Page 89 of Ruthless Regret

When we’re done, Zain flags down the waitress for the check, ignores my offer to pay, and hands the waitress his credit card. Once she gives it back, we go back out to the car.

It only takes a couple of minutes to drive to the station. As we pull into the parking lot, my heart rate picks up speed.

This is it. We're about to face Holson, and hopefully uncover some of the truth we've been searching for.

He cuts the engine and turns to me. "You ready for this?"

I take a deep breath, steeling myself. "As ready as I'll ever be."

We walk into the station side by side, and I can't help but wonder what people must think, seeing us together like this. The wrongly convicted man and the girl whose testimony put him away.

McFadden is waiting for us in the lobby. "Ryder. Ms. Trumont, I didn’t expect you to be here. I thought you went back to New York."

“I did, but after talking to Zain, I decided I needed to come back and see this through. Have you found anything out about the man who attacked me?”

He shakes his head. “Unfortunately not. There was nothing at the scene that could give us a single lead. No one was seen near the property, or fleeing from it. But we’ll keep looking.” He nods at each of us in turn. "Follow me."

Zain's presence beside me is solid and reassuring, as we walk through the hallway. McFadden stops us just outside the door.

"Remember you're here as observers only. This is the viewing room. Stay in here, unless I ask you to come in. Understood?"

A muscle ticks in Zain’s jaw, but he nods.

"Ms. Trumont." McFadden turns to me, his expression softening slightly. "You don't have to be here for this if you don't want to be."

I lift my chin, meeting his gaze. "Iwantto be here. I need to know the truth."

He studies me for a moment, then nods. "Alright then. What is it you wanted me to ask him?”

“We wrote a list. I have it on my cell. Can I send it to you?” I take my phone out.

McFadden gives me his email address and I send the document I typed up to him.

He scans it, frowning, but doesn’t question us about anything listed. “Okay then, Let's do this."

As McFadden reaches for the door handle, I feel Zain's hand brush against mine. It's the briefest of touches, so light I might have imagined it, but when I glance at him, I can see the same determination in his eyes that I can feel coursing through me.

The door opens, and McFadden waves us into the viewing room.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

ZAIN

My eyes are fixedon Holson’s face through the one-way glass. I haven’t seen him since he took the stand at my trial, describing his part in the investigation that put me away for two life sentences. I thought I’d feel angry, the same way I felt about Ashley during the entire time I was imprisoned. But I don’t. I feel nothing, except tired.

The detective looks uncomfortable, shifting in his seat while McFadden talks about the case, and throwing in the questions we’ve prepared. So far, Holson’s answers have been vague, noncommittal. I’m sure he’s dancing around the truth, and it’s taking every ounce of self-control I have not to burst into that room and demand answers myself.

It’s infuriating,frustrating, watching him squirm like this, hearing him avoid answering the questions.

Fourteen years. Fourteen years of my life were taken because of lies, manipulation, and half-truths. The idea that Holson might have known something and said nothing gnaws at me, like an open wound that refuses to heal.

Ashley touches my arm, and I pull my attention away from what’s playing out in the room to look at her.

“Are you okay?”

I nod, but I’m lying. Every second that passes feels like another reminder of the time I’ve lost. Time I can never get back.

“Detective Holson,” McFadden’s voice comes through the speaker, calm but firm. “Can you explain why you took the lead in Ashley Trumont’s interviews? You were a junior detective at the time. Handling a sensitive interview like that, it wasn’t typical, was it? Detective Ramsey put a lot of trust in you. You didn’t find it unusual to be given that role? ”

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