Page 122 of Aria

“Good.” He flipped back a piece of a paper on his college-ruled notepad. “I know you gave a statement to the officer on the scene, but I understand those were difficult moments. You stated your ex-boyfriend shot Mr. Hayes two times. Is this true?”

“Yes,” I said. “Noah and I had stepped into the alley behind Ernie’s to talk in private. Ian approached us with a gun and began to threaten us.”

“Do you know of any reason he would want to harm Mr. Hayes or yourself?”

“He’s insane,” I answered flatly.

Detective Brennan jotted down notes and glanced at me. “I see. Are you able to elaborate?”

“I dated him a long time ago. He was abusive. I found the courage to leave him, and he ended up raping some poor girl. He was sent to prison, but he was released on good behavior a couple of months ago.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

My eyes narrowed. I hated the sound of his pen scratching against the yellow paper. “He’s crazy. He was stalking me, and then he broke into my home and attacked me.”

“Okay,” the detective said, scribbling his notes. “Do you know how he could have found you this evening?”

I paused for a moment, remembering Ian’s brother at the bar. “I think his brother called him. Brad. We ran into their group at Ernie’s.”

“I see,” he replied. “So, he sees you and Noah in the alley. What happened next?”

I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and fingered the coffee cup, my eyes closing as the memories consumed me. “He said he had nothing else to lose. I started yelling at him, telling him to just shoot me and get it over with.”

“Why would you instigate him? You seemed to have known what he was capable of, yes?”

My brows furrowed into a scowl. “Are you saying it’s my fault?”

“No, no. Of course not.” Detective Brennan crossed his arms across his chest and softened his gaze. “It’s my job to try and understand why things happen the way they do. Some questions may sound offensive at times, but I assure you, I only have your best interest in mind.”

I swallowed as I continued to chew on my lip. “I was tired of it. I was done running from him. I was sick of being scared all the time. I never thought…” Tears stung my eyes, and I forced them back. “I never thought he would hurt Noah. I thought all he wanted was me.”

The detective nodded with a sympathetic expression. “What happened next?”

“Um… he told me he stole the gun out of my house.”

“He used your own weapon against you?”

“Well, it was Noah’s gun. He gave it to me for protection.” I shook my head with a sigh. “That backfired.”

More furious note scribbling. “How did the altercation transpire? Was there a physical quarrel?”

“No. He just… shot him.”

“Unprovoked?”

My eyes shot up. “No, not unprovoked. He’s been ‘provoked’ his entire life. He never should have been let out of prison.”

“My apologies, Miss. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Noah didn’t do anything wrong. All he tried to do was protect me. Those bullets should have been mine.” The realization hit me hard, and my chin quivered, tears breaking through. “Those bullets should have been mine.”

Detective Brennan stopped writing and took a careful step toward me. “I understand if you need more time. Would you rather come by the station tomorrow?”

I placed an unsteady hand over my mouth, my eyes squeezed shut. “Is he going to be okay?”

“I can’t answer that, unfortunately. Mr. Hayes is still in surgery. Both of the victims are.”

“Ian is not a victim.” I opened my eyes and pushed my bangs out of my face. “Write that down. Ian Masterson is no victim… he’s a monster.”

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