Cass gripped her coffee cup. “I told you that my brother had a gambling problem and that is why I got into some dire financial trouble, because I was helping him. But that wasn’t the extent of the problem.”

“What else is there?”

“A lot.” Her voice cracked.

Mason cleared his throat. “As touching as this moment is between the two of you, I need you to tell me the complete truth right now.”

Cass didn’t seem fazed by Mason’s words. Instead, she put her hand on Zane’s arm. “My brother got into even deeper trouble. Massive. They were threatening to kill him if he didn’t pay up. He owed a lot of money. I feared they were actually going to carry out their threats.”

Zane couldn’t believe what she was saying. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to pull anyone else into this.”

“So the five hundred thousand was to help bail out your brother?” Mason asked.

“Don’t answer that,” Zane said.

Cass’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say a word.

“Cass needs a lawyer,” Zane insisted. “You’re talking about some serious charges here.”

Mason turned to him. “I’m trying to help her by not making this official yet.”

“And I appreciate that, but you and I both know that if she admits to anything now, it can and will be used against her with both of us as potential witnesses, and I’m not going to stand by and let that happen.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Cass asked.

“Cass, please,” Zane insisted.

Silence filled the room for a minute before she straightened in her chair. “I want a lawyer.”

Zane blew out a sigh of relief.

Mason stood. “Fine. But this has now moved from informal to official. I’ll give you two a minute, but then I’m taking you into custody, Cass. You’ll be able to get an attorney, and we’ll move on from there. Understood?”

She nodded, and Mason walked out of the room.

After a moment, Cass broke the silence. “I know you must hate me for keeping you in the dark.”

“Of course I don’t hate you.”

“Things just got out of control. One thing led to another, and the next thing you know, my brother is in a dark, black hole that he can’t get out of, and I was right there with him—I had to save him. He’s the only family I have left. You know both my parents are gone. It’s just me and him. He lost his way, and I felt this was my only option to help him.”

“Is he in the clear now?”