A Thousand Glittering Lights

Chapter 27

Josh grippedthe railing on Ellie’s deck, letting his head drop as the shadows over the forest thickened and darkened into night.

He was Josh Taylor. He remembered his name. He remembered…

Living in Scotland, far from everything. And everyone. But then the call came from home, and he’d left his job. He’d taken a long sabbatical and traveled all the way back down to Dorset. Back to the village where he grew up, about twenty miles inland from Ellie’s cottage.

His mother was worried. And when his mum—the woman who’d raised him and Liam by herself, who’d loved them, cared for them, and hauled their small family out of the rough council block they’d lived in and all the way to a neat little semi-detached home in a pretty village—was worried, Josh dropped everything.

Liam had fallen into a crowd she didn’t like. He’d abandoned his dreams of becoming a sports physiotherapist. Ignored his years of education—that Josh had paid for—choosing instead to stay at home and trade stock from his laptop. Liam was spending his days playing football with the lads, and his evenings turning himself into some kind of rich-kid-wannabe; spending money he didn’t have on flashy cars, designer suits, and enough overpriced alcohol to leave him utterly useless most mornings. And he took every chance to pressure their mum to invest in things she didn’t know enough about—but then he never seemed able to give her the details when she asked for them.

When Josh arrived home, Liam had seemed glad to see him. Only too happy to have him around the house, taking their mum out, helping with chores. And he’d promised that he was doing well. His career was taking off. He’d hit a slight snag on an investment he’d made, but it didn’t matter because he had a way to make it all back. All he had to do was help his good friend Warren out with something easy, and then he’d be back on top.

Josh had been home for about a week when he asked Liam to come over to help with some work in the garden. But Liam couldn’t make it… he was going out for a cycle ride with the local club.

It had irritated Josh immensely. Liam was yet again unavailable to do chores, blowing them off to head out with his friends instead. And Liam knew how much Josh loved mountain biking. It was part of why he’d taken the secondment to Scotland.

Of course, the main reason he’d gone so far away was that after decades of taking care of everyone—especially Liam—and battling with everyone—especially Liam—Josh had wanted to go somewhere with as few people as humanly possible.

He’d wanted a break from being responsible for everyone else. A break from the constant churn of work and more work, broken only by a string of meaningless one-night stands. He’d reached a point where he knew he didn’t want more than one night but didn’t want so little either. Getting away had seemed ideal.

But then his mother had called, and he’d put all his things in storage and gone back to stay with her. And then Liam had planned to go cycling while Josh stayed at home and pulled weeds.

No. He wasn’t having it. He’d insisted that he join the ride, and Liam could come back with him to help with chores afterward. He hadn’t given Liam the option of refusing. He’d borrowed some gear from a friend and met his cranky brother at the start of the ride.

It was a club Josh didn’t know. Liam had signed up only the week before and—under duress—brought him along as a guest. They didn’t bother to sign him in, Liam signed in for both of them. He was an unnamed guest, riding a friend’s bicycle, wearing an ancient helmet.

And Josh certainly wasn’t supposed to see Liam checking the names on the sign-in list, or the quick thumbs-up he gave to the SUV parked across the road.

But he had seen it. And he’d recognized the car immediately when it drew up behind him. And he’d known something was very, very wrong when Liam fell back, encouraging the other riders back, and let one particular cyclist—Ellie—go ahead.

Fuck. Darkness swirled at the edges of his vision, and he gripped the rail even tighter, letting the wood cut into his hands. Using the pain.

He’d sped up. He’d tried to reach her. Legs pumping, chest burning. He didn’t know her. He didn’t know what Liam wanted with her. But he’d known it was wrong.

But he couldn’t get there in time. He couldn’t match the speed of the accelerating SUV. He’d watched the front bumper hit her, watched her flying over her handlebars, through the air, heard the sickening crunch.

He braked hard, too late to stop. He’d glanced off the side of the SUV, crashed into Ellie’s mangled bicycle, tipped over the handlebars and landed hard on his head, his helmet cracking and falling away.

For a few seconds, he felt nothing. And then a tidal wave of pain slammed into him like nothing he had ever known.

He remembered her clear eyes locked on his, her hand reaching, her voice telling him to stay. Demanding that he didn’t leave. Sirens in the background…. And then nothing but darkness.

Darkness, and a woman. Ellie.

Warm arms wrapped around his waist and held him tightly, dragging him back to the present. Her body pressed against his back. Full of life. She was here with him, right now.

And he knew he should have walked away weeks ago. Knew he should have kept his emotions cold and hard. But it was too late. “I’m sorry.” He whispered the words, but they still tore at his throat.

Her grip around him tightened as she spoke against his shoulder blades. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I know—” He swallowed heavily. “I think I know who did this.”

She was utterly still, but she didn’t let him go. If anything, she held him closer. “Who is he?” she whispered.

Josh wrapped his hands over hers, holding them tight against his chest for a moment before releasing them. He would tell the truth and take the pain when she understood that his brother was deeply involved in all the terrible things that had happened to her. That his family was responsible for the pain and fear she’d suffered. She wouldn’t blame him—not Ellie—but how could she possibly look at him the same as before?

He didn’t want to face her while he did it. It was easier this way; looking out over the dark woods, her body against his for one last, precious moment.

