Page 21 of Knot My Secret

Then just stands there without moving.

“Can we come up?” I ask.

“Rae’s not feeling well.”

“Do you know that you’re harboring a murderer?” Forge says, stepping up to my side. I grit my teeth, but stop myself from yelling at him the way I want to.

“Rae didn’t murder anyone,” Trinity says with a laugh.

“She was seen running from a crime scene,” Forge says.

“She didn’t kill him,” Trinity says more seriously.

So she told her what happened. That, or Trinity is lying out of her ass.

“We’d like to question her ourselves. You can either let us in to speak with her, tell her to come outside, or we can get a lot more cops here to go in and take her out, which I’m sure you don’t want. It’s traumatizing.” I don’t like threatening people, but it’s part of the job. If they’d just do what they were supposed to, I wouldn’t have to act like this.

She purses her lips. “For you?”

I huff a laugh. “No, ma’am. We do it all the time.”

Trinity stares us up and down for a long time. “I’m going to be honest with you guys,” she says, stepping out onto the porch and holding the door open just an inch. “She’s scared. I don’t know of what or why. She won’t tell me. But she’s terrified to talk to the police.”

“A lot of people are,” I say gently.

She shakes her head. “It’s something else. But the only reason I’m going to let you into my home to talk to her is because I trust my instincts, and I don’t think you two are dirty cops. However, you better take it easy on Raewyn. She’s had a rough week.”

“Well, her victim had a really rough day, so I think she can manage,” Forge says.

I sigh.

“Ma’am, I assure you we just want to talk with Raewyn to hear her side of the story.”

“So she’s not under arrest?”

“Not at this time,” I answer quickly, before Forge can say something else ridiculous.

“But that can change on a dime,” he adds.

“You have a bad attitude,” she says to him, then looks at me. “You’re at least a little nicer.” She pauses a moment. “And cuter.”

I give Forge a look, one that I hope tells him he better behave.

We step inside and close the door behind us before following Trinity up the narrow staircase. At the top, there's barely enough room for the three of us to stand while she unlocks the apartment door. The dim overhead light doesn't help, leaving us crowded together in the small space. If I were claustrophobic, I’d be screwed.

“Raewyn, honey!” she calls out when the door is opened, gesturing for us to go toward the right, which is a small living room. It’s crowded with just the two of us standing in it.

We say nothing as we wait for Trinity to coax Raewyn out. Forge looks around the place, taking it all in, and I’m watching Trinity knock on the door that Raewyn must be in.

That familiar orange scent lingers in the apartment, mixed with a floral scent that belongs to Trinity, a beta. It’s not a terrible scent, but certainly not as good as Raewyn’s.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Trinity says against the door.

“No it’s not!” comes from the other side.

Forge and I both step forward, but I hold my hand out to stop him. I give him a stern look that tells him to stay put before I walk to the door.

“Raewyn, my name is Detective Pierce Warren. I’m here to ask you a few questions about Theodore Gendron. I think you knew him better as Tiger.”