Page 125 of Hot Knot Summer
“I’m guessing you were using the scarf to hold the candle,” Zak explains patiently. “Maybe to avoid leaving fingerprints or because the glass was hot. Then, when you heard Emma moving around upstairs, you panicked. Set the candle down with the scarf still wrapped around it, maybe even knocked it over in your rush to get out.”
“I... shit.” She blinks rapidly, and I can practically see the pieces falling into place in her mind. “I didn’t know. I would have put out the flame if I’d realized... Fuck, I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t go there to start a fire. I just wanted the damn bag for Chad.”
The casual way she talks about breaking into the place where Emma was sleeping makes my anger spike even higher.
“I thought I blew it out!” she protests, almost as an afterthought.
“But you’re not sure,” Zak presses.
“No,” she admits quietly. “I was scared. I just ran.”
This woman nearly killed Emma over a fucking contract that probably wasn’t even legal.
“Let’s talk about Chad,” Zak says. “He promised you fifty percent of Emma’s royalties for doing this?”
“I guess,” she says, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. “I just... I thought he might be the one, you know? He said Emma was trying to destroy his career, that she’d stolen from him. I believed him.”
My hands are curled so tight, my knuckles are white. The idea that this woman was so desperate for Chad’s approval that she’d risk Emma’s life makes me sick.
“Are you willing to testify against him?” Zak asks. “Tell us exactly what he asked you to do and why?”
“Will that keep me from getting sued and charged?” she asks hopefully.
“That depends on a lot of factors,” Zak says, and I know he sometimes stretches the truth to scare someone into working with him. “But cooperation goes a long way toward showing good faith.”
“I’ll testify,” she says quickly. “I’ll tell you everything. It’s all his fault.”
“Where is he now?” I ask, trying to keep the violence out of my voice.
“I don’t know,” she admits. “He said he had business to take care of this morning, and he would meet me in town a bit later.”
Zak closes his notebook and glances at Megan seriously. “Here’s what happens next. You’re coming with me to the station to give an official statement. Everything you just told us, on therecord.”
“And Emma?” Megan asks. “What happens to her?”
“This should put an end to any legal issues she might have faced,” Zak confirms.
Relief floods through me, though it’s mixed with a healthy dose of rage at what Chad put Emma through.
We’re on our feet, leaving the café, when I spot the asshole.
Chad is standing across the street, partially hidden behind a parked SUV, but I recognize him immediately from the restaurant. Same bland, corporate look, same entitled posture that screams middle management asshole, even from a distance.
His gaze finds Megan first, and I watch his face go through about five different emotions in rapid succession. Then he stares at me, and the recognition is instant and mutual.
He runs.
“Zak!” I shout, already moving.
“River!” Zak calls, but I don’t hear him. I’m running madly.
He’s fast for someone who probably spends most of his time behind a desk, but panic makes people sloppy.
He darts between parked cars, probably thinking the obstacles will slow me down. Instead, I vault over a Honda Civic without breaking stride, which seems to panic him even more. People move out of our way.
The stupid bastard cuts into an alley, and I’m furious, thundering behind him. The alley is narrow, linedwith dumpsters and loading docks that create perfect choke points. Chad stumbles over some loose debris, and that’s all the opening I need.
I tackle him hard, driving my shoulder into his lower back and sending us both crashing to the asphalt. He tries to roll away, but I’m already on top of him, with him facing me.