“Liam. He was the cyclist in the Manchester City football colors, the one who pushed you to the front. He’s my brother….” Josh choked on the words, forcing them out. “I saw him signaling to the SUV before we started the ride. He set you up. And it was him in your house the other day.”

Fuck. Admitting it out loud made it sound even worse. She would hate him now, and she would be right. Then she would walk away. Like his father. Like Liam. Like him.

“But… why?” Her voice was so small and sad and confused. So devastated and betrayed. And God help him, if Liam had been standing in front of him, Josh would have killed him with his bare hands.

“I came back from Scotland because of the trouble Liam was getting into. Because he had fallen into a crowd my mother didn’t like. And there was one man, a particularly bad influence. Always encouraging Liam to spend more, drink more, party more… and invest in things he should have stayed a million miles away from. Warren Bailey.”

She shuddered, her hands gripping his shirt, and suddenly he couldn’t bear looking away from her for one more second. He turned in her arms and pulled her into his embrace.

She must have heard what he’d said, must have heard his confession, but she didn’t hesitate. She wrapped herself around him so tightly that he could feel her heart beating, her chest rising and falling with each trembling breath.

“I’m sorry, Ellie. So very sorry.”

She looked up at him and he knew, this was it. He’d only wanted a moment, but now, when it was over, it hadn’t been enough.

But she still didn’t let him go. She nuzzled even closer. “No. Don’t do that. Nothing that happened was your fault.”

“But my brother?—”

Ellie gave him a small, tired smile. “You are not responsible for his mistakes.”

You are not responsible. God. All his life he’d been responsible: for his father, for his brother. He’d carried the weight like an albatross. But Ellie lifted it so easily. She didn’t blame him, or hold him accountable, at all.

He nearly went to his knees. Only Ellie’s body against his kept him standing. Ellie’s strength. But she didn’t seem to realize how her words had rocked him. She was distracted, working through what they’d learned.

“This was Warren,” she said slowly. “He got them all involved in something that lost millions. Hell. He took Vic’s house, whatever Liam gave him, maybe even money from the kind of people who take physical exception to delays in being paid back. He thought that Vic could pressure me into selling, and they’d get a big payday. When that wasn’t quick enough, he thought that if they hurt me, I’d have to sell. And if he killed me, it would work out even better for them: then Vic would get the business. She’s my principal beneficiary. She could sell, and they’d get the money.”

Ellie shivered, her tension ratcheting up. Her eyes were wide and horrified. “Do you think… God. Do you think Vic did this to me?”

He stroked her hair, wishing he could take this pain from her. “I don’t know. Fuck. I wish I could say she wasn’t involved, but I can’t.”

She slumped against him, and suddenly he was holding her. “It’s terrible either way,” she whispered against his chest. “Either Vic knows, or she’s in danger.” She lifted her eyes to his. “We have to do something. We can’t wait for the investigators now.”

He murmured his agreement, tightening his arms around her. She was right, there was a lot to do. But first there was more to face. And before they did that, he needed to hold her. She smelled of sunlight, and she felt like a dream. He wanted to remember this feeling forever.

But then he took her arms and gently guided her back so he could meet her eyes. “Ellie…” He didn’t want to say it. Didn’t want to rip off this last, awful bandage. But he had to, and he had to do it now. “You were right all along. None of this—” He grunted, the words thick and bitter in his throat. “None of this is real.”

“It is though.” She pushed forward, back into his arms, and he didn’t have the strength to hold her away. “It feels real to me. You feel real.”

“I’m not here. I landed badly. I’m lying in a hospital somewhere.” The bright white lights. The harsh smells. “This… I don’t know what this is.”

Her arms tightened around his waist as she laid her head on his chest. Her voice was low but determined. “I don’t care what this is. I don’t care if no one believes it or it doesn’t make sense.”

“You must care, Ellie.” He didn’t want her to care about making sense: he wanted her. He wanted her to hold on to him exactly as she was. But how could he expect that of her? Now, when he finally found the one woman he could imagine a life with, his life was already over. And he wanted more for her. “How can we have any kind of future? How can we ever be together?”

She leaned back, then, and looked up at him, and there was nothing but determination and strength in her gaze. “We’re together now. I’m not letting you go because I’m scared about the future. We’ll find a way.”

“Will we? Ellie… this…” Fuck. He’d known the truth would hurt.

But Ellie didn’t let him go. Her hands on his waist held him tethered to the ground. Her determination tethered her to him. He had learned to walk away—she had the strength to stay.

“I don’t care about any of that. We have to wake you up, and then you’ll… I don’t know—” She gave him a tiny smile. “You’ll float back together somehow.”

He barked out a rough laugh. A laugh of combined misery and joy. How did she do this to him? “I want to believe you,” he murmured.

“Believe, Josh.” Her smile grew more confident as she gave his words back to him. “I believe in you.”

He tucked her hair behind her ears before cradling her cheeks gently, looking into her eyes. Seeing her resilience, her trust, the truth of just how much she cared for him.

God. He could fall for her. He could fall all the way and never even care about the landing. He could love her forever.

“Okay,” he agreed softly. “I can believe in magic. Because I believe in you.”

She stood up on her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips. “Good. Because now we have to find Vic, and figure out exactly how involved she is—and just how much danger we’re all in.”