Page 6 of Capture
“That is the truth, I swear,” she argued as her voice cracked under the strain of emotion. Then she seemed to have captured a thought. “Wait. What friend are you referring to? The only friend I have is…”
She gasped as her eyes flicked about as if the pieces were finally falling into place. This reaction seemed genuine, so either she was a great actor or had no idea why her friend showed so much interest in her.
“I’ll leave you to think about your future,” I told her sternly.
I was done with this conversation for now, but I will return because I doubt I could keep away from her for too long.
3
While the high-pitched screeches of women faking orgasms and the grunt of men finishing off float along the hallways, not a single sound came from Riley’s room. My ass was turning numb from sitting on the hard wooden floor, so I stood to stretch my limbs, then pressed my ear against her door to search for sound. When I heard no sound, I unlocked the door and opened it a crack. Mikky wanted me to stay out of her room, but I had a good excuse.
Her dark head looked up from the pillow, cheeks stained with tears, body in the fetal position. She reached for her glasses resting on the second pillow, and my heart exploded. I wassupposed to hate her. I was supposed to plot her death for betraying us, but as she chewed her bottom lip, as hopelessness lurked behind her eyes, my resentment vanished, and my attraction to her rose.
“Is there any point?” I stated coldly. “Is there any point in putting those glasses on?”
She frowned in confusion as I approached her and reached for her face. She gasped desperately as I snatched her glasses from her. Then, as I had done before, I held them up to peer through the lenses, only to discover that they were just glass.
“These are fake?” I pointed out, then tossed them onto the bed. “Drop the bullshit, Riley. Or should I call you by your real name?”
Her eyes filled with tears, but they were the wrong-colored eyes. “What do you want from me?” she protested.
“Tell me your real name,” I insisted.
She fell quiet for a few beats as if considering what to say, then, in a croaky voice, “I already have.”
“Don’t lie. I have fake glasses, fake eye color, fake hair color, fake everything.” I started pacing to work off the energy burning through my body, stirring my anger and sadness as memories of my father and Annika stormed about in my mind.
“Gunner,” she sighed, anguished. “I’m sorry that I betrayed you.”
“I’m not interested in your crocodile tears, Riley, or should I call you by your real name?” I exclaimed, even though it was making her more distressed and tearful. “Now…what isyourname? It’s on the edge of my tongue.”
“Just do it,” she shouted as Annika's fiery temperament took over, replacing the tears. It’s beneath the fake surface, lingering for a fleeting moment when she dropped her guard and forgot to fake everything.
“Do what?” I enquired.
“Slit my throat. Kill me. Do it,” she challenged. “I don’t care anymore.”
“Dramatic,” I scoffed, surprised at her surrender because Annika wouldn’t give up so quickly. “Killing you had crossed my mind, but for now, we need to keep you alive.”
I folded my arms across my chest and stared her down, wrestling with my conscience. The girl I adored was crumbling before me, and I hated it. This was her own doing, and she had no one to blame but herself.
“You could’ve come to me,” I stated softly. “I would’ve helped you.”
“There was nothing you could do, Gunner,” she stressed, tormented and confused. “And I was blindsided, too.” She dropped her face into her hands as her body trembled, and I clenched my fists to stop myself from comforting her. When her hands fell away, her face was glistening with tears. “I intended to come to Gotland to pursue my dream of studying marine biology, graduate, and find a job, buttheyhad different plans.”
“They? The cops,” I questioned. She was opening up, which was good, but I needed her to say her true name. I needed those plump rose lips to say the name Annika.
“Yes,” she breathed.
“The Larsson Police Department?” I assumed that the officer who was in her room was a member of the Larsson Police force.
“Not entirely,” she claimed, sitting up and brushing her hair from her eyes.
She took her ponytail out, and her hair was wavy, curling around her pretty face. But all I could see was Annika with colored hair. Annika filled my brain and stimulated my cock, and it was harder than ever to see Riley in this girl peering at me from those wet eyes.
“What does that mean?” I enquired, standing over her. “What do you mean, not entirely? Are the police part of the Larsson Police force or not?”
“They are, but not really. I mean…” she sighed, struggling to find the words, or maybe she was about to lie again. “They are part of the Larsson Police Department, but on the edge of it. Like they seem to have their own rules.”
