Page 5 of Ruthless Regret

My hand is engulfed by his, and he gives it a firm shake before letting go.

“Are you okay? Were you hurt at all?”

My gaze shifts from him to Zain, who hasn’t moved from the doorway. He’s standing there, one shoulder propped against the doorframe, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his sweats. He’s still shirtless. I’m not even sure he’s realized that. His expression is shuttered, impossible to read.

The sheriff takes a seat on the couch, and looks at me. “Talk me through what happened.”

“What happened is no one was here to stop it.” Once again, Zain speaks before I can.

“My men were on their way. There’s no way we could have foreseen someone attempting anything today.”

“Attempting anythingtoday?What? Youknewsomeone was going to try something … just not today?”He’s not serious, surely?

“We knew there was a possibility that Zain’s interview would not go unnoticed. He’s just been released from prison. There are a lot of people out there obsessed with him and his trial. Some of them don’t think he should be out, and are just crazy enough to try and do something about it. We knew the interview might have the potential to bring some of them out of the woodwork, so we planned to have some deputies here just in case.” He takes a notebook and pen out of his breast pocket, and flips it open. “Now, can you tell me what happened?”

But my mind is too focused on what he said to answer that question. “Wait, during the interview, Zain said someone was arrested.Who?” My eyes go back to Zain.

He stares back at me. I have absolutely no idea what he’s thinking.

“It wasn’t an arrest, but we did bring someone in for questioning. We believe they kept information back that would have been important during the original investigation. We can talk about that after we’ve gone through what just happened. Why don’t you sit down? If you can walk me through what happened, maybe we can get to the bottom of it.”

“Someone grabbed me. They had a knife … and from what I’m hearing,youaren’t surprised by it.”

Zain’s expression doesn’t change, but a muscle pops in his jaw. And slowly a thought forms in my head.

“Oh my god … you used me asbait.” The words come out as a whisper. “That’s why you made sure I was on camera. Youknewsomeone would trysomething. Were they supposed to kill me, Zain? Attack me? What? What was the plan?” My voice rises with each word.

“Please, Mrs. Ryder, calm down. I doubt you were in any danger.”

I swing to face the sheriff. “Not in any danger? Are you for real? They had aknife! They dragged me outside. I don’t think they were inviting me to a fucking barbeque!”

“Ashley—” Zain takes a step forward.

“No!” My hand lifts, palm outward. “Don’t say another word. I was right about you. Youarea monster.” I walk across the room and stop in front of him. “Get out of my way.”

“Where are you going?”

“Out of here. Away from you.”

“Ash—”

“There’s no one here to pretend in front of, Zain. I doubt the sheriff believes we’re madly in love.”

“No, I’m aware that your marriage is one of convenience.”

“Convenience.” The laugh that bursts from me holds a hint of hysteria. “Isthatwhat he calls it? Well, it’s no longerconvenientfor me. I’m going home, and you’re not going to stop me.”

“Let me explain.” Zain takes a step toward me.

“No! You have nothing to say that I want to hear.”

I push past him, and walk along the hallway to the front door. There are two of the sheriff’s deputies standing outside. They straighten when they see me.

“Could one of you give me a ride home, please?”

They look at each other.

“Daniel, take Mrs. Ryder to her mom’s house,” the sheriff says from behind me. “I’ll come to the house later for your statement. Go home, get some rest, while we finish looking around here.”

---