Page 41 of They Will Fall

“Excuse me?” Just as the words leave my mouth, I tip over. My head collides with the side of the door handle and the dull thud of my bone hitting the metal rattles my brain. My wrists throb in agony as the rope digs deeper into my skin.

“Answer the damn question!”

“I…” I sputter, immense fear monopolizing my tongue, as it tries to prevent me from speaking. “No,” I lie on impulse. “I didn’t do it. Governor Saint took his own life.”

This must be The Punisher assigned to me. He wants a confession so he can end me.

“Don’t lie to me, little girl.” He whips the car to the left, before slamming on the brakes and bringing it to a screeching halt.

“Why are you doing this?” I cry out.

He aggressively rips off his seat belt, then twists in his place to turn and face me. It’s the first time I see his whole face and the familiarity in his features is uncanny. It’s like I’ve seen this man before, but I don't think I have. If he wasn’t acting like an insane psycho right now, I might even be able to say he was attractive, in an older man sort of way.

“You’ve made a big mess, Riley, and unless you want your future to go up in flames, you better tell me the damn truth.” His tone is forthright and domineering, and the level of intimidation I feel is making it really hard for me not to break down and tell him everything about the governor. “The truth!” he stammers. “Now!”

My entire body is shaking. My thoughts elude me. I can’t focus. I can’t think. “I didn’t do it,” I manage to spit out. “He killed himself!”

His jaw tics, teeth grinding as he speaks. “In three days, they are closing Governor Saint’s case. Once that happens, the sealed files from his office will be handed over to The President of The Blue Bloods. Do you know what that means, Riley?” My head shakes no rapidly. “That means anyone the governor was protecting, any secrets he was keeping, will all be exposed.”

I gulp. “I don’t know what that has to do with me? I’m sorry. I—”

“Shut up!” he roars. “You’re lying.” Dropping his tone a few octaves, he continues, giving me no choice but to listen while shock and fear consume me. “We need a confession. Proof that he did not end his life on his terms. Only then will his confidentiality rights continue after death. This isn’t the real world, Riley. Do you understand that? There are rules in place and steps that are taken.” He pulls out some sort of handheld device. “I’m going to need that confession, Riley.”

I crane my neck to get a better look at the object and see it’s a voice recorder. His finger presses a button on the side as he says, “State your name for the record?”

Is this even admissible? I could be anyone pretending to be someone else. At this point, I have every reason to believe this man is desperate. Governor Saint had something on him that he desperately doesn’t want exposed.

Right now, I need to distract him, while getting more information that will help me in the long run.

“Fine,” I say, leaning my shoulder into the door with my bound hands only inches from the handle. “I’ll give you what you want. But first, can you tell me how you found me?”

He scoffs a laugh, as if I’m a child playing silly games in his world and not attempting to run for my life. “You were practically hiding in plain sight.” He waves a hand dismissively, and again, I feel like I’m being judged by a parent. “Any fool could have found you. The Academy was a terrible choice, I might add.”

“But I was in a room and you knew exactly what room to go in.”

There’s only one person who knew I was there, and that person seems to have just disappeared. I thought I could trust Temper, but I was obviously wrong. I must have just been so desperate and her similarity to Scar clouded my judgment.

“If I tell you, will you answer my questions honestly while speaking clearly into the recorder?”

I nod.

“I saw the girl, Temper, at The Academy. She seemed to be in a hurry, as if she was trying to escape something or get somewhere fast. So, I got out of my car and caught up with her. After a few minutes, we realized we could help one another. I got her a ride to where she wanted to go, and here I am.”

That fucking bitch! She ratted me out.

“Did she say where she wanted to go?”

“Boulder Cove University.”

She’s going to find Ridge.

Different thoughts and plans race through my mind as I try to get the upper hand. My heart is pounding fiercely; I fear it’s going to flee from my body. My only hope is that she can get to Ridge and maybe tell him who has me or what's happened to me.

“I have to pee.”

For fuck’s sake, Riley. This man kidnapped you, tied you up, and drove like a madman to this point and you really think he’s going to let you out to go pee?

“Piss your fucking pants then. We had a deal.”

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