Borden

“Sit down,” he ordered, motioning to the seat across from him as he pocketed his lighter.

Well, okay.

I was going to be sitting down regardless of him telling me to or not.

I did as I was told and stared at the table to avoid his piercing eyes.

“Having a good day?” His voice was so void of emotion, it was almost robotic.

“You don’t have to take the cordial route,” I plainly replied. “I know you don’t give a fuck.”

He stilled for a moment, like he was surprised by my remark. Then, he nodded slowly, muttering, “Right. Let’s get to the point then. You know why I’m here, don’t you?”

“It’s…to do with that night.”

“Good, you’re clearly smarter in the mornings.”

I fought hard not to glare. The jerk.

“Now I think it’s important for us to begin an open and honest discussion in regards to that night, and we can start by you looking at me.”

I did as I was told, only because I knew what he was capable of and he scared the shit out of me. With the sunlight pouring through the window and framing him the way it did, he was irresistible eye candy, and I understood in that moment why women flocked to him, regardless of all he was. Looks like his had the power to disguise the darkest sides in people.

“That’s better,” he said with a single approving nod. “So, I’ve been tossing your other night’s words to me around lately, and I have a few discrepancies I’d like to get to the bottom of. I’m going to ask you several questions, Emma, and you’ll answer them truthfully.”

It was my turn to nod.

“Good.”

He pocketed his lighter and straightened up so that he was fully facing me. Then he folded his large hands together over the table. I had a thing for hands. Couldn’t stand a man with manicured smooth ones. My gaze unintentionally lingered on his long fingers, finding callouses I knew he had. There were no rings or watches on him. He was incredibly plain, and a small part of me felt particularly intrigued by that.

“What did you see the other night?” he asked, focusing my attention back to him. His eyes roamed all about my face. “Keep looking at me as you answer, Emma.”

This was a difficult task to do considering I usually had wandering eyes when I lied. I kept them firmly on his, though, and decided this was not the time to let my fear control my words.

“I saw nothing,” I answered, and that was the truth. “It was dark.”

“What did you hear then?”

Now this was the question I’d dreaded the most. I opened my mouth to answer, but then closed it when I discovered that my eyes were wandering. I looked back at him and knew he noticed. His probing eyes roamed my face, distracting me for a moment when he absently ran his tongue along his bottom plump lip. Wow, he had particularly nice lips.

“Nothing,” I finally said, looking away from that mouth that seemed to be demanding attention. I couldn’t tell him the truth, not when I knew what it might mean if I did.

He was an impossible man to read. He stared at me harder with each passing second, as if giving me one more opportunity to correct myself, and then he nodded. “Good,” he said, but his voice wasn’t as stern as before. “I’m hoping you told the officer that when he went to your apartment the next morning.”

And just like that, I felt the wall I’d been putting up crack. My shoulders slumped in disbelief. I was being watched…

“You need to breathe,” I heard him say. I was having another anxiety attack and breathing was the last thing on my mind. “Calm down.”

His eyes travelled to my shaking hands. I immediately hid them under the table so he couldn’t see. Jesus, what the hell was wrong with me? I never allowed anyone to see my weaknesses. This was obviously different, I know, but still, I’d always prided myself on being strong, on being able to keep it together under adversity. And I always had.

Keep it together, Emma. You’ve endured worse things before.

“I didn’t tell him anything,” I speedily said. “Nothing. He said someone had called to ask for my wellbeing. He said he saw your man—”

“Lower your voice.”

I shut my mouth hard and glanced around us. I could see Blythe standing half a room away with a look of concern. Everyone else was watching too. When Borden followed my gaze, they quickly turned away and resumed their conversations, but they were nowhere near as loud as before, and I knew they were still trying to listen in.

“I didn’t say anything,” I managed to whisper, looking him square in the eye. He needed to know this was the absolute truth.

He swept the diner once more, making sure nobody was looking at us. It dawned on me how out of place we looked. I was a struggling waitress earning fuck all an hour and he was possibly the wealthiest man in New Raven.

Oh, and he was a bloody criminal! Yeah, let’s not forget that important bit of information, shall we?

“Where’s an office?” he suddenly asked. “Is there one in this shithole, or no?”

My brows came together in confusion. “Um… yeah, beside the kitchen.”

Looking thoughtful, he abruptly stood up and grabbed me by the arm. I gasped as he hauled me to my feet and demanded, “Lead me to it now.”

I moved, but my brain was racing. Faces looked back at us, and Borden snapped, “Look at your fucking food.”

They did.

Of course they did.

Blythe shot me a pained expression, and I merely shook my head at her. I didn’t need her to catch his attention. Tessa forcefully turned her away, whispering in her ear. Whatever she said made Blythe reluctantly nod.

I stopped us at the office door and weakly said, “My boss is in there –”

Borden interrupted me by letting me go and shaking the knob. When he discovered it was locked, he stepped back and kicked it harshly. It took one kick for the lock to break and the door swung open. Denny the Dick jumped out of his chair, quickly zipping up his pants as he gawked at Borden with shock.

“What is going on –”

“Get the fuck out,” Borden interrupted, glaring at the man.

Denny hesitated for a moment, glancing between us, but he did as he was told. I glared at Borden just then, wondering just how far that power of his extended. When Denny walked out determinedly not meeting Borden’s eye, Borden slammed the door shut and turned to me. By then, I was taking steps back, moving toward the desk, and stopping when it hit the backs of my legs.