“Sit down. You’re becoming agitated.”

She placed both hands on the table and glared at him. “I. Want. To. Leave.”

“I said sit down. If you force me to, I’ll put you back in handcuffs.”

“I want a lawyer.”

“You aren’t charged with a crime.” He ran a hand through his thinning hair. “Be reasonable, Ms. Benoit. There’s a good chance Cordeau is already on his way to find you. We can’t protect you from him unless you agree to protective custody.”

“You can’t protect me, and I wouldn’t help you now if my life depended on it. You’re no better than him.”

“I’m a cop, Ms. Benoit,” Tuttle reminded. “It’s my job to catch criminals, especially ones as bad as Rafe Cordeau.”

“You had no problem throwing me under the bus so you could give your undercover man a leg up the ladder with Rafe. You knew if Rafe found me he might kill me, but that was of little consequence to you, wasn’t it?”

“That’s not true. We can protect you.”

Catarina stabbed a finger toward him. “You were so smug, you were certain I’d come running to you for help. Was that because I have no education and you figured I was stupid and easily manipulated?”

She could tell by the way his face stilled that she’d hit very close to the truth.

Tuttle shook his head. “Please sit down, Catarina. The bottom line right now is that your life very well could be in jeopardy. Whether or not we made a wrong decision is a moot point. We have to keep you alive. That’s what matters now.” His voice had gone soothing.

She took a deep breath. “I have nothing more to say to you. I would like to leave. You have nothing to hold me on. Nothing at all.”

“You do understand if you leave this room I can’t guarantee your safety?”

“I understand that if I stay here, I’m going to die. I want to leave.”

The argument went on for two more hours. Back and forth until finally Catarina lapsed into silence and Tuttle threw his hands up into the air, realizing he wasn’t going to get her cooperation. He swore under his breath and stood up.

“Wait here.” His voice was terse. Angry.

It wasn’t like she could go anywhere once he closed the door to the interrogation room. Catarina began to pace back and forth. They’d tried to trap her. She had no idea how the police had found her, but they weren’t out to help her, or protect her. They were looking for a way to force her cooperation.