“Nice to meet you,” I murmur, shifting slightly under his gaze. I knew we would eventually need to talk to the police about what happened, but I was hoping I would have a few days for myself to accept everything.
“Kai has filled me in on most of what occurred, but I do have a few questions for you. If that’s okay?” he asks softly.
I war with myself on turning to look at Kai for permission. I was not prepared for this, and I feel like I have been put on the spot.
“Of course.” I nod and pull away from Kai, moving to my own seat.
I need to remember that this is all a lie; we may be married, but it’s not out of choice—it’s out of necessity. I can’t let my personal vulnerabilities affect this situation. And as much as I hate to admit it, Kai has an enormous effect on me.
“Well, let’s get started, then,” Nero says, rearranging some papers on top of the table. “I know you and Kai were married yesterday in Vegas, but can you tell me what happened the day before?”
I wrap my arms around myself and look over my shoulder towards the door, where I want to escape, but my eyes land on Aye, who nods and gives me a small smile. Then I feel a squeeze on my thigh and the roughness of Kai’s palm as it moves along my skin.
I turn my head back towards Nero without acknowledging Kai. “What would you like to know?”
“Start from the beginning.” He gives a slight smile, picking up a pen.
I nod again and pull my feet up under me on the chair, trying to get my thoughts in order before I begin.
“I own a bakery in downtown Seattle called Raining Sprinkles.” I swallow, remembering that my bakery is nothing but ash and rubble now.
“Take your time,” Nero says comfortingly.
“Like I said, I own a bakery, and on Sundays, I open the bakery alone and give my girls the day off because it’s normally pretty slow in the shop. Really, the day started out like any other day. I got there around five, made a pot of coffee, and took care of some stuff in the office until around six. At six, I went to the kitchen and threw together a few batches of muffins, put them in the oven, and then went out to start stocking the display cases. At eight, I flipped the sign from closed to open, and not long after that, my first customer came in.”
I pause, taking a breath while wrapping my arms a little tighter around myself. “The rest of the day was uneventful. There was nothing out of the ordinary. I was busy because I was on my own, but I expected that. At around two thirty, I went to the back and pushed a load of dishes through the dishwasher, and when I got back out front, I realized the man from that morning was still sitting at the same table he had been when I first opened.”
I close my eyes and open them slowly. “I went and made sure he was okay and that he didn’t want anything. Then I told him I closed at three. When three o’clock came around, he was gone. I took care of a couple of customers who had been waiting for me to box up their items and walked them to the door to leave. As soon as they were gone, I shut the door, and I was flipping the sign over when the man from earlier came running up to the door, telling me through the glass he thought he left his phone in the bathroom.”
I bite my lip and, without thinking, look at Kai and then back at Nero before speaking again. “I got a weird feeling, so I stood by the door while he looked around for his phone. I was watching him when the door was shoved open and I stumbled back. I thought it was a customer, but that’s when I looked up and saw my brother, Thad.” I shudder as bile crawls up my throat and nausea rolls in my stomach.
“Are you okay?” Nero asks as I pull in a deep breath.
“Fine,” I whisper, putting my feet on the floor while sliding away from Kai’s touch. “I was taken aback when I realized who it was. I had not seen him since I was eighteen and moved away from home. He pushed his way past me and then let in a few other men,” I say, and I feel Kai’s hand on my lower back as he lifts my shirt slightly. Then his fingers begin to move over my skin. I wonder if he is trying to remind me of the things I’m not supposed to talk about.
“Then what happened?” Nero questions softly, and I lean back slightly into Kai’s hand, who pauses his movement before resuming.
“He forced me into the back room. My brother said he owed some men money and that I needed to give it to him. I don’t know if he was on drugs or what, but he seemed really afraid. I told him I didn’t have the kind of money he was asking for, and he proceeded to tie me to a chair.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t know,” I say faintly. “I was hit over the head, and when I woke up, Kai was pulling me out of the burning building,” I look over at Kai, and even if I never tell anyone every detail of what really occurred, I do know that that part is not a lie, and I will forever be indebted to him.
“Then you went to Vegas and got married?”
I pull my eyes from Kai to look at Nero. “Yes. Well…we had been planning on getting married,” I lie.
Kai’s hand pauses on my back. We never discussed what exactly happened to me or what we would say if someone asked me about this, so I was trying to think on my toes.
“After what occurred, I realized how short life is, and I told Kai I didn’t want to live another day without him and that I was tired of putting off our relationship. So we stopped in Vegas on the way here and got married,” I tell him.
Nero searches my face. Then his eyes drop to the pad in front of him, where he begins to write again.