The pickpocket and the billionaire

Chapter 20

20

Paige Hartley

The cops wanted to talk to me. Veronica managed to tell them a great deal about my involvement in the shooting. I'd managed to retrieve my gun in the morning without it being found and hid it the only place I thought it was safe – on my body.

I no longer felt fear, sorrow, guilt or anger. I was numb and thinking logically, taking one step at a time. I distanced myself from Sebastian. From everyone. How could I have ever thought this was my life now? This couldn't last and I was a fool to let it continue for as long as it had.

Tommy was there too. He pulled me aside when I arrived downstairs. I followed him to a quiet corner, knowing the worst had already happened. Boris was standing a couple of metres away, shadowing me.

"How are you holding up?" Tommy asked. I blinked, then shrugged.

"Fine." He raised one quizzical eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." There was pause, neither comfortable or uncomfortable. "Are you here to arrest me?" I asked.

He shook his head. "You haven't committed a crime. Not one that we can prove, at least."

"So, do you just need my statement, or what?" I crossed my arms. The numbness wasn't going away, and I didn't know if that was a good thing.

"It's a little more than that." He said.

I nodded. "Okay."

"I'm sorry about what happened the last time I was here." He hooks his thumb behind his belt.

"That's alright."

"I was trying to keep you safe." Sure you were. "I figured doing some time would be acceptable to Shawn. I thought he'd leave you alone then."

I shook my head. "Not even that could have prevented this from happening." I should've gone back.

"Paige Hartley?" Someone asked. A cop. I stepped away from Tommy, nodded. The cop beckoned me to come closer and questioned Tommy with only a look, thinking I didn't notice. He diverted his attention and concentrated on me. "Can we ask you some questions?"

"Sure." I followed him wordlessly, ignoring all the looks the staff was giving me. They hated me. They were mourning their losses, as was I.

The officer took me into the kitchen. Apparently it was cleared out for interrogations, because no one was in there. My heart beat wildly in my chest and my eyes burned with unshed tears at the thought of Bobby. What a strategical place. I licked my lips and purposefully took steady breaths, willing the numbness to return. It was definitely a good thing, I decided.

"My name is Robin Neilson." He said, sitting himself down. I dragged my eyes away from the stove to look at him.

"You already know who I am." I tried to make it light, joking even, but I failed, as my voice cracked. I never used to be this nervous.

"Is it alright if I ask you some questions involving the incident last night?" He asked. It was a little late for that, wasn't it? I nodded.

"Go ahead."

"I understand you are deeply involved in last night's events, and possibly also with the suspects?" Nervous tickles swirled inside my stomach to the point it became nauseating. I nodded. "Can you tell me your side of the story?" I did.

I told him I was in my room. I told him I was with Sebastian, but I didn't tell him I killed several men. Some events of the night were a blur to me, among them making my way to the main hall. The place where they've been cleaning up blood and searching for fingerprints all night. Leaving my gun completely out of the story, I even told him how I knew Shawn, leaving out as many details about my crimes as possible. I should go to jail for what I've caused, but I was not brave enough. I used to smile my way through these things, kills or no kills. I'm still numb.