And Blake.
It was more than his looks that drew me to him. He was so amazing: passionate and smart and sweet and vulnerable. Yes, if he’d never zeroed in on me, I’d still have my life, but could he really be the “bad guy”?
“I guess.”
Her expression turns skeptical. “So why is he touching you like you’re precious cargo?”
I glance at the door and my hand goes to my shoulder again. “I didn’t know he was.”
She looks at me another long heartbeat before pulling her iPad from her briefcase. “First order of business, your arraignment is tomorrow and I’ve petitioned to have your preliminary hearing immediately following. Once we’re in the courtroom, this will to go pretty fast,” she says, poking at her iPad. “This isn’t a trial. We won’t get a chance to present our case. The judge will read the charges against you and we’ll enter our plea.” She looks over a document on the iPad. “I’m assuming we’re going with not guilty?”
I nod.
“I’ve been looking over what little I have and it seems the entrapment defense is going to be our best shot, so I’ll continue to peruse that. In the meantime, if Special Agent . . .” She glances down at her iPad. “. . . Montgomery does anything inappropriate, I want you to document it. It will only help your defense.”
I nod again.
“Honestly, the fact that this whole case is your arresting agent’s word against yours means they’ll probably get the summary judgment, and we’re not going to be able to mount any defense until the actual trial, but it may force them to show more of their cards than they want.”
My heart sinks as I get what she’s saying. “So, there’s no chance I’ll just be done tomorrow?”
The skin around her eyes creases. “It’s possible, but not probable. They don’t need to prove anything. They only need to show the court that they have enough to maybe prove it later.”
I prop my head in my hand and rub the sharp pain in my temple. “Great.”
“But, even if the judge decides to hold you over, we can ask for bail. You have no priors, and you’ve lived here all your life, so flight risk is minimal. I think he’ll set a reasonable bail.”
The image of my mother coming in and posting bail is enough to tighten my stomach into a hard knot. Greg said he was done throwing good money after bad. I’d bet my bail he’d consider this “bad money.” I can’t call them. “What if no one can afford to post my bail?”
“It will be a bail bond, so they’ll only need to come up with a deposit. It’s not the whole amount.”
“But . . . what if no one has any money?”
She tips her head. “You must have a friend or family member who can come up with a few thousand dollars?”
I bite my lips together. “I doubt it.”
She leans on the table, her expression going all sympathetic. “I’ll push for getting you released on your own recognizance.”
“Thanks.”
“So, as far as the agency’s questions. Keep your answers short. Yes or no when possible. Only answer what they ask. Never volunteer any information. But you also want to answer honestly. If there’s something you’re not sure about, or that you think might incriminate you further, consult with me before answering. And if I tell you not to answer something, zip it.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling a little dizzy.
Her hand is warm as she lays it over mine. “It’s going to be okay, Sam.”
I just look at her, because nothing is okay.
“You ready?”
“Yeah.”
She gets up and knocks on the door. It opens a second later, and Cooper comes through with Blake on his heels. They take seats across from Yvonne and me and Cooper slaps his file on the table. He flips a recorder out of his pocket and clicks it on.
“Special Agent Ellis Cooper and Special Agent Blake Montgomery interviewing suspect Samantha Erin West. Lawyer present,” he says, nodding at Yvonne.
She nods back.
“Miss West,” he continues, opening the folder. “During your employment, did you ever see any illegal drugs on the premises of Benny’s Gentlemen’s Club?”
“No.” I start to add that Blake asked me to hook him up, but remember Yvonne telling me to keep it to yes or no.
He flips out the collage of men’s faces that he showed me two days ago. “Do you recognize any of these men?”
“Are you alleging that my client prostituted herself to these men?” Yvonne asks, laying a hand on the collage and pushing it back toward Cooper.
“No,” Cooper says, “but whether any of these men were on the premises is relevant to the case we’re building against Benjamin Arroyo, and if your client is able to help us with that case, we might be able to reduce or drop her charges.”
Her face twists into a scowl. “So you made the arrest to strong-arm information out of my client for your case against this Arroyo character?”
“No,” Cooper says again as Blake’s jaw tenses.
“But he told me right after he arrested me that it wasn’t about me,” I offer, holding Blake’s gaze.
“Really . . . ?” Yvonne drawls, jotting a note on her pad. “I’m sure the judge will be interested to know that.”
Blake presses back in his chair, and his eyes betray nothing as he stares me down.
“Go ahead and answer, if you can,” Yvonne tells me with a nod at the collage.
Cooper pushes the picture at me again. “Which one?”
“I don’t see how it could matter if I saw one of these guys. It’s not like Ben let me sit in on his meetings.”
Cooper’s gaze becomes more pointed. “But the fact he was having a meeting with any of them could be significant.”
I stab a finger at the face of the guy I saw come in the back door of Ben’s office with Nora. “Him. He met with Ben at the club.”
“When?”
I shrug and look up at Blake, whose eyes are trained on me. He’s got one elbow hooked over the back of his chair and an ankle propped on the other knee, like we’re talking about the latest Super Bowl commercials or the weather, instead of my future. I feel an irritated burn start under my skin, like an itch that can’t be scratched. “What night was it that you couldn’t keep your hands off me? A week ago Friday, maybe?”
He holds my gaze without flinching. “The twenty-sixth.”
Cooper jots a note then turns back to me. “What did he say?”
“Blake? Something like, ‘Jesus, Sam. Are you sure I can’t touch you?’ ”
Yvonne barks a laugh, but Blake is still cool as a cucumber.
I picture wrapping my hands around his neck and squeezing. I bet that would get a reaction.
Cooper looks like he’s had just about enough of this whole extravaganza. “This guy,” he says, stabbing a finger onto the paper on the table with more vigor than necessary. “Did he say anything?”
“No. But Ben didn’t seem all that happy to see him. I thought it was because he was flirting with Nora.”
“This guy was flirting with Arroyo’s wife?” Cooper asks, stabbing the picture again.
I nod. “He was.”
Cooper picks up the collage and pokes at the guy’s face. “Talk to me, Montgomery.” He motions toward the hallway, and Blake follows him out the door.
“This is starting to make sense now,” Yvonne says. “They don’t care about your prostitution charge. It was just their in to your employer’s inner workings.”
“So, how does that help me?”
“First, if they get something they can use on this . . .” She glances down at her pad. “. . . Arroyo person, they’re not going to blink at dropping your charges.”