.
“
My friends have a thing for the mysterious hero and the over-dramatic.
”

Jude laughs and I look down at my hands and smile.

When I look back up, I blink away the tears. I can
’
t fall apart now
—
even though inside is a raging storm begging to be released. That will come at another moment
—
another day. Now? I sigh and square my shoulders.

Now is a moment for facing the monsters.

Chapter Seventeen

I don
’
t question my decision to talk to the police when I get into Jessa
’
s car and she tells me for the bajillionth time that she doesn
’
t mind coming with me.

I don
’
t question it when we turn the street corner and the precinct parking lot is twice as full as when we visited the other day.

I don
’
t even question it when we run into Jude, Kevin and Ren at the front doors.

But when we walk into the police station and I see Max in a corner office talking with a guy, I suddenly freeze.

What am I doing what am I doing what am I doing?

“
I can
’
t do this. I lied.
”
Jude turns toward me in surprise as I turn to leave. Jessa shakes her head and steps in front of me.

I motion my hand for her to move.
“
Jessa. I
’
m done. I can
’
t do this. It was a dumb-ass thing for me to come here.
”

She nods.
“
I get it. I do. But, do you want GI Jude and his man-boy talking for you?
”
She points to Kevin and Jude and I crack a smile.

“
You said man-boy.
”

She snaps her fingers in my face and I focus my gaze.

“
Repeat after me: not all cops are bad.
”

Ren snorts.

I whisper and roll my eyes.
“
Not all cops are bad.
”

Ren mutters under his breath.

“
Tupac is rolling over in his grave
…
.but no big. You guys just keep doing you.
”
He runs his hands through his hair and then glances back outside to a guy with piercings in his cheekbones.

“
I uh
…
I
’
mma go talk to ol
’
dude out there. But Stephanie, she
’
s right. Not all cops are shady douche wads.
”
He points his thumb over his shoulder.
“
So I
’
m gonna go talk to this dude, and you
’
re gonna go talk to that dude, and maybe we
’
ll both make some surprising friendships today. Deal?
”

Jessa throws him a look and I just sit there staring.

“
I don
’
t really know what you just said, Ren but
…
sure.
”

Jessa waves him off and he walks away, whistling Macklemore.

She turns and looks at me and grabs my shoulders.
“
You can do this. Your story matters. Your voice matters.
You
matter.
”
She shifts me around and I see Jude and Kevin, waiting for me, a curious look on their faces.

I close my eyes. The distant rumble of my father
’
s voice echoes in the quiet space and I just push them away.

Not here.

I open my eyes and smile.

“
Okay. Let
’
s go.
”

The truth was, I
could
do this. I know what it looks like to fake it until you feel a little bit of normalcy. So I push away the sadness and the fear. Max glances up from his stack of papers and sees us. He points in our direction and motions for the man sitting across from him to wait and then walks out of his office, calling attention to a nearby officer.

“
Hey Rob? Would you finish up with this guy? I just need his signature on those papers. Thanks.
”

He walks over to where we
’
re waiting.

“
Stephanie. Jessa. I
’
m surprised to see you here.
”

I nod and step in front of Kevin and Jude.

“
Could I maybe talk to you about something?
”

He falls back on the heels of his feet and sticks his hands in his pockets.
“
Sure.
”
He throws a glance at Kevin and Jude.

“
Do you know these guys?
”

I hesitate for a split second and then nod.
“
I do. That
’
s why I need to talk with you, actually.
”

He frowns and then motions us to his now empty office.

“
Here
—
take a seat.
”
He quickly glances at the crowd we
’
ve brought and shrugs.
“
I only have two
—
I apologize.
”

Jude quickly moves out of the way for Jessa to grab the second seat and him and Kevin position themselves between us and the door.

Max sits down and leans his elbows on the desk.

“
So what brought you in here today?
”
He rubs his hands over his face.
“
Sorry about the confusion earlier
—
our tip turned out to be a dud. But, we still got a lead on a cold case that we
’
d almost given up on so
…”
His palms turn upward.
“
It all worked out, it seems.
”

I clear my throat.
“
Actually. There was a guy in my room.
”

He pauses and stares at me.
“
Come again?
”

“
There was a guy in my room. And he was tied up. And, he was involved with illegal activity.
”
I bite my lip and breathe in, glancing down at my hands.

“
I just didn
’
t bring him in
—
I was set up.
”

His eyebrows lower.

“
Why would anyone set you up, Stephanie? And we checked your room
—
there was no one. If there was someone there, where did he go?
”

I turn my head and glance at Jude, standing with his hands clasped in front of him. We make eye contact and he nods slightly. I look at Max.

“
Jude took care of it
—
and I imagine you guys will talk through it all later, but the important thing is not how the guy got into my room. It
’
s who put him there.
”

Max swallows and runs his thumb underneath his lip.

“
I
’
m listening.
”

I breathe in and out and look at Jessa. She smiles and grabs for my hand.

“
My father put him there, Max.
”
I stop and wince and look around the office for any chance of escape because now I
’
m shaking and I don
’
t know if I can continue.

“
Your father?
”

You bitch. You
’
ll pay for opening that mouth of yours.

I startle and close my eyes
—
wishing the voice away. I feel Jude
’
s hand on my shoulder and I slowly find Max
’
s gaze.

“
Max, my father is Sam Tiller.
”

His eyes widen in recognition.

“
The guy in prison for trafficking? But how
…”

I lean forward.
“
Have you ever seen a picture of him without a beard? He looks different. An awful lot like a guy named Joey.
”

I wait for the pieces to fall together for Max. He falls back in his chair.

“
Fuck me.
”

He places his elbow on the arm of his chair and leans his head to rest on his hand.

“
You knew. When you two came in earlier last week
…
you knew.
”

I hold up my hand.
“
I knew. She didn
’
t.
”
I point to Jessa and then look at him again.

Please understand. Please hear me.

“
Max, my father is conniving. Smart. I don
’
t understand how he
’
s here but he is
—
and he
’
s
dangerous.
You have to understand. He had the entire police force back home eating out of his hand. Some of his biggest customers
—”
I falter and choke back a sob.

He straightens his back.