Lie for Me by Romily Bernard Page B

accident. She’s fine, but, well, there might be some charges.”
    Briefly, my head goes fuzzy, like I’m floating. Then I drop back into myself. Hard. “What kind of charges?”
    â€œDrunk-and-disorderly mostly. Her friend was driving, so he’ll bear the brunt of it. You know how these things go.” Carson pushes away from the wall and pans his hands to either side, palms toward the ceiling. He’s grinning like he couldn’t stop if he tried. “No telling what else we might find in her car. It was impounded, so the officers will have plenty of time to look it over. Think we’ll find anything you should be worried about?”
    No idea . “Of course not.”
    â€œGood. That’s good. Fine will definitely be steep to get it out though.”
    I stay still, watching him.
    Carson scratches behind his ear. “Reminded me that I hadn’t heard from you in a while. Thought maybe I could help you out. You’re a nice kid, Griff. You don’t deserve any of this, so I thought you’d want to do your interview now. I’ll take you to the station—unless you want to do it here.”
    I swallow. “Great. Let’s go.”
    The detective’s eyes go so bright it makes my stomach queasy. What the hell am I going to say? Do I give him everything?
    Nothing?
    Wick’s terrified face is all I can see. She’s deep into this, a walking target now. By not asking anyone for help or protection . . . Christ, this is bad. Why would she even tell me?
    I sit up straight even as my stomach sinks. Holy shit. She told me because she trusts me. Out of all the people in the world, she trusts me . Actually, no, that’s wrong. It’s not out of all the people in the world. It’s out of the few people in her world. She trusts me and I don’t know what to do with that. The gift seems too big.
    Especially for someone who would get paid for betraying her.
    I follow Carson to the unmarked sedan parked by the front curb. He opens the door for me like I’m a chick, and from the corner of my eye, I think I see a flash of red. I don’t turn. I can’t risk it. I get into the car and Carson drives us away.
    Â 
    We get to the station just as Ben is coming off shift. My cousin’s head jerks higher when he sees us walking through the parking lot. He speeds up, ever eager to catch Carson.
    â€œHey, so this must mean good progress, yeah?” Ben asks, eyes bouncing between the detective and me.
    â€œDid you need something, Officer?” Carson’s fingers stab into my upper arm as we sidestep Ben. I throw him off. He’s not going to march me into the station like I’m under arrest. “Don’t you have reports to finish?”
    â€œOh. Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Ben sounds so deflated I want to turn around and punch him. Does no one see how this guy acts? How can they all believe his front?
    Carson yanks open one of the glass doors and motions me through. We pass the front desk and weave through the bull pen, all the surrounding officers stopping whatever they’re doing to say hello to Carson.
    This is bullshit, but the detective works the room like a total pro—just enough ass-kissing to the older officers so they feel like they’re special and just enough condescension to the younger officers so they have something to work for.
    Honestly, I’m kind of grateful for the break. I still don’t know what to say to him. I need the pay. I need to fix things for my mom, but I don’t know how I can live with myself if I tell Carson everything Wick told me.
    When we finally make it to the detective’s office, Carson unlocks the door and drops heavily into his desk chair. “Shut that behind you, okay?”
    I nod, taking the chair opposite him. I focus on Carson’s forehead so I don’t have to meet his eyes.
    â€œYou like our new arrangement? Your mother was happy to sign the consent forms