Annabel's POV

"I want you... to kill me."

The words hung between us.

For a long time, the detective simply stared at me, his face remained unreadable, but his eyes... For the first time since I had met him, they betrayed emotion. There was disbelief in his eyes.

"You've lost your mind." His voice was low and controlled. "You don't mean that."

"I do."

"No." He shook his head. "You're terrified. That's all."

"I'm beyond terrified." I looked down at my cuffed wrist. "I'm already dead."

The detective pulled out a chair and sat opposite me. "Listen to me carefully." His voice became firmer.

"I became a police officer to save lives." He leaned forward. "I don't take them."

"You can't save mine." I said as a matter of fact.

"I can."

"No, you can't." I laughed quietly. It sounded empty. "You think these walls can protect me?"

"They'll protect you long enough."

"For what?" He didn't answer. "For Anthony to find another way in?"

His jaw tightened. "You keep saying his name as though he's invincible."

"He is." I said flatly.

"No one is." He insisted.

I looked straight into his eyes, he wasn't blinking. "You don't know him."

"I don't need to." He replied without breaking eye contact.

"You do." I said, still looking straight into his eyes. "If you knew him..." My voice broke. "...you wouldn't still be trying to convince me."

Silence settled over the room.

He stood. "The interview is over."

I watched him walk towards the door.

"So that's it?"

He stopped.

"You'll leave me here..." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "...and wait for him to come."

His hand rested on the doorknob.

Without turning around, he said calmly, "I won't let anyone hurt you."

The door opened.

I closed my eyes. "You already have."

The door clicked shut.

I was alone.

...

Less than an hour later, two officers returned.

"Mrs. Smith."

I looked up.

"You're being transferred."

"Transferred?" I asked. As confused as a sleeping rabbit caught inside its hole.

"Stand up."

They uncuffed me from the table before placing fresh restraints around my wrists.

Neither officer spoke another word.

Something felt... Wrong.

The detective was nowhere to be seen. I searched every corridor as they escorted me through the station. No sign of him.

Outside, rain continued to pour. A black police transport vehicle waited by the entrance. One officer opened the rear door.

"Get in."

I climbed inside, and the door slammed shut behind me.

As the vehicle pulled away from the station, I rested my forehead against the cold glass. Maybe the detective was right, maybe I had lost my mind, because for the first time since Anthony raised that gun... I regretted asking to die.

I wasn't ready to die... not yet, not until I knew why.

Why had the man who once promised to love me... Decided I no longer deserved to live?

The vehicle disappeared into the rain.

Behind it...

A black SUV slowly pulled out of the shadows....

And followed.