Page 34 of Montana Freedom

“Yeah.” He turned to look at me.

“I’m sorry. For not telling you. Again.”

He pressed his lips together, and I could tell he was thinking it over. “I’m trying to wrap my head around it. You don’t know a lot about me, Emma. Trust is something… It’s difficult on a good day. But can I fault you for not telling me about something that isn’t my business? If my father wanted to kill me, I wouldn’t want to claim him either.”

“He’s not my father,” I said softly. “Not in any real way, and I certainly don’t think of him with any love.”

Agent Phillips leaned across the aisle. “Stop talking about the case.”

I flushed and sat back in my seat. The man had hard eyes and a harder demeanor. I wasn’t exactly a fan. But fine. I’d wait until I’d told them everything, and then Daniel and I could talk about it. Because things weren’t right between us, and I wanted to fix it.

“I’m sorry,” I said again under my breath. “I hope you’ll let me talk about it later. When I’m done with Agent Asshole.”

Daniel chuckled, and I smiled. At least I could still make him laugh. But the unease didn’t leave my gut.

Both agents had only flown with overnight luggage, and I’d borrowed a small suitcase. Daniel had his own bag also, so none of us had to wait for luggage. We went straight to the back of a black sedan that swept us away into the city. Neither of the agents said much, Phillips on his phone and Jones tapping his fingers on his leg while he looked out the window.

The driver was anonymous.

After the past weeks of seeing nothing but open space on the ranch, the city felt too big and too close. So many people, and the sky was gray with clouds instead of a clear blue. It became a blur. The nerves I’d thought were fine sprung back to life the closer we got to our destination.

The location wasn’t as clandestine as I imagined. Just another building. A visitor’s badge and people glancing in our direction, but nothing too over the top.

“In here, please.”

Daniel made to follow and was stopped. “Not you. We’re going to interview you elsewhere, Mr. Clark, and you’ll meet her when she’s finished.”

He didn’t obey them immediately, instead looking at me. The look stole my breath. It was the old Daniel, the one from a few days ago or even the one who was so determined to rescue me. In that look, nothing mattered but me. “I’ll be okay.”

They ushered him away before he had a chance to speak. I sat down at the metal table and sighed. I was alone, and yet I wasn’t. The classic mirror was in front of me. Everyone knew it was a one-way window, but I could only imagine what my two special agents were saying about me now.

The door opened behind me, and a new person came in. This time a woman. “Hello, Emma. I’m Special Agent Madeline Knight.”

“Hello.”

“They thought you might be more comfortable talking to a woman. Is that all right?”

I met her gaze. “I’ll be comfortable talking to anyone who isn’t Agent Phillips.”

She was trying very hard not to smile. “All right. I need to tell you that this will be recorded.”

“Do I need to speak to a lawyer?”

Sitting down across from me, she set the file she held down on the table. “You’re not under arrest, and this is an informational interview, so I personally don’t think so. But if you want to speak to one at any time, that is your right.”

The answer was good enough for me. “What do you want to know?”

“Anything you can tell us about Simon Derine, the Riders, and how you came to be their prisoner.”

Despite the nerves, I felt a bit of pleasure in knowing they had vastly underestimated me and were about to see it. “All right. The story can come later. First, Simon Derine’s phone number is 406-555-7230. It’s been disconnected for a while, and I don’t have his new one. I can list every phone number for every person in his organization. I imagine most of them are dead, but you can probably do more with them than I can.

“He has twenty-seven safe houses across various northern states. Twenty-six, if you don’t count the one where I was hiding. Not all of them have addresses, but I can pinpoint the locations on maps if necessary. I know every transaction that has taken place between the Riders and various gun and drug dealers for the last three years.”

Agent Knight stared at me. Her mouth had dropped open in shock. “You can recite all of that information?”

I smiled, half gratified and half still nervous. Reciting all that information had the potential to get me killed. But I could do it. “I told the agents I had perfect recall. And the reason Simon wants me dead is because I found his records. He knows I know. Not everything, I didn’t get a chance to look further back, which is why all of this might not be useful. But yes, I can tell you. Names, dates, whatever.”

She stood. “I’ll be right back.”

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