Chapter 25
brAM
I’m not sure what happened while I was out getting lunch, but Josie is… different. Quieter, but in a way that has my Daddy radar going off big time. Poppy must have noticed it too, because she called it a day not too long after we finished eating and said we’d get back to planning in a few days.
Now it’s just me and my Josie, driving back up to the cabin, and she hasn’t spoken a word since we left town. Reaching over, I thread my fingers through hers and bring our joined hands to my lips. “What’s wrong with my little lovebug?”
She turns her head, and I can feel the weight of her stare on me. “Why did you choose Bram?”
“What?”
“Your name.” Her voice has turned urgent, as if the fate of the entire world rests in my answer. “Why did you name yourself Bram?”
“I assumed you knew. Because of Bram Stoker. You loved Dracula when we were younger.”
“So you did do it for me.” Now her voice is strained, like she’s on the verge of tears. “Why? You couldn’t have known you’d ever see me again.”
“I know.” Memories crowd me, the grief I felt leaving her behind. Grief that never really faded even after two decades. “That’s why I chose it. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving you like that, and this way I got to carry at least a little part of you with me.”
“Oh, god.” Groaning, she slides down in the seat, covering her face with her hands. “I wish I didn’t know that.”
“Why?” Panic winds around my chest, and I’m about two seconds from pulling the car over just to hold her in my arms. “Baby, what’s wrong? Tell Daddy what’s going on.”
“I’m a total bitch, that’s what’s going on.”
Panic turns to anger at her words. “Little girl, unless you want me to pull this truck over and spank your bare bottom right on the side of the road, I suggest you watch how you talk about my girl.”
“Maybe you should.” Her voice is thick with tears and what might be desperation. “I deserve it. I’m sorry, Daddy, I’m so sorry.”
Temper once more gives way to worry as I guide the SUV to the side of the road and unbuckle her seatbelt to pull her into my arms. “Shh, baby. Whatever it is, Daddy’s right here. We’ll get through it together.”
“No, we won’t!” she wails, burying her face in the side of my neck. “You’re g-gonna h-hate me!”
“Daddy could never hate you, little bug. But I need you to tell me why you’re so upset so we can talk about it.”
“I can’t. You’ll never forgive me!”
“Josephine.” I put every ounce of “Daddy” into my voice I can manage, and she goes quiet in my arms. “Tell Daddy what’s going on, right now, little girl.”
The stern tone does what I’d hoped it would. Curling even closer to me, she sniffles. “I-I sent my assistant an email.”
Ahhh, so that’s what this is about. It’s all I can do not to laugh at her distress over something I already know. “Okay. Why do you think I’d be mad about you emailing your assistant?”
“Because… Because I told her about you. That I was being held captive and I needed her to come help me. I’m so, so sorry, Daddy! Please don’t hate me!”
Once more, she collapses into sobs in my arms and I tighten my hold on her, rocking her gently. “Shh, baby. It’s okay. Daddy doesn’t hate you.”
“You should! I’m a horrible person!”
“No, baby. You were scared. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”
“It’s not! They’re going to arrest you and our family and-and-and—”
Poor little bug. “Baby, nobody is getting arrested.”
“You don’t know that!”
“I do, because your assistant never got that email.”
Josie freezes, her tears drying up instantly as she slowly sits up to stare at me. “What do you mean?”
Unlike