The drive to the precinct was a suffocating exercise in silence. Asher sat beside me, his presence heavy and dark, filling the SUV like a gathering storm. He didn't say a word, but the way his fingers drummed a rhythmic, predatory beat against his knee told me everything I needed to know. He was hungry for a confession, and Silas was the only meal on the menu.
As much as I expected him to speak about the incident at the training ground or even tell me off right here, he didn't. What was going on in that brain of his? This wasn't the Asher I used to know. If it were the old Asher, he would have had my head on a platter by now for disrespecting him in front of his men. How I wish I could open up that brain of his to see what was going on. I exhaled a breath I never realized I was holding.
"We have twenty minutes," Asher said finally, his voice cutting through the quiet as we pulled into the shadow of the police station.
"Twenty minutes for what?" I asked, looking at the drab, brick building. It looked too small to hold the weight of the betrayal Silas had carried.
"Before the lawyers arrive. Before the red tape turns this into a circus," Asher replied, checking a heavy gold watch. "The detectives in there owe me a favor, but even favors have an expiration date. They'll do their 'thing' first. We watch. Then, we will take over."
We were led through a side entrance, bypassing the main desk, and ushered into a small, darkened room. It was the observation gallery. On the other side of a thick pane of one-way glass, Silas sat bolted to a metal chair. He looked pathetic. The cocky, reliable security chief I had trusted was gone. In his place was a man who looked like he'd aged ten years overnight.
Two detectives were in the room with him. One was leaning over the table, shouting, while the other paced behind him, slamming a folder down.
"Tell us who paid the deposit, Silas!" the lead detective barked. "We have the offshore account. We have the hotel footage. You're looking at thirty years. Give us a name, and we will talk to the DA."
Silas just shook his head. "I can't. I don't know him or who they are."
"Are you sure about that, Silas?" the detective sneered. "Because the last time we checked, your partner in crime said you were the one in communication with the person. So for your own good, tell us what we want to know."
"I can't," Silas whispered. "If I do, I'm dead before I hit the cell block. You can't protect me from them."
Asher let out a low, dry chuckle beside me. "The police think they can break a man with the threat of a prison cell. They don't realize Silas isn't afraid of a cell. He's afraid of a coffin."
"They're getting nowhere," I whispered.
"Because they are using the wrong kind of pain," Asher said. "They are trying to scare his mind. They should be talking to his body."
He stood up and nodded toward the door. Suddenly, the detectives inside the room checked their phones, shared a look, and began gathering their files. They walked out without a second glance at Silas.
"What the heck? They are leaving, Asher! What are we going to do now?"
"I expected this, Chloe. Don't panic. This is to show you that whosoever is behind all of these also has some strings to pull in here. Anyways... your turn, Doctor," Asher murmured, stepping back to let me lead.
"What?" He caught me by surprise. "Don't be ridiculous, Asher. I'm a surgeon, not a police officer or some sort of interrogator."
"He's a man of science, isn't he? Go in there and show him what happens when a surgeon stops trying to save lives and starts looking for the nerves that hurt the most."
My hand hovered over the doorknob. The anger I had for Silas was a cold, sharp blade in my gut. He had put Leo in danger.
"I don't need to hurt him, Asher," I said, my voice steadying. "I just need him to remember who I am."
I pushed the door open. The screech of the metal hinges made Silas jump so hard he nearly fell out of his chair. When he looked up and saw me—not the detectives, and not even Asher yet—his face went from pale to ghostly white.
"Doctor Valentine?" he gasped.
"In the flesh," I said with a mocking gesture. I pulled out a chair and sat directly across from him, setting my medical bag on the table with a heavy thud. "I heard you were having trouble breathing, Silas. Let's see if we can fix that."
******