RIPTIDE | Rafe Cameron

34. 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴

I never knew that love could tear me apart the way it has, maybe if I'd have known then I would never have let myself fall in love with Rafe Cameron. I would've kept my distance from the boy who has made my friends' lives hell.

We pull up outside the police station, and John B is practically itching to hand that tape over to the cops. I know that they're out looking for Rafe, and I know this is only going to add fuel to that fire so I just need it over and done with.

"I'll just show the tape to Shoupe, then I'll be back." John B announces as he takes the recorder from JJ.

"I'm coming in with you, I want to hear the tape." I tell him in the heat of the moment, not entirely sure that I'm aware of how difficult this might be.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea." John B sighs.

"I'm not going to relapse hearing something I already know," I sigh as he stares at me blankly, "I need closure."

"Okay," John B nods as he climbs out of the twinkie, opening the door for me, "Lets go."

I glance back at the twinkie to see JJ offering me a reassuring smile before I follow John B up to the police station entrance, hoping that we can get this done quickly, so I can attempt to stop hating myself for loving a man who's capable of murder. John B holds the door open for me and I immediately see Shoupe talking to another officer.

"Shoupe," John B calls out, "We've got something to show you, it's about Rafe and Ward."

I feel anxiety building in the pit of my stomach but I do my best to stifle it, breathing slowly and cautiously as Shoupe approaches us, "What's that?"

"I think it's best we go somewhere quiet," John B tells him, holding up the tape recorder.

"My office," Shoupe sighs, looking over his shoulder at an SBI officer, "Bratcher, these kids have something for us."

Shoupe leads us into his office, letting us sit on one side of the desk, while he and Bratcher take the other, the minute the door is closed my palms become sweaty. I just need to get through this, and then maybe everything will be okay. John B presses play on the tape and I wait with baited breath for the sound of Gavin's voice.

"When I got down to the tarmac, I saw the Sheriff lying dead on the ground, and Ward asked me to fly the gold to Nassau and dispose of the gun. He's protecting his son, it was Rafe Cameron who killed Sheriff Peterkin," My heart plummets to the bottom of my stomach hearing those words, despite knowing it already, hearing those words make it even more real, I grab John B's hand, just needing some sense of reality to steady my sanity, "I've gotta be honest, I'm terrified, if anything happens to me, I'm telling you it was Ward Cameron, he's the one that did it."

"I told you Shoupe, Ward killed my father and Gavin, and now you know Rafe killed Peterkin." John B tells him as he drops my hand.

"Yeah, I know kid," Shoupe sighs, "You should know we arrested Rafe Cameron earlier, and we have him in a holding cell."

They have him, he's going to be charged with murder, they'll put him on trial, they'll tear him apart and scrutinise every flaw, they'll hate me for when I believed him. And then he'll either spend his entire life behind bars, or they could give him the death penalty.

"Can I see him?" I ask, fuelled by panic, and the part of me that still cares about him, just wanting to know that he's okay.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Shoupe sighs, "It goes against all the rules we have here."

"Respectfully, you and your team failed to see that Ward is the reason my sister went missing because she knew what he was capable of, so I think the least you can do is give me this," I reply, ready to play resentful victim, "We wouldn't want such negligence slipping into the press would we? Have everyone scrutinising the integrity of your team?"