“Who are you?” I ask him.
He smiles up at me. “Fuck you.” Blood splatters out of his mouth, and then I see the moment the life drains from his eyes.
“Fuck.” I holster my gun and turn to Frankie, who looks ashen white. “Babe, you’re okay.” I tug her to me.
“I… I killed him,” she whispers.
“You did good.” I kiss the top of her head. “I need you to go with Hudson.”
“What? No, I’m not leaving you.” She clings to my jacket.
“Hudson, bring the car around front. Call it in,” I tell him.
“Frankie, it’s going to be okay.” He looks to his sister. “Promise,” he says. “I’ll be back. I’ll bring the car up.”
Hudson leaves and it’s just the two of us, and the dead asshole on the ground. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m leaving you here alone, Emilio,” Frankie says.
“I need you to go home so I can get this cleaned up.” Leaning down, I pull the knife out of the asshole’s neck, using his shirt to wipe the handle clean of Frankie’s prints.
The door next to us opens and that’s when all hell breaks loose. Without thought, I wrap a palm around the knife before dropping it on the body and holding my hands in the air. My prints will be all over that weapon.
I look to Frankie. “Don’t say a fucking word. Call my father.”
“What? No!” she screams as three police officers approach us.
One shoves me against the desk, slapping a pair of cuffs around my wrists.
“Stop! He didn’t do this!” she yells.
“What the fuck?” Hudson walks back into the room.
“Stay there.” One of the officers has a gun trained on Hudson.
“I’m just here to pick up my sister.”
And that’s when another cop puts cuffs on Frankie. “Stop! Don’t fucking touch her, asshole. She has nothing to do with this.”
“You’re both being brought in for questioning.”
“There’s no need to question her. I did it. Check the knife. You’ll find my prints on it,” I tell him.
“Emilio, what the hell?” Frankie screams at me. “Shut up!”
“It’s okay.” I’m not letting this fall on her. If it’s a choice between me and her, I pick her every fucking time. “Call my father!” I yell out to Hudson.
He’s already pressing buttons on his phone. “Where are you taking them? Which station?” he asks the cops.
My eyes fall to Frankie. “Don’t say anything.”
“Let’s go.” The cop holding my arm drags me away. My eyes stay locked on Frankie until we’re separated.
Fuck! What the fuck did I do?
I never should have let her out of the fucking house. I knew this asshole was still out there somewhere but I wanted to give her everything. I didn’t want her feeling trapped. I’m a fucking idiot.
I’m taken into the station and shoved into an interview room. I don’t say anything. The fuckers also don’t remove the fucking cuffs from my wrists. They did, however, strip me of every weapon I had on me before dropping me into the patrol car.
I’ve been watching the clock. It’s been two hours since they sat me in here. No one has come in to say anything. I did tell them I wanted my lawyer, and that was the last I spoke to anyone.