Page 41 of Final Cost

He nods to both of us with the kind of solemnity that suggests he doesn’t expect to see me again as a free man anytime soon, then follows Randy out, shutting the door behind him.

I turn to Tamsyn, trying to dismiss the worry I just saw in Daniel’s expression, my morale now bottoming out at somewhere below sea level.

Tamsyn tries to say something but it takes her a second. Her eyes are a little too wide. Her breath is a little too shallow. She’s trying to fight back the rising panic as the walls close in around us. So am I.

“What now?” she finally says. “What could the police want?”

“No idea.”

She comes closer, then hesitates again. “What if they’re coming to arrest you?”

There it is. The exactwhat ifthat’s been running through my mind for the last several minutes. But I need to keep my head. “Like I said before, I pay my attorneys big bucks to keep me out of jail.” I think that over and decide an addendum is appropriate. “And/or bail me out of jail ASAP. God forbid.”

A hollow laugh from Tamsyn. “You have a plane. A passport. Tons of money. Probably offshore accounts somewhere. You should make a run for it before they get here.”

I make a derisive noise. I can’t quite tell whether she’s serious or not. So I hate to make the following admission. But if ever there was a time for the truth between the two of us, this is it. “I thought about it.”

“And…?” she asks with new urgency, dropping her voice.

“And I’m not going anywhere without you. You’re starting a new job you’re very excited about soon. I’m not going to condemn you to a life on the run.”

“Lucien…”

“No.We can have a good life here at Ackerley. We can have it all. We just need to fight for it.”

She takes a sobering breath, shaking it off. “You’re right. I just lost my head for a minute, but I’m tough. I’m a good fighter.”

That makes me to smile. She always knows the way. “I know you are,” I say, stress already easing off my shoulders.

A flash of a brave smile. Gone way too soon. “I could use a hug, though.”

“Yeah. Me, too.” I reach for her. “Come here.”

We come together hard and fast, pulling each other as tight as we can. There’s nothing sexual about it for once. Just vaguely panicked. I cup the back of her head, reveling in the thick silk of her hair. Rub her back and shoulders. Press my nose to her neck and breathe her in, shoring up all these impressions for the day that may come no matter how desperately I try to fight it off—the day when I’m on one side of bars, she’s on the other and we’re not allowed to touch.

The stark fear is enough to sink my morale to Marianas Trench levels. And that’s before the sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway interrupts us and Tamsyn quickly pulls free, averting her face and wiping her eyes.

We glance around. It’s my security guy Hank, looking embarrassed.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he hastily says.

“It’s okay.” I’m not ready to let Tamsyn go entirely yet, so I hang onto her hand. “Did you need something? I don’t have long. The police are on their way with my lawyer.”

“Actually, they’re already here,” he says, gesturing over his shoulder. “I just saw Maddie let them in and put them in the dining room. I just need a quick minute first.”

“I should go,” Tamsyn tells me.

I start to tell her it’s okay, but Hank beats me to it. “It’s okay. This concerns you, too, Tamsyn.”

“What is it?” she says, frowning.

“I wanted to let you know that the police questioned me about the night you kicked Ravenna out, Lucien.” Hank looks pained. “They wanted to know what you said to Ravenna.”

I think back, but nothing in particular comes to mind. I was in such a black rage that I could have said anything and meant it. “You have to be more specific,” I tell him.

Awkward silence while he reluctantly gets his words together. “You said you’d end the marriage one way or the other. And how it happened was up to Ravenna. Tamsyn was there. She heard it. So was Winwood.”

I cringe as the memory comes back to me. “Right.”

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