by A. K. Evans
“Do you think they know who did this?” she wondered.
“I don’t know. But I know that even if the police don’t figure it out, Royce and his team will.”
I hoped she believed that. Not just because I wanted it to ease her mind, but also because it was just the truth. They wouldn’t let something like this go. They’d work tirelessly to get to the bottom of it.
The next thing I knew, Sienna and I were sitting in an interrogation room at the Steel Ridge Police Department with Royce and two officers.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
One of the officer’s eyes darted back and forth between Sienna and me before he suggested, “Maybe we should talk to you separately.”
“Sienna’s not going to be out of my sight, so unless one of us is a suspect here, I’m going to decline that,” I told him.
“You aren’t in any trouble,” he returned. “It’s just… this might be difficult for Sienna, and we don’t want to cause any undue stress.”
“With all due respect, sir,” Sienna chimed in. “The way you’re trying to protect me from whatever this is right now is causing me far more anxiety.”
He nodded, sat down, and pinned his eyes on me. “Roscoe, can you tell us what your relationship with Maria Franco is?”
Okay.
That was completely unexpected.
“I dated her for a little while back when I was nineteen or twenty,” I answered.
“And you’ve had no contact with her since you split up?” he pressed.
I glanced at Sienna. I was suddenly realizing why the officer had wanted to separate Sienna and me. I wasn’t sure throwing my past transgressions in her face was best for her at this point.
Ignoring his question, I asked, “Can someone tell me what’s going on?”
The second officer leaned forward and shared, “We’re trying to establish motive.”
“Motive? For what?” I clipped, feeling myself get angrier by the second.
Did they think I did this?
“Guys?” Royce interrupted.
Everyone looked in his direction, but his attention was focused on me.
“Royce, please talk to me, man,” I begged.
“Finding Sienna at the warehouse mostly unharmed was a relief for everyone,” he began. “But as I stood back and listened to what was being said, the accounts of all that had happened, something didn’t sit well with me.”
He paused a moment, allowing his gaze to shift between Sienna and me, just as the officer had done only minutes before.
“I think Maria is responsible for what happened to Sienna today,” he shared.
“What?” Sienna gasped. “No. That’s not possible. She’s the only reason I’m sitting here right now.”
“But her story doesn’t add up,” one of the officers said.
Sienna shook her head. “What doesn’t add up? I saw everything that happened. She came in, had a gun pointed at those men, and risked her own life to save me. Look, I’m not exactly thrilled to sit here and defend her after how she was with me weeks ago, but she didn’t do anything wrong.”
“What did she do to you weeks ago?” an officer asked.
My beautiful girl looked over at me, despair and sadness in her eyes. Not taking them away from me, she rasped, “Maria wanted to see Roscoe, but he wasn’t home.”
“And she left after you told her this?”
“No.” Looking back at the officers, she shared, “Maria indicated my place.”
Their brows shot up, silently questioning her. “Your place?”
“I might be the mother of his child, but she confirmed what I believed at the time. Roscoe wasn’t mine, and he never would be.”
Fuck.
Sienna had never shared that with me, and Maria hadn’t either.
I couldn’t believe she thought that. Maybe that shouldn’t have surprised me given my history with women, but it did. I hated knowing that she hadn’t understood how important she was to me.
“And she believed Roscoe was hers?”
Sienna hesitated. “She made it clear that she never believed she’d have him either, but she didn’t hide the fact that they still got together on occasion.”
Her voice sounded so hurt. The more she shared, the worse it got. And the knife that had already pierced my heart felt like it was being twisted. If it felt this horrible for me, I knew it had to be worse for Sienna.
It was time for me to step in.
“Royce, why do you think Maria is responsible?” I asked.
“She said she was there when it happened,” he began. “She claimed that when Sienna was being abducted and you had gotten shot that she was just down the block coming out of the nail salon.”
“It’s a good thing she was,” Sienna interjected.
Royce shot her a look of sympathy. “Sienna, sweetheart, I hate to tell you this, but Maria wasn’t there.”
“How do you know?”
“At first, I didn’t. But when she indicated she’d happened to be at the right place at the right time, I noticed something.”
“What?” I asked.
There was a long stretch of silence. “Maria’s nails were not done recently.”
Fuck.
Anger flooded me, even without any additional proof. Royce did excellent work. He would not have brought this on us, especially not Sienna, if he wasn’t absolutely certain.
“Maybe she had gone in to get a gift certificate or something,” Sienna reasoned.
God, I loved her. She just wanted to see the good in someone who didn’t deserve it.
“We’ve taken a look at security footage inside and outside the salon. Maria was never there.”
“I… I don’t understand,” Sienna stammered. “Why would she do this?”
“This is my fault,” I hissed.
The moment the words were out of my mouth, I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. But it was only Sienna’s that mattered.
