Page 38 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

“Mine aren’t.”

“Want to bet on that?”

She narrowed her eyes. “What are you insinuating?”

“Nothing, since I don’t know whether or not you’re going to hold up your end of the bargain.”

Her nostrils flared. “If I’m going to trust you, then you have to trust me. I’m trusting that you have more information about what happened last night. So if I’m going to trust you with that, then you have to trust me with this. Understood?”

I paused. “Fine. But, the officer that was here before you? I want him nowhere near me, this testimony, or Max.”

“And why’s that?”

“Let’s call it a hunch for now and live with it.”

I heard the door unlock to my left and I rushed for it. And sure enough, Captain Riley stood in the hallway, waiting for me like she said she would be. I followed her into a room that had a desk and a computer. There was a window to my right and a plush chair sitting in front of the desk. The captain closed the door behind me before throwing the lock, and I wondered what I had just gotten myself into.

“Take a seat. I figured my office would make you feel more comfortable speaking to me, and only me,” she said.

I nodded. “Thank you.”

I took a seat in the chair across from her desk and waited until she sat down herself.

“So, Miss…?”

I cleared my throat. “Just call me Dani.”

“All right, Dani. I want you to know that you can speak freely here. The only downside to my office is that no one is recording this conversation, so you will have to rely on me to translate and get it right. To make up for something like that, I’d like to record this on my work computer to have something in the system that backs up any testimony you might write down and sign. Are you okay with that?”

I nodded. “That’s fine. Whatever you have to do.”

She typed away at her keyboard. “Wonderful. Okay. So what happened last night? Tell me everything from your point of view.”

I sighed. “It was horrible, Captain Riley. But I need everyone to understand that Max Ryddle saved my life.”

“Why don’t you tell me how.”

I launched into everything. How Max was supposed to pick me up from my dorm room for a nice night in and he never showed. How I worried so much I went out on the hunt for him. How Rupert told me

to stay put, but I just couldn't. How I was kidnapped from my car and taken to the Ryddle Estate. I told her about how Max’s father kidnapped me. Tied me to a chair. Pushed me into the pool and essentially let me drown.

“There are hospital documents to back up what I’m saying,” I said.

The captain nodded. “We’ll get them pulled. I’ll have you write down the information once you’re done.”

“The only reason I’m here right now pestering you is because Max fought through those men. Five or six of them, before his father was shot. They didn’t have a choice. That man would’ve killed his own damn son before letting him get to me. The only reason I’m sitting here is because that man was killed and Max jumped into the pool after me. And they still had to perform CPR for much longer than necessary before I came to. Max had nothing to do with this. The only thing he did was save me last night. Nothing else.”

The captain blinked. “You said someone killed Ashton Ryddle.”

Tears rushed my eyes. “Yes. And it’s all my fault. If I would’ve just listened to Rupert and stayed put, no one would have come for me. I wouldn't have ended up in that situation and Max wouldn't have had to do the things he did last night just to save my life. If anyone is guilty here, it’s me. For being an absolute idiot.”

She furrowed her brow. “There’s one major error in your story that really changes the place you’re sitting in.”

I paused. “What do you mean?”

“Ashton Ryddle is still alive, Miss Dani. He was rushed into surgery, where he came out just fine.”

And I felt my entire safety net crumbling at my feet.

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