Evan Arden 03 Otherwise Unharmed Read Online Free PDF Page B

hurting yourself or someone else?”
    I actually laughed, which caused Rinaldo to smile slightly as well.
    “Evan’s right,” he told the attorney.  “That’s a seriously stupid question.”
    “ Moving on,” Michael muttered.  “Do you have trouble focusing?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ Do you ever talk to your family or friends about what happened to you?”
    “ Fuck no.”
    “ Are you going to diagnose him or get him the fuck out of here?” Rinaldo growled as his patience waned.
    “ I’m just trying to understand his state of mind at the time of the incident.”
    “ He was fucked up—temporary insanity brought on by the stress of one of his co-workers and friends being found dead, right, Arden?”
    “ Yes, sir.”
    “ Please, Mister Moretti, let me do my job.”  Michael reclined in the plastic chair and looked into Rinaldo’s eyes.
    He was a brave man ; I’d give him that.
    Rinaldo glared for a moment but finally waved his hand dismissively.
    “Whatever.  Continue.”
    He asked me a bunch of other questions, which I answered the best I could.  After the final question, he took his finger and traced it down the edge of the page as he reviewed his notes, nodded once, and stood up from the chair.
    “ That’s all I need for now,” he announced.  “If I have further questions, we’ll set up another meeting.  I’ve given your unit leader my contact information if you think of anything you believe is pertinent.  I don’t think we’ll have any trouble having you released on bail as long as the Marine psychologist doesn’t have any major objections.”
    “ I’ll meet you outside,” Rinaldo said.
    Michael closed his notes into his briefcase and left the small room.  I glanced at my boss and tried not to feel too emasculated as he stared down at me with disappointment in his eyes.
    “I’m sorry,” I repeated.
    “ I know you are.”  He let out a big sigh as he leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table.  “One way or another, this will all work itself out.”
    I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be more concerned with the one way or the other , but I was positive I wasn’t completely cleared in his eyes.  His next words did have a calming effect though.
    “ I’m going to get you out of here, Arden,” Rinaldo said with conviction.  “You’ve been far too valuable to let you rot.  You have also left me in the awkward position of not just missing you, but also missing your backup.”
    “ Sorry, sir,” I said again.  I couldn’t argue with what he said—I’d removed myself to jail right after killing his number two hit man, Terry Kramer.
    “ You aren’t sorry for that,” he muttered as he stood up.
    I couldn’t even pretend he was wrong.  I’d hated Terry Kramer from the moment I set eyes on him.  When I found out he had lured my hooker-slash-girlfriend into giving him information I had inadvertently told her, I’d lost it completely, killed them both, and then landed myself where I was.
    “We’ll be back,” Rinaldo promised.  “Hang tight, son.
    Nothing could have satisfied me more than hearing that word from his lips.

Chapter 3—Needed Sleep
    Only a few moments after Rinaldo walked out the door along with Michael, the adolescent attorney, one of the guards came in to take me back to my cell.  As he started to unlock the cuffs from the chair, one of the unit leaders stuck his head in and said I had another visitor.
    I tried not to tense up so much as he tightened the restraints to the chair again and went to the door to let in whoever was coming to see me.  My head was throbbing and felt like it was covered with a thick fog.  As the door swung open again, I looked up to see her .
    Lia.
    She was dressed in tight-fitting blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a long sleeved T-shirt.  I could see the chain around her neck which held a quarter made into a pendant—the same quarter I’d left for her in the cabin with a lame-ass note apologizing for running out on