“Why would you say that?” she asked.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” I apologized. “That day she showed up and said all that she did to you… I went to her place.”
The color drained from Sienna’s face, and her hand instinctively went to her stomach as tears filled her eyes. She rasped, “You said—”
“I went to her place to make sure that she never stopped at my house again,” I shared, cutting her off.
Fuck. She thought I was going to say that I’d gone there and hooked up with her.
“Sienna, I know we weren’t officially together at that point, but I’d already started falling for you. I needed her to know that you weren’t just some girl that I got pregnant. You meant something to me, and I saw how her visit that day affected you. I wasn’t going to let you feel that way ever again,” I explained.
She swallowed hard and wiped away the tears.
“Roscoe?” one of the officers interrupted.
“Yeah?” I replied, looking up at him.
“How did Maria respond to the news?”
I shook my head. “She wasn’t happy, and she tried to convince me that I was making a mistake. I never thought she’d do this.”
“So, what now?” Sienna asked.
The officers looked at her. One of them said, “If you’re up for it, we’d really like to take both of your statements. We’re also working right now to locate the guys that picked you up in that van. We’re hoping we can get them to verify our suspicions.”
“I want to talk to her,” I declared.
“What?”
“Is she here? Can I speak with her? I want to ask her why she would do this,” I told them.
There was a long stretch of silence before one officer shrugged and said, “It’s unconventional, but she’s not technically under arrest just yet. We can bring her over and let you talk to her.”
The officers and Royce got up to leave the room. I looked down at the table and tried to let this all sink in.
I noticed movement out of the corner of my
eyes and glanced at Sienna. There was so much sadness in her face. I did this to her.
“Are you okay?” I asked, my voice not sounding like my own.
She nodded, but I wasn’t convinced she meant it.
“If you don’t want to be here when she comes in, it’s—”
“I want to be here,” she assured me.
“I’m really sorry, Sienna. I don’t know what else to say, but I hope you know just how horrible I feel about all of this,” I said.
Before she could respond, there was a knock at the door. The door opened and Maria walked in.
“We’ll be back in shortly to get your statement, Sienna,” the officer said.
After she acknowledged him with a dip of her chin, he closed the door and Maria came and sat down.
“I just got done giving them my statement,” she said. “How did everything go at the hospital? Is the baby okay?”
“The baby is perfect,” I answered.
“I hope they can find out who did this,” Maria stated.
Nodding my agreement, I replied, “Yeah. They will. Even if the police don’t figure it out, I’ve already got Royce on it.”
“Royce?” she asked, confusion marring her features.
“Killian’s cousin,” I explained. “He owns Harper Security Ops.”
Maria’s eyes widened. She might not have known who Royce was, but you couldn’t live in Steel Ridge and not know about Harper Security Ops.
“That’s… that’s good.”
“Yeah. He’s already got his guys checking the security footage along that strip,” I shared. “I’m sure that between the descriptions you and Sienna give the police of the guys and what they’ll be able to pull off those cameras, it’s only a matter of time before they are found. They should easily be able to get the license plate number, too.”
Maria shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “There were cameras there?”
I nodded. “Great, isn’t it?”
She looked beyond nervous. “Uh… yeah. That’s great. Well, I should probably get going. It’s been a really long day today.”
As she stood up, I asked, “Why did you do it?”
“Pardon?”
“Why did you do this?”
She clearly didn’t think I knew what she’d really done because she smiled and sat back down. “What should I have done?” she countered. “I mean, I couldn’t just let those guys take off with the woman carrying your baby. I know things weren’t great the last time we spoke. You were justifiably angry with me, and I realized this was a way for me to make it up to you. Show you how sorry I am.”
“Good thing you were there, right?”
She nodded.
“So, why aren’t your nails done?” I pressed.
“What?”
“You said you had just walked out of the nail salon and saw what was happening,” I reminded her. “Why aren’t your nails done?”
She froze. I could see her mind working, scrambling, and trying to come up with an excuse. “I got a pedicure,” she blurted.
I shot her a look that I hoped indicated I didn’t believe a word that was coming out of her mouth. “Right. That makes sense,” I returned. “I’m sure Royce and his guys will verify that when they stop at the salon.”
Something completely changed in her demeanor. Maria shifted her focus to Sienna. “You saw what happened in that warehouse,” she said. “I saved you.”
Sienna didn’t respond.
Maria looked back at me, stood up, and began pacing. Then she seethed, “You should be feeling grateful. You should want to show me how much it means to you that I saved your baby from harm.”
“The baby you put in danger in the first place?” I questioned her. “Maria, you set this all up. It’s only a matter of time before this all falls into place. It already is, and I’m sure the damning evidence isn’t far behind. Why would you ever do this?”
She paced even faster, clearly not liking that this hadn’t gone anything like she had planned.
“Why her?” she asked.
“What?”
