Page 30 of Marked

“Uh, okay, sure,” I said.

Reading from his notes, Ollie said, “You stated that on the night of the twelfth, you and your acquaintance, Lesley Darlton,were leaving the Sweat It Out fitness club. You two proceeded to a nearby parking garage, and that was when you encountered your assailant. Correct?”

“Correct,” I said.

“Sweat It Out?” Nate said with a smirk. “Seriously?”

“Yes,seriously,” I said, feeling my irritation rise. “It’s a high-end sort of place.” I glanced up and down at his biker clothes and scuffed leather boots. “I doubt you would know anything about that.”

He chuckled as I turned back to Ollie.

Ollie ignored the banter between me and Nate. “Can you describe what happened next?”

“We were about to get into the car, and that was when we heard this… I don’t know… a growl or snarl or something.”

Both men stiffened at that, neither of them smiling now. Ollie said, “Like an animal?”

“I guess, yeah.” My worry about the situation faded, and my instincts as a reporter kicked in. “Is the serial killer real? Is someone really using a trained animal to kill women?”

Ollie raised an eyebrow. “Before we go further, I want to remind you that anything discussed in this room is strictly off the record. I don’t think a young, up-and-coming reporter wants to be arrested for interfering with a police investigation, right?”

I heaved a sigh and crossed my arms over my chest. “Fine. What else do you want to know?”

Ollie scanned his notes, then frowned at me. “Your statement says the assailant first attempted to attack you and your friend, and then you state that you scared him off. How exactly did you do that? Did a car come along that startled him? The written statement is a little vague on that part?”

“I fought him off,” I said.

Both men were quiet for a beat as they exchanged a look. Ollie said, “You fought him off? By yourself?”

“Did your friend help you?” Nate added.

That rankled me even more. “No. I fought him off by myself. I do a lot of martial arts and MMA training at my gym.”

“Sweat It Out helped you fight this guy off?” Nate asked derisively.

“No,” I growled through gritted teeth. “That’s Lesley’s gym. I was her guest. I go to a different place. Less bougie.”

“Oh,” Nate said with exaggerated understanding. “A place moremystyle, you mean?”

Ignoring him, I looked back at Ollie. “Can we get on with this?”

He snapped himself out of whatever confusion he’d been dealing with. “Sorry, it’s just, well, we have a suspicion that this guy isvery, uh”—he glanced at Nate again—“powerful, so it’s a bit of a shock that you were able to handle yourself with him. Have to say, Ms. Torres, that’s incredibly impressive. I applaud you.”

“Thanks,” I said. The detective’s admiration and respect did a lot to better my mood. I worked hard at the gym, and I liked knowing it had been for a good cause.

“Yeah,” Nate said begrudgingly. “That’s actually pretty badass.” It didn’t sound like he gave out compliments very often.

“How are your injuries healing?” Ollie said, pulling us back to the conversation at hand. “You suffered some cuts and bruises.”

“I did,” I said. “Most are fine. Bruises are mostly faded, and the cuts are healing well.”

“And the wound on your neck?” he said, still looking at his notebook.

Nate lifted his sunglasses and gave me a sidelong stare. Why wasthatthe wound they were worried about? Did it have something to do with the serial killer angle? Maybe after the guy sicced his dog on the victims, he bit their neck? Could it be a calling card of some sort?

Fear and anxiety surged through me. Had I really almost been killed by a serial killer? All thoughts of Rick vanished, replaced by this new horrifying possibility. It made the nausea roiling in my stomach worse, and a cold sweat sprang out on my body.

As if they could sense my fear, both men perked up.Strange.

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