“No. Let’s get this over with.” He looked around for a seat and pulled over the one Cain had used when he fed her. The padding flattened as he sank into it. Then he looked back at Cain, who stood resolutely at the door, like some kind of gatekeeper. “Could we have a few minutes alone?”
“No,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Ned’s frown said he wasn’t pleased by this response, but Cain set his jaw, making it clear he wouldn’t change his mind.
Grumbling under his breath, Ned faced Sheridan. “You probably know why I’m here.”
“Of course.”
“Good. Than maybe we can talk about what you didn’t tell the police twelve years ago.”
“I told them everything that mattered.”
“You didn’t tell them about your relationship with Cain in the weeks leading up to the shooting.”
“We didn’t have a ‘relationship.’” How was a bad case of unrequited love a relationship?
“But you did have sex with him. Then you lied about it.”
“I didn’t lie.”
He withdrew a small pad from his shirt pocket. “You didn’t tell the police. Or it would be in the file.”
“It’s in the file now,” Cain said. “I suggest you move on.”
He shot Cain a dour glance. “From what I’ve heard, this happened at a party.”
“That’s true.”
“Was Jason there?”
“No. Jason and Cain didn’t really hang around with the same people.”
“Were there any drugs at this party?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Cain asked.
“I’m trying to establish whether either of you had a history of using drugs. That might tell me whether or not drugs were involved in the shooting.”
“There weren’t any drugs at the party. Cain had been drinking a little, I think.”
“And you?”
“I didn’t drink at that age.”
Ned tapped his pen against his notepad. “Or so you say.”
Sheridan clung tightly to her temper. “You know I didn’t drink.”
“I don’t know anything. Until yesterday, I thought you never put out, either,” he said with a bark of laughter.
Cain closed the gap between them so quickly Ned flinched and almost fell off his chair. “What?” he complained, dropping his pad on the floor.
“Either treat her with some respect or get the hell out of here.”
The two glared at each other for several seconds, but it was Ned who backed down. “Fine,” he grumbled. With a dramatic sigh, he focused on Sheridan again. “Did Cain ever mention to you that he and Jason were having problems?”
“No,” she said. “As far as I know, they got along just fine.”
“And you didn’t feel you might be causing trouble between the two brothers by having sex with one and then the other?”
Anger sparked in Cain’s eyes. “Damn it, Ned. Take it easy or I’ll throw your ass out.”
“I didn’t have sex with Jason,” Sheridan said.
“You were at a popular make-out spot. And, according to witnesses, the windows were thick with steam. No one could even see in.”
“That doesn’t mean we were having sex!”
“If you slept with Cain the first night you were together, what stopped you from doing the same with Jason?”
Sheridan pressed her palms to her eyes. “Jason was just a friend. We were only talking.”
“About…”
“Life. School. Parents.”
“That’s it?”
She attempted a shrug. She didn’t want to let him know how much this was costing her, but talking about Jason always made her feel sick inside. Why had she involved him in her childish attempt to get Cain’s attention? How many times had she asked herself if Jason would still be alive today if she hadn’t been so stupid and immature, if she’d been able to face the fact that Cain had merely used her?
“Did he know you just wanted to be friends?”
No. He had hopes of more. That was what made her cringe the most. “He—he wanted to kiss me,” she admitted.
Ned scooted closer. “Could you speak a little louder?”
With effort, she raised her voice. “I said he wanted to kiss me, but I wouldn’t let him.”
“Why not?”
More skepticism. As she’d expected, Ned believed he’d uncovered a hypocrite. She hadn’t been what she’d appeared to be, so she had to be the exact opposite. “Because I didn’t really want to be there with him.”
“Then why’d you go?”
She was desperate to see Cain and thought he might be at Rocky Point, and being with Jason gave her a legitimate excuse to be there, too. From the moment Jason had picked her up until the blast went off, Cain was all she could think about. “Cain didn’t call me after the…after the incident in the camper. I guess I was…trying to see if it would bother him if I went out with someone else.”
She could feel Cain’s eyes on her but refused to look at him.
“So you tried to make him jealous with his own brother.”
“Ned…” Cain warned.
Swallowing hard, hoping to relieve the terrible burning in her throat, Sheridan motioned to let Cain know she didn’t need him to intercede. As ugly as it sounded, Ned had stated the truth, and she had to take responsibility for it. “That’s exactly what I was doing, okay?” she said. “I was at Rocky Point with Jason that night because I was doing anything I could to get Cain to react.”
Ned didn’t bother to conceal his contempt for her behavior, but it didn’t matter. His contempt was nothing compared to how she felt about her own actions.
“Did Jason have any idea he was a pawn?” he asked.
“That’s it.” In one swift motion, Cain lifted Whiterock’s police chief by the shirtfront and yanked him to his feet.
The chair hit the floor as Ned scrambled to get away. “What the hell are you doing?”
Quixote growled low in his throat, and Koda and Maximillian came to their feet, their ears back as they studied the situation for any sign of a threat to Cain.
Cain released Ned but shoved him toward the door. “Go.”
“You can’t attack a police officer!”
“I haven’t attacked you. Yet.”
Ned’s gaze darted between Cain and his dogs. “You’re in deep shit. You know that? I’m going to see that you finally get what you deserve.”