His words reassure me further that I made the right choice when it came to telling them what I knew. Not only did it clear Remmy’s name but also point the police in the right direction to find the real criminal. I couldn’t stand by and let them accuse Remington of doing something I know in my heart he wouldn’t do.
“What do you think happens now?” I ask, feeling a coldness sweep through me as he releases me.
His eyes twinkle with darkness. “Now we find the bastard.”
Now that everything is on the table, I need to come to terms with what happened. First, I need to digest what Cole did to me. Then I need to work through what Remmy’s done and either I find a way to forgive him or find a way to move on with my life.
Neither way will be easy, but then again, life never is.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Remington
I almost slam the door in Detective Garcia’s face when I see him standing on the other side of it. The only thing that stops me from doing so is that he’s actually showing some emotion on his face today. His dark eyes hold an apology, and I grasp onto that look.
“You better be here to apologize or tell me that there has been a change in the case.” My fingers bite into the wooden door frame as I speak.
“Do you mind if I come in, Mr. Miller?”
Do I mind…?
“By all means, come in,” I mutter and take a step back so that he can come in. He walks through the door and into the foyer and I slam the door closed behind him. I stroll past him and into the living room. He looks around the room, at the kitchen that opens up into the living room. The place is pretty clean for a frat house, if I do say so myself.
“Do you want to sit down?”
“Sure, thank you.” He takes a seat on the couch and I take one on the loveseat waiting for him to spill. “First of all, even though it turns out that you didn’t rape Layla Hart nor took the pictures of Miss Peterson, I will not apologize to you. For one, you did take the recording and showed it to your friends, which may not be illegal in this state, but is still an asshole thing to do. Furthermore, I was just doing my job and all evidence did point to you, so that is why I will not apologize.”
“Fair enough.” He does have a point, even if I don’t like it. “So why are you here then?”
“Why didn’t you tell us about what really happened that night of the party?”
“Jules asked me not to tell anyone. I knew if I told you, you would go question her and she didn’t want to talk about it.”
Garcia gives me a somber nod. “Jules told us everything herself. We let her know that someone else accused you of rape and she told us that you would never do that. Then she told us about Cole and the threat he made. We also questioned Miss Hart again, and she admitted that it wasn’t you who raped her, but Cole. He threatened her and convinced her to place the blame on you.”
“That piece of fucking shit.” I might have been on the rocks with Layla, but fuck I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. She was just trying to protect herself, like I was just trying to protect Jules by not saying shit. Detective Garcia’s face hardens as he opens his mouth to speak again.
“Do you know where Cole is? We’ve looked everywhere that we’re told he frequents, but no one has seen him, not since the recording was released.”
“Trust me, if I had a single clue where he was, I would be there in a heartbeat to smash in his face.”
Garcia gave me a small smile. “As a father of two girls, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but as a detective, I advise you against doing that. Let the law do its job. If you can think of anything that could help us find him, please call us right away before doing something on your own.”
If I find him first, then he’ll be praying that the police get there before I’m finished with him. Against the law or not, there isn’t anyone that’s going to stop me from smashing that fucker’s face in. For Jules, for Layla, he will pay for preying on innocent women.
“I can’t promise you that I won’t do anything, Detective, and I’m sure you understand why. As for more information on him, you are more than welcome to check out his old room and ask any of my other roommates if they know about his whereabouts. As far as I know, none of them have heard or seen him.”