The Damaged (The Insiders Trilogy #2) - Tijan by Tijan

“That she had slept with Kashton Colello, your boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

“But you think it was a lie?”

“Yes.” A hiss from me.

“And you think she only said that to you because she wanted to hurt you?”

I gritted my teeth. “Yes.”

“So there’s no chance Kashton Colello actually slept with her?”

“No.”

They stared at me, falling silent.

They shared a look.

Neither expressed anything. Both faces were hard, guarded.

Detective 1 reached under the pile of files and pulled out a piece of paper. He showed it to me. “Do you know who Griogos Maragos is?”

MILLIONAIRE DEAD! MAFIA CONNECTED.

I read the headline. “He’s a millionaire that’s dead.” I nodded at the paper. “Says the Mafia did it.”

They both frowned before Detective 1 looked at the printed article from an online newspaper. He chuckled slightly before taking the paper back and putting it under the pile once again. “Are you aware that Griogos Maragos is Victoria’s grandfather?”

My chair shifted.

I didn’t move. My chair didn’t actually move, but it shifted nonetheless. I was looking at them sideways, upside down. “What?”

“He was found dead in his Greece home, and after we reached out, shared that his granddaughter had made a visit to a residence in our district, and that there’d been an attack there twelve hours later, they were willing to share a few facts. Seems there’s some travel logs saying that your boyfriend and Victoria flew to Greece this weekend. Victoria also flew straight to Aspen, while your boyfriend took a flight an hour later for Berlin. Can you tell us how this is all connected?”

Calhoun.

It was Calhoun.

I was reeling, but something had happened. Something bad. Kash couldn’t talk over the phone. He was going to Berlin.

I couldn’t let myself even think about Victoria.

He knew.

He knew that he’d have to take that trip, and he hadn’t given me the heads-up when it was actually happening.

Why?

Jesus.

Why?

To protect me.

Not to lie to me.

To keep me in the dark.

And he’d only do that if …

To protect me.

Because he knew he was going to do something illegal, something bad. I looked to where that paper was again, the Greece story, and I brought it up in my mind.

MILLIONAIRE DEAD! MAFIA CONNECTED.

I had skimmed the first few paragraphs, though I hadn’t read them. It didn’t matter, with my mind, and I was reading them now.

“That article says it’s believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot.”

They shared a look. Detective 1 grabbed the article and pulled it out.

They didn’t think I could’ve read that fast, or that far down. I told them, “Fourth paragraph. Second sentence: ‘Greece authorities broached the home of Griogos Maragos. His body was located with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He is believed to have ties to the Bennett Family and the Makarov Family, Mafia families from Russia and Calgary. He is also known to have associations with Calhoun Bastian, a billionaire—’” I stopped and locked eyes with both of them, ignoring their surprise. “Want me to keep going?”

Detective 2 coughed, folding his hands together on the table. “How about we talk about what happened at your cabin tonight?”

Jesus.

No.

Please no.

I shot back, “How about we keep talking about a death on the other side of world?” I couldn’t stop it. Dammit. A tear slipped out. My voice broke. “Because that’s way easier for me to process than what you’re asking me to tell you, which you already know.”

Pity flashed in Detective 1’s eyes.

Finally.

I felt an ease in the pressure on my shoulders.

“Okay.” Even his tone gentled, and that did wonders. But no. So no. More tears were sliding out now, and I hated it, because it’s one thing I felt I shouldn’t do. We Hayes women …

Seeing those tears, he said, “Look, we need a statement from you on the record. You have to tell us something, so as much as you can, just walk us through what happened.”

Two breaths.

Two pauses.

Two heartbeats.

And I started.

“We were in the hallway. They told us the night guards were gone and the day guards had been told not to come in.”

The ground shook beneath us, and the windows exploded over us.

“They blew up the garage and then began shooting into the house.”

“Get down!”

“My dad threw me on the ground.”

Bang! Bang!

“The guard with him began to exchange gunfire with whoever was shooting from outside.”

“Bailey!”

“My mom started screaming from inside the bedroom.”

“Are you okay? Are you okay? Oh my God. Bailey. Are you okay?”

“My dad started patting me down, making sure I hadn’t been shot.”

“You have to get in that room.”

“He dragged me into the room.”

“Oh my God, Bailey! Thank God. Oh, my baby.”

“My mom crawled over to me and wrapped her arms around me.”

Sobbing.

“She was rocking me back and forth.”