Oh jeez. It was a chore not to laugh at his hypocrisy. The first thing he'd done was question me after I woke up. Now he was playing the role of a caring father and acting as if I was a dandelion, one gust of wind from being blown away.
“Be that as it may, she was involved in a shooting which resulted in five dead and both her and your nephew shot. There were enough shell casings in that garage to show that over five hundred rounds were fired,” Brooks explained.
I sighed. “Sit down.” Everyone looked down at me. I reached for Jamie’s hand and tugged him backward, preventing him from arguing. “Could you also take a seat, Detectives? No offense, but I have a skull fracture and it hurts to look up at you. I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you may have but you’ve got to meet me on my level.”
Dean skidded two chairs toward them before going to stand by the window. The detectives exchanged a look and reluctantly sat. Jamie, Louie, and Stefan followed suit.
Brooks and Cameron eyed my hand clasped in Jamie’s before Brooks plastered on a friendly smile. “Thank you for cooperating.”
“I don’t remember much,” I lied.
“Can you tell us what you do remember?” Brooks asked as he pulled out a little notebook and pen.
“I remember being in the car.”
“Where were you headed?” Cameron interrupted.
I fought not to look to Stefan for guidance. Instead, I furrowed my brow as if I was really trying to remember.
Jamie squeezed my hand. “It’s okay, baby. The doctor said it would take time before things would start coming back to you.”
I willed tears to my eyes. It wasn’t that hard because I was already emotionally spent. “I’m sorry.”
Cameron’s eyes narrowed and if his expression was anything to go by, he clearly felt like I was full of shit.
“It’s okay,” Brooks said, kindly. “Is there anything else you remember?”
I nodded. “I was talking to Rourke in the backseat. We were laughing about something.”
“What were you laughing about?” Cameron asked.
“It’s all hazy. I think we were talking about Jamie.”
Cameron rose a brow. “Jamie?”
I pointed to Jamie. As far as I knew only his mother and I were the ones he’d allowed to shorten his name. Everyone else called him Jameson or referred to him by his last name, Coleman.
“Well, isn’t that cute,” Cameron mocked.
What a dick.
“With all due respect, Detective, can you save whatever beef you have with Jamie for another time? I have graciously agreed to answer all your questions because I want to help you find the people who set out to hurt me and my family. Three of my friends are dead. So please, can you do your job and ask me what it is you want to know?” I snapped.
The room went quiet. Louie snorted and Jamie did nothing to hide his smug smile. Brooks cleared his throat. “Of course, Miss Quinn. Please continue.”
I went on with a very vague explanation of what had happened up until the driver, Rourke’s enforcer, had gotten shot. Then I said everything was a black hole after that.
They asked me if I’d ever interacted with the Aryans before. I played completely dumb, stating that I’d never met an Aryan in my life.
Cameron frowned. “It’s unfortunate that all the traffic cams and security footage in and around that parking garage were mysteriously down at the time of the shooting. All we have to go off of is what you, Rourke Murphy, Asher King, and Dean Gallagher have to say, and it isn’t much.”
“I wish I could be more help,” I said.
When they were finished with their questions, they stood to leave, but just as Cameron reached the door he paused and glanced back at me. “One more thing…have you heard from your ex, Tom Morris?”
I shook my head. I was so grateful that I’d taken that thing off my finger earlier because my pulse rate skyrocketed. “No, I haven’t.”
“Have you tried reaching out to him?” he asked.
“Is there something I should know, Detective?” I deflected.
His scrutinizing eyes held mine. “I find it strange that you wouldn’t attempt to reach out to him after I told you that he was missing. Despite your separation, you two were together for over a year. Weren’t you the slightest bit worried about him?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off. “Because I’m feeling gracious at the moment, I’ll give you a few days to rest up, but I will need you to come down to the station to answer a few more questions.”
I didn’t respond, nor did he wait around for me to. As Detective Brooks went to follow his partner out, he glanced over at Dean. It was brief and I couldn’t see his expression, but whatever it was caused Dean to look away from him with a clenched jaw.
“If I wasn’t high on painkillers right now, I’d be going bananas. I don’t know how much longer I can do this,” I groaned as I slowly made my way back from the bathroom. Dean and Asher both watched as I stiffly took a seat on the couch next to them.
“Quit complaining. It’s only been two weeks,” Dean grumbled and turned his attention back toward the TV.
“Enjoy it while it lasts. We are. It’s easier to keep you alive when confined to one room. Once you’re able to rejoin civilization, all bets are off,” Asher teased.
Being cooped up in my room with my goons while watching an unhealthy amount of TV since being released from the hospital had been a bonding experience, to say the least. We’d reached a point of comfortable where they’d turned into mouthy little shits. Not that they hadn't been that way before. They just didn’t hold back anymore. It might have pissed me off at times, but I still respected them for it. Stefan thought it was a bad idea to form friendships with my security. He was worried about the heartache I’d face if one of them died. I understood his concern. I couldn’t, however, live my life surrounded by strangers.
Besides, it was kind of hard not to get to know someone when confined to a room for weeks. I’d learned a lot. Both Dean and Asher were ex-military, which wasn’t surprising. Dean had grown up in New Haven but didn’t have any family left. He had been vetted by one of Conor’s enforcers before they'd introduced him to Louie, who'd presented him with the offer to join the family.
“Did you know who we were at the time or what it’d mean when Louie made the offer?” I’d asked him.
He’d been caught off guard by the question and seemed to shut down after replying simply, “Yeah.”
I’d reached out to him without thinking and touched his arm reassuringly. I didn’t know why I’d done it and the gesture had surprised us both. “I wouldn’t blame you, but do you regret it—joining the family?”
The three of us had been sitting on my couch with a movie playing on the TV. Dean had been sitting in the middle with Asher and I flanking him. Asher had been quietly watching us while munching on popcorn. He’d preferred kettle popcorn over the old fashioned butter that Dean and I liked, which was why he'd gotten his own bowl while Dean and I had shared. Dean hadn’t answered right away, and I’d ended up blurting, “I wouldn’t wish this life on anyone.”