Page 191 of Five Mountain Daddies

I hate myself for what happened. I hate myself for letting Jaxson get so close to her. I’m going to catch that fucking scumbag, and I’m going to make sure he rots in prison. I know he killed Atticus, I believe it beyond the shadow of a doubt, and all I need to do is get my hands on him. I know I can make him confess, just given theopportunity.

That rat got away though. Now our only lead is Reggie, and Mitch was good enough to agree to let me talk tohim.

“Just try not to let him get to you,” I say to Cora as we approach thestation.

She shrugs. “I’ll beokay.”

“You won’t be in the room, just watching through the mirror. But he might say some things you won’tlike.”

“I’ll bestrong.”

I grin at her. “Good.” I pull her against me and briefly kiss her lips before letting her go. “It’s gametime.”

We walk together through the front doors. Mitch meets us out front, lookingsomber.

“How are you guys holding up?” heasks.

“We’re good,” Isay.

“I’m sorry about what happened to you,” he says to Cora. “To both ofyou.”

“We’re okay,” she says. “Just anxious to get someanswers.”

He nods and motions for us to follow. “We all are,” he says. “I wish I had talked to you sooner, Wyatt. Reggie took a turn for the worse after school, fell in with a bunch of rough guys, turned into a realbastard.”

“He got huge, too,” Isay.

Mitch chuckles. “Yeah, that helpedhim.”

“I have to admit,” I say softly. “I never would have pegged Reggie as thetype.”

We move through the back halls of the station. People don’t look at us twice, and I know Mitch is doing this as a favor. His superiors probably don’t even know, and everyone’s pretending like they don’t seeus.

He stops outside of an interrogation room. The door’s marked as “INTERROGATION 2” with another, unmarked door a few feet furtheron.

“He wasn’t,” Mitch says. “But then his dad died, and his mom died not long later, and I think he just turned to drugs. Plus, he got big, and people started to respect him in a way they never didbefore.”

“That can go to a guy’s head,” I say,nodding.

Cora makes a face. “Are you two really making excuses forhim?”

“Not at all,” I say, turning to her. “But it’s better to understand who you’re talking to before goingin.”

“Right,” Mitch says. “Interrogation techniques all say you should try and get inside the head of your subject. Got to know him if you’re going to dothat.”

I nod at Mitch. He appears to know what he’s talking about, which surprises me. I pegged him for just another small-town uniformed lifer, but maybe he’s smarter thanthat.

“It’ll be okay,” I say to Cora. “Just trust me,okay?”

“Okay,” shesays.

“You’re down this way,” Mitch says, leading Cora to the next door. “Just go in, don’t turn on the light, and don’t make a sound. Gotit?”

“Got it,” shesays.

Mitch opens the door and she shoots me a look before stepping inside. He shuts the door softly behindher.

I stretch a little, rolling my neck. “Ready?” I askhim.

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