Navy SEAL Rescuer by Shirlee McCoy Page A

Let’s get started.”
    The first hour crawled by, a clock on the wall ticking away the
seconds and minutes. By the second hour, Catherine was sure that Officer Kenton
thought that she’d staged the attack, planted the bomb herself, done something
that deserved jail time.
    Sweat beaded her brow, the thick hot air refusing to find its
way to her lungs. She took a deep gulping breath, her heart jumping when Kenton
raised a thick gray brow. “Are you all right, Catherine?”
    “You said the interview would only take an hour.”
    “We need to be thorough. Whoever planted that bomb meant
business, and the sooner we find him, the better off you and your grandmother
will be.”
    He sounded so reasonable, but he’d been reasonable five years
ago, too. Reasonable and kind and undemanding, and Catherine had fallen right
into the trap he’d laid.
    “I think I need a lawyer,” she said.
    He looked up from his computer and frowned. “Why would you need
a lawyer?”
    “Because the last time you interviewed me, I didn’t have one,
and I ended up in jail.”
    “Different circumstances.” His voice was tight and he dropped
his gaze to the computer screen again.
    No apology, but she hadn’t expected one.
    The Spokane County sheriff’s department had issued a formal
apology along with their offer of monetary compensation for the wrongful
conviction. Everything had been handled by their lawyers, and Catherine had been
happy to have it that way.
    At the time, she’d thought she’d leave prison and leave town
and never have to face any of the men or women who’d accused her. She’d been
wrong. She’d been wrong about a lot of things in her life, and that had cost her
in time and relationships and peace of mind.
    She didn’t want to go down that path again.
    This time, she’d have no regrets, no second-guessing the way
she’d acted or responded.
    “Officer Kenton, I’ve answered your questions. I have nothing
more to add. Unless you plan to arrest me—”
    “Why would I do that?” To his credit, he looked surprised.
Shocked even.
    “For the same reason you arrested me before. Because there
aren’t any other reasonable suspects.”
    “That isn’t why we...” He stopped. Shook his head. “Look, the
precinct lawyers said we aren’t supposed to admit personal responsibility for
what happened or we’ll open ourselves up for a civil action, but I do feel
responsible, okay? I was wrong. I admit it. Sue me if you want, but let me help
you this time, Catherine. I know I’m asking a lot of questions and taking a lot
of time, but I don’t want to miss anything. You deserve to have some happiness
after what happened to you. You don’t deserve to have some creep making your
life miserable.”
    She’d stopped trusting herself and her ability to read people’s
motives years ago, but the sincerity in his eyes was unmistakable.
    One person from the past regretted what had happened.
    One person believed wholeheartedly in her innocence.
    Knowing that was almost harder than believing that the entire
sheriff’s department would have preferred her to still be in jail.
    “I’m not planning to sue anyone,” she reassured him, but she
held herself back from offering anything else. As sincere as he seemed, as
reasonable as his words, she held a piece of herself back just in case another
trap was being set. It was the way she’d learned to be, and she wasn’t going to
give that up easily.
    “Good to know. Now, how about we get back to the
interview?”
    “I really do need to be with my grandmother.” She stood,
finished with the interview and anxious for some space.
    “Catherine—”
    Someone knocked on the door.
    “Come in,” Officer Kenton called out, and Darius walked in.
    Dark stubble shadowed his chin and his eyes seemed to glow in
his deeply tanned face. Officer Kenton was taller, but Darius had a presence
that overshadowed him and everything else in the room.
    He met her eyes, smiled, and Catherine’s heart