Page 40 of The Lies We Believe

Hindsight was a fucking bitch. Whoever had killed this guy had played us. They knew we’d check up on them after they left the station, so they gave us exactly what we needed. “Fuck!” My fingers clenched around the flashlight, pulling the skin tight over my knuckles as my nails bit into the palm of my other hand.

“We’ve been played,” I ground out as I stepped back outside. Montoya made a disconcerted noise in the back of her throat as she peered at me through a watery gaze.

“Did you see?—”

“The black dahlia on his ankle?” She nodded. “Yup. It was like the killer posed him, so that would be the first thing we’d notice.”

“I thought that too. Just like the twins.” She shook her head, blinking back tears before they fell. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and turned to steer her away from the scene. “Daniel,” I said as an afterthought over my shoulder. “Catalog everything and let us know what you find out.” He gave me athumbs up and pulled a camera from his pack while his assistant got to work. Hopefully, by the time we got back, Jenkins would have pulled up all the relevant CCTV footage for us to trawl through.

The oppressive atmosphere did absolutely nothing to improve our somber mood as we trudged back to the squad car, lost in our thoughts. TV crews and reporters had set up at the first cordon that was manned by a couple of the guys from the station to preserve the crime scene. Eyes followed our progression as we stepped under the tape and into the cacophony of bodies that waited like sharks, ready to get the scoop.

“Can you tell us who the victim is?”

“Officer Benson, can you tell us what happened here?”

“Officer Montoya, is this victim related to an ongoing investigation?”

Questions rained down on us like bullets as cameras were aimed our way. I patted Montoya on the back, letting her know I had this. I turned to the soulless rabble that converged on me and nodded at the guys beyond the tape to stay put. With my shoulders pulled back, I cleared my throat and looked through the vultures who shoved microphones in my face and repeated the party line that was drummed into us. “We will not be answering any questions relating to today’s incident. The investigation is ongoing, and no details will be released until the family has been informed.”

CHAPTER 18

BANE

Until the family has been informed.The sound of my voice ricocheted inside my head like a pinball machine mocking me. If I’d learned anything since those guys were brought in, it was that they had no family. There was no one waiting for them at night. No one was searching for them. They have no one, which made sense when you were running a trafficking operation. You didn’t want people with attachments or dependants. Black Dahlia was smart, and this latest incident proved it beyond doubt.

“You doing okay over there?” The sound of Montoya’s voice was a welcome reprieve from the thoughts spiraling in my mind.

“Yeah.” I scrubbed my hand down my face before settling it onto the steering wheel. “Just…fuck. This case is turning into a shitshow.”

“You said it,” she muttered. “Are you going to let your boy know it was one of his friends?”

“I. Umm…”

“It’s better to come from you than to hear about it on the news. Especially when you’re not there to support him.” Her words landed with the precision of a sniper. The smirk thatlifted her lips when I glared at her in the passenger seat said everything.

I expelled a labored breath. “It’s not that easy.” My fingers flexed around the leather, my knuckles bleeding white.

“Sure it is. Unless…” She hummed thoughtfully, finger tapping her bottom lip in the periphery of my vision. “Unless, your bad mood this morning was because you fucked up with him?” My body tensed until the tendons in my neck were strained. “What did you do?” The weight of her accusing gaze made me feel like I was drowning.

“Now is not the time.” I gritted my jaw, teeth clenched so hard they practically ground to dust. “We have to stay focused on the job?—”

“Like you are?” she snarked. “You’re a mess, Benson. I’ve never seen you in such a state in all the years I’ve known you.” I rolled my eyes, then focused on the road as we crossed town back toward the station. “Call him when we get back, then we’ll talk it through tonight when you buy me pizza.”

If only everything in life could be solved by food. “Deal.” Even as the word left my lips, I knew I’d be taking the coward’s way out. There was no way River would answer, even if I called. I might have ruined things between us, but I wasn’t a complete idiot.Are you sure about that?

The rest of the drive passed in strained silence, both of us lost in thought about the atrocity we’d witnessed and what repercussions it would have on the case. The death of River’s friend felt like a warning, one we couldn’t ignore. But we couldn’t allow it to derail everything we were working on. Bringing down this ring and saving thousands outweighed the loss of a few casualties. That wasn’t to say I didn’t value human life, because I did. I lived to serve and protect, but we all knew innocents were a casualty of war. They had drawn the first blood, and I just had to hope we would spill the last.

“Call him now,” Montoya urged, as I turned the ignition off and pushed my head back into the headrest. My eyes shuttered closed as an ache throbbed in my temples. “Take as long as you need. I’m going to check in with Jenkinson and see where we are with the CCTV footage. I just hope Dixon is out, because I can’t deal with that asshole today.”

I grunted in acknowledgement as she squeezed my arm in solidarity.

“It can’t be as bad as you imagine, big guy. Pull up your big boy panties and speak to him.” The car door slammed shut, leaving me alone with myself, which was the worst damn place because it allowed my mind to wander and my heart to take control. I wanted to say fuck it and drive home. Kick the door down, wrap River in my arms, and take him far, far away from here. I wanted to protect him from this cruel, fucked-up world and keep him safe.

Reality was a cold bitch, because I was far too late to do any of that. Releasing a stuttering exhale, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. My thumb hovered over his number, the green phone icon taunting me, goddamned laughing at me for being too weak to risk hearing his voice. “Shit!” I smacked my head against the steering wheel, feeling so messed up and weak. Tremors ran down my arms as indecision warred within me.Do the right thing.Even my conscience knew what I should do.

Ignoring it, I typed out a quick message instead.

Just checking in to make sure you’re ok.

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