“Why her? Why does she get you? You said you never wanted to settle down and have a family, and now she’s living with you and pregnant with your baby,” she huffed.
“Things changed,” I told her.
Maria continued to pace back and forth, unable to look at either one of us. She did this for a long time before she stopped and looked me square in the eyes.
“I was there for you in the beginning,” she rasped. “Back when you were a nobody, I was there with you. I wanted you. And I would have given up everything to be by your side through all of it. You said you didn’t want it, and now she gets it.”
“Roscoe was always somebody,” Sienna chimed in.
“What?” Maria spat.
“He was always somebody,” Sienna repeated. “Just because the band hadn’t made it big back then doesn’t mean that he was worthless. If you were sticking around simply hoping for what would come down the road, you never deserved him. Band or no band, Roscoe has always been somebody special.”
God.
All these years.
All that I’d done.
I didn’t deserve this woman.
But I refused to give her up.
Maria ignored Sienna, looked back at me, and cried, “She’s living the life that was supposed to be mine. I wanted to get it back.”
“Sienna’s living the life that was meant for her,” I corrected Maria. “The one that was meant for me. It’s unbelievable that you would think putting the woman I love and our unborn child at risk would make me feel anything good toward you. I’m actually ashamed to admit that I was ever involved with you.”
“Can’t you see how much I love you, Roscoe?” she questioned me. “I did all of this for you, to show you how much you mean to me. You should have seen that I was willing to risk my life to save your baby. You were supposed to leave her. I’m the one that’s supposed to be with you. Not her.”
Just then, the door opened, and the officers stepped inside.
One walked right up to her and said, “Put your hands behind your back.”
“What?”
“Maria Franco, you’re under arrest,” he started.
He went on to read Maria her rights, but I didn’t pay attention to it because Sienna had broken down into tears beside me. I pulled her into my chest and comforted her.
Kissing the top of her head, I whispered, “It’s okay, baby. It’s done.”
I held her for a while, letting her get out what she was feeling. Eventually, after quite some time had passed, I asked the officers if it would be okay for us to return tomorrow to give statements. I just wanted to get Sienna home.
They agreed.
With that, I led her out of the station and right to the car.
Then I took her home, where I knew I’d need to work on fixing all that had gone wrong.
Twenty-six
Sienna
“Talk to me.”
Roscoe and I were both on our sides, facing one another in his bed. It had been a week since Maria had kidnapped me and attempted to win Roscoe back.
Obviously, she’d been unsuccessful in accomplishing what she set out to do, and we were now going through the whole legal process with it all. Not only that, but just as Roscoe had said would happen, a day after the whole ordeal occurred, Royce and his team had managed to help the Steel Ridge Police Department in locating the two men who’d kidnapped me and shot Roscoe that day.
Once the men knew that Maria had admitted what she’d done, they didn’t hide their part in all of it. Apparently, she’d hired them to kidnap me. Then, she was going to storm in as she did in an attempt to save me so that she could prove to Roscoe how much she cared about him. To make everything seem genuine so that I wouldn’t suspect what she was up to, she had Adrian and Dorian tackle her to the ground, but she never actually hit her head. She merely pretended. I felt like a fool for having believed any of it.
B
ut I was here now.
Truthfully, I was relieved. Knowing that everyone involved in what happened had been arrested gave me peace of mind that I didn’t know I was seeking.
It wasn’t until I had confirmation that they were no longer out there roaming free that it all started to really sink in just how horrible it had all been and how very bad it could have been. And to think that I’d trusted Maria in those moments that I was alone with her. I had to wonder how things might have turned out. Every time I had that thought, it became more and more strange. I couldn’t begin to understand why someone would ever think that the way to win someone’s heart over would be to purposely scare them and put the life of someone else they love at risk.
It made no sense, and I had had a hard time coping the first few days afterward.
It seemed that Roscoe was still trying to cope.
And I didn’t like that.
Because where I’d struggled mostly with the fear I’d felt from having been through an experience like that, Roscoe wasn’t.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t struggling. Roscoe was having a hard time dealing with it all for an entirely different reason.
He tried to hide it. In fact, I would venture a guess that most anyone else who saw him wouldn’t know there was anything wrong.
I did.
I could see how heavily this was weighing on his mind. I had to do something about it.
So, I decided that tonight was the night. He had spent the last week going above and beyond to make sure that I was okay, that I felt safe and secure. He needed to feel the same.
Since he’d just slipped into the bed after locking up the house and brushing his teeth and hadn’t turned off the lamp beside the bed, I didn’t want to wait.
“Sure. What do you want to talk about?” he asked, his hand gently resting on my hip.
“You.”
“What? What about me?”
I placed my palm on his bare chest and allowed my thumb to stroke back and forth along the warm skin there. “Something is on your mind, Roscoe,” I said softly. “You need to talk about it.”
He gave my hip a gentle squeeze. “I’m alright,” he assured me.
