Help Me Remember (Rose Canyon, #1)(85)

Instead of going straight home, showering, and trying to fix myself, I go to the youth center. Rachelle and Jax tell me that the boy on the tape is Myles Eastwood. His father, Bill Waugh, is a prick. According to his file, he seems a lot like a man my mother would’ve loved. He’s been in and out of jail, can’t hold a job, and likes to intimidate.

I call Emmett, but he doesn’t answer, so I go to the station instead.

“Sheriff Maxwell is busy,” the officer at the front desk explains.

“Tell him Spencer Cross is here to talk to him.”

She rolls her eyes but gets up and goes back to find him. My heart is racing. I know who the killer is. I have evidence and a name. No matter what happens with Brie, we can make this right.

Emmett comes out and waves, letting me know I can come back.

The second the door to his office is closed behind me, he asks, “Where the hell have you been?”

“Following my lead,” I explain.

Then I place the file in front of him. “This is the information I obtained. I have everything you already saw, plus a few new puzzle pieces.”

“I don’t need this.”

“What the hell do you mean, you don’t need this?” I ask.

“Just what I said, but thanks for stopping in. I have to head over to the courthouse.”

“I just handed you the biggest lead in the case.”

He shrugs. “I already have that lead, but thanks.”

“Emmett. I am going to kill you,” I warn.

“Spencer, you can try.”

I swear, I’m back to being sixteen when I punched Emmett in the face because he didn’t listen to me about the girl I liked.

He tries to move, but I stand, blocking his exit. “What is wrong with you? You have spent months working on this. I do your damn job for you, and you’re dismissing me?”

“No, I’m not dismissing you. I have to meet someone in two minutes, and I’m already going to be late.”

“No. You need to look at the information in that folder.” I step closer to him, and he rolls his eyes.

“Go home and wait for me to call. I will have news then.”

I narrow my eyes, trying to decipher what he’s not saying. “You have to go to the courthouse?”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t need the information in that file, why?”

“Because I don’t. Now, I can’t answer any more questions and I need to go. Do you understand?”

He knows something. He found information himself. “Why aren’t you telling me anything?”

“Because I am not able to. Now, get out of my way and do as I say for once.”

I step back. “I’ll head home then.”

“And maybe shower and make yourself look human,” he suggests before he walks out.

I grab the folder and walk out after him, watching as he gets in his cruiser. I can feel it in my bones that he’s going to get a warrant or something from the prosecutor.

The drive to my house feels like it takes twice as long as usual. I pull into the driveway, jump out of my car, and rush toward the front door, but my heart stops in my throat when I get there.

Brielle is sitting on my front step. Her arms are wrapped around her legs, and as soon as she sees me, she pushes to her feet.

We look at each other, both frozen, and when I see her lower lip tremble, I finally speak. “Brielle?”

“Spencer,” she says and then rushes into my arms. Her body slams against mine, and I catch her.

She tucks her face into my neck, pulling me closer. Her body shakes as she lets out a soft sob. “I need you.”

“You have me. Jesus, you have me.” I hold on to her as tight as I ever have. She has no idea what being away from her has done to me. “What’s wrong? Why are you here? Why are you crying?”

She pulls back, tears brimming in those blue eyes. “I was so stupid. I am so sorry. I never should’ve left you like that. I never . . . I remember everything. I remember our kisses and the way you love me. I remember us making love and you asking me to marry you. I remember us talking about telling Isaac, and . . . I remember the end. But I remember us.” Her hands go to my scruffy face and she smiles. “I couldn’t really forget, and even when I did, I still wanted you. I longed for you, wished it was you, and that’s why I was so upset.”

It’s not her fault. None of this is. She didn’t do this, and I wish I made different choices. I can’t go back in time, but I can make sure we have everything in our future.

“No, baby. I was wrong. I never should’ve gone along with the lies. I should’ve told you from the beginning.”

“That’s just it, I never would’ve believed it. I am just so sorry.”

“You remember that I love you?” I ask, making sure I heard it all.

“Yes.”

Brielle lifts up at the same time that I bend, and our lips meet. She moves her hands up my chest and then her fingers tangle in my hair. This is everything. This is all I wanted but thought I had lost for good. I thought I had hurt her so deeply, broken the trust so irrevocably, that she’d never be mine again.

I kiss her harder, needing her to feel everything I am. The love, the happiness, the desire to give her everything she wants.