Page 90 of Captured Heart

Detective Collins said that he can’t guarantee that the DA will agree to release him, and nothing has been finalized yet, so I don’t want to get his hopes up by making promises I can’t keep.

“Look, I’m trying to push for more, but as a minimum, they’ll reduce your sentence. You’ll be out of here before you know it.”

“That doesn’t fucking matter,” he snaps. “They might be housing Victor in the high-security wing here, but he’ll find a way to come after me. You’re talking about a reduced sentence like it means something. It doesn’t. One day is all it takes. One wrong place, one wrong time, and Victor will make sure one of his guys takes me out. If I turn on him, I’ll be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. I can’t live like that.”

“Is your loyalty to Victor really worth that much?” I fire back, unable to hold back the anger simmering beneath my skin. I take my fake glasses off and toss them on the table. “You’d rather risk him walking free, terrorizing more innocent people, just so you can...what? Stay silent like the rest of them because your allegiance to that monster is more important?”

His eyes narrow, the lines on his face hardening. “This isn’t about loyalty. You think I owe Victor something? I don’t give a damn about him.”

“Then what is it, Alex? Because I don’t understand. Why is staying silent more important than doing the right thing?”

He exhales sharply, his frustration growing in tandem with mine. “I thought the evidence was enough to bury him. I saw what was in those files. The bodies. The records. How is that not enough? Why the hell do they even need me?”

“They need someone to connect the dots. The prosecutor said it’s all circumstantial. It paints a picture, but it’s not enough to convict him. They need someone on the inside to testify, someone who knows all the details.”

He sneers. “Of course, they do. So, they want me to stick my neck out, risk getting killed in here because their case isn’t strong enough?”

“It’s the only way, Alex!” My exasperation finally spills over. “It’s the only way to make sure he’s locked up for good.” We stare at each other, the tension between us thick enough to suffocate. I take a deep breath, softening my tone. “What if I could convincethem to let you go? To give you your freedom? Would you testify if it meant...if it meant there was a chance we could be together?”

Something about that question makes him freeze. Possibilities flicker in his eyes, and I see...uncertainty, or an emotion I can’t quite place. But it’s gone in an instant, replaced by cold, steely indifference.

“Leave,” he says, his voice low and detached.

“What?”

“I don’t want you here.” His words are a knife, each one cutting deeper than the last.

“Alex, please—”

“Go!” His gaze hardens, his tone unrelenting. “Get out of here and don’t come back.”

I freeze, my heart splintering into a thousand pieces. He’s shutting me out, building a wall so high I can’t see over it. I thought I could break through, that I could reach him, but he’s retreating further and further away.

“You shouldn’t have wasted your time coming here. I’m not worth it. What we had was...nothing, so I don’t understand why you’d come here when I specifically told you not to seek me out.” He slams his bound hands onto the table, the chains rattling violently. “You think I want you here? I don’t. I was perfectly content with never seeing you again.”

He might as well have slapped me because the impact of that statement is just as brutal. It’s hard to see him like this, so cold and callous. It’s hard to hear him say that we were nothing when the last time I saw him, he held me like I meant everything to him.

“You don’t mean that.”

His nostrils flare slightly as he tries to keep his temper from spiraling. “Yeah, I do. Now leave.”

He says it with such conviction that, for a moment, I almost believe him. But then I see it. A weakness. A single chink in hisarmor. And once I see it, the entire façade crumbles. It’s all just a defense mechanism. He’s being abrasive, but it’s just to keep me safe. He did the same thing that day in the bathroom when he pulled a gun on me.

I’m sure it’s his past that hardened him this way. He doesn’t react well when he feels helpless or vulnerable. He becomes cold and emotionless to regain any sort of power because, just like me, he hates not being in control.

I decide not to give him what he wants. He’s trying to ignite my anger, to make me storm out and leave him behind. But I won’t fight fire with fire. I’ll smother it. I’ll starve it of oxygen until there’s nothing left.

Slowly, I reach across the table, my fingers brushing over his knuckles. His skin is rough and warm beneath mine. He flinches at the contact but doesn’t pull away. I run my hand over his wrist, my touch light, almost absent. Then I trace my fingers over the frayed shoelace still tied there.

“If what you’re saying is true...” I look up at him, my voice soft but unwavering. “...then why are you still wearing this?”

His eyes flick to the shoelace, the slightest hesitation betraying him, before he jerks his hand away like I’ve burned him. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“I’m going to mark today as the first day you lied to me.” My taunting whisper is met with harsh rejection.

“Leave!” His jaw clenches harder, the muscle twitching as he glares at me. “Call the guard and get out.”

“Hm?” I press a pensive finger to my lips and even that slight gesture puts him on edge. “It’s weird how you think you’re in control of this situation. You can’tmakeme leave. I’m staying right here.”

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