The Grace In Darkness (37 page)

I rubbed the bandages they
’
d wrapped around my hands and squeezed them into fists. I
’
d been through worse. Hell, I
’
d probably go through a lot worse in the future, so I wasn
’
t about to let this get to me.

“
Mr. Dare?
”

I looked up to find another detective standing outside the bars of my cell. He looked tired and worn out, like he hadn
’
t slept in the last decade. His wrinkled shirt hung on him as if he hadn
’
t changed it in a few days. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and I
’
m sure if I looked closer, I
’
d probably find a coffee stain or two down the font. His slacks were somewhat rumpled, and he shoved his hands into his pockets.

“
If I say no, does that mean I get to go home?
”

“
I heard you confessed to the murder of Mr. Curt.
”

“
That I did. Let
’
s get this show on the road.
”

“
How
’
d you do it?
”

“
What?
”

“
How did you kill Mr. Curt?
”

“
I shot him,
”
I said without pause.

“
Where?
”

“
In the head.
”
I knew J.D. was ruthless. He
’
d give no mercy. I hated I knew how that sick bastard worked.

He took a step closer.
“
You do understand the extent of your claim, Mr. Dare?
”

“
It isn
’
t a claim. I killed him. Me. Alone.
”

“
If you
’
re lying, you
’
ll be charged with obstruction of justice.
”

“
I said I killed him!
”
I growled.

“
I don
’
t believe you. A fighter? Yes. A killer? No.
”

“
It doesn
’
t really matter what you believe, detective.
”

“
Look,
”
he started, leaning into the bars,
“
I get what you
’
re doing. It
’
s admirable. You want to protect your family, but this isn
’
t the way to do that.
”

“
I don
’
t know what you want me to say, detective.
”

“
Give me something so I can help you.
”

“
I don
’
t know what you
’
re talking about.
”

“
Miss Noelle seems to think she was drugged the night Mr. Curt was killed.
”

“
She was.
”

“
So give me names. Who was it?
”

I wasn
’
t a narc by any means, but after everything that had happened recently, I didn
’
t see any need to protect these people.

“
And then? I give you names and I get a slap on the wrists?
”

“
Well, that might have worked had you not punched that officer back there.
”

He signaled behind him with his head, and I leaned over, looking around his body to the officer with a swollen black eye, who sat glaring at me from behind a metal desk. Leaning back, I looked at the detective and shrugged.

“
Sorry, kneejerk reaction.
”

The corner of his mouth twitched with a smirk.
“
Unfortunately for you, Mr. Dare, I don
’
t have a deal for kneejerk reactions.
”

“
Makes sense. I have the worst streak in luck these days. So what do you have for me?
”

“
You give me names, you
’
ll do some time for assaulting an officer.
”

“
Don
’
t get me wrong, I
’
m grateful and all, but how much time is
some
time?
”

“
A year or less, give or take, depending on your background.
”

“
So we
’
ll just say a year, then.
”

I rested against the wall and thought about my options. That took less than a second when I realized I had no options. It could
’
ve been worse. I could
’
ve been going away for a murder I didn
’
t commit. I would have done it, though. For my brother... for Araya... I would have done it. I owed him that much for falling for his girl.

“
Let
’
s get this over with, then.
”

T
here wasn
’
t one part of me that was second-guessing what I was about to do. I was done letting Jonathan Dare think he could control everything and everyone. I wouldn
’
t let him ruin Araya. Sebastian had been right... Without trying, I was going to be the one to ruin Araya
’
s life if I didn
’
t fix this. I couldn
’
t let that happen.

The door to the small room opened and a police officer came in.

“
Mr. Dare, please follow me.
”

I frowned.
“
I need to see the detective. Where is he?
”

“
He
’
s waiting for you in the front.
”

“
Waiting for me? Why?
”

“
You
’
re being released, Mr. Dare. Please follow me.
”

“
What? No! I need to speak to the detective right now. I need to talk to him!
”

“
He
’
s in the process of discharging Miss Noelle right now.
”

“
She
’
s being released? I don
’
t understand.
”
I got up from the table and followed the police officer to the front.

Araya was standing on the other side of the counter where I
’
d spent a good portion of the evening pacing. They were explaining to her the forms she was signing.

“
Sign here, Miss Noelle, and you
’
re free to go.
”

“
Where
’
s Ryland? I need to speak to him.
”

“
Araya?
”
I pushed through the half door and spun her into my arms. I cupped the sides of her head, my thumb sweeping across her bottom lip.
“
Thank God! Are you all right?
”

“
Ryland.
”
She sounded sad and relieved at the same time.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”

“
It
’
s Sebastian. He confessed, Ryland. He didn
’
t do it, but he confessed.
”

“
What are you talking about?
”
I turned toward the detective.
“
Where is my brother? I want to see him.
”

“
I
’
m afraid I can
’
t do that, Mr. Dare. Your brother confessed to the murder of Michael Curt. He
’
s being processed and set to be transferred to the country jail until his court date.
”

“
Please, detective. Give me five minutes to talk to him.
”

Detective Marks asked one of the officers to take me back to Sebastian
’
s holding cell. He was lying on the small cot, his arm behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

“
What are you doing, Sebastian?
”
I asked, stopping in front of the cell.

His head rolled lazily in my direction.
“
Do me a favor, little brother. Get me one of those really cool harmonicas so I can learn how to play the jail house blues… or is it rock?
”

“
You didn
’
t kill anyone, Sebastian.
”

“
Yeah, well, neither did you, Ryland.
”

“
How
’
d you know?
”

“
Dear old Dad, of course. He came to see me right after you told him what you were going to do.
”

“
I didn
’
t need you to do this. I
’
ll tell them you lied.
”

“
Then I would
’
ve been charged with obstruction of justice.
”

“
Would
’
ve?
”

“
Well, it turns out I
’
m not a very good liar.
”

“
Really? According to the talk on the streets—and by the streets, I mean the walk from the front to the back—it seems you made an epic confession. Even punched a guy.
”

“
Eh, don
’
t believe everything you hear, little brother.
”

I turned around and looked at the police officer sporting the black eye. He was glaring in our direction.

I nodded my head toward him.
“
Hey. How are you?
”
He didn
’
t respond.

“
What happens now?
”

“
Well, I gave them the names of the fuckers who drugged Araya and her friend, and they gave me a slap on the wrists.
”

“
That
’
s all?
”

He shrugged.
“
It might have been if I hadn
’
t used yours truly over there as a human punching bag. With my record, I
’
ll do some jail time.
”

“
How long?
”

“
A year maybe.
”

I appreciated Sebastian
’
s sentiment about this whole situation, but seeing him behind those bars wasn
’
t right. Ever since we were young and I got into a fight with Billy Sanders and got my very first black eye defending Careless, Sebastian had been the one to teach me how to protect myself so it didn
’
t happen again. He
’
d even taught Careless a thing or two so she didn
’
t have to take any guy
’
s crap.

“
I could
’
ve handled it.
”

“
Oh, I know you could
’
ve.
”

“
Why
’
d you do it, Sebastian?
”

“
Because you need to take care of Araya, Ryland. And because I owe you for kissing her. And because I wasn
’
t going to let that son of a bitch win. I
’
ve got this one, little brother.
”

“
You are a dick for kissing her.
”

“
Yeah, I am, and I
’
m really sorry about that.
”

“
He
’
ll pay for this, Sebastian. For everything he
’
s done to us.
”

“
I know he will.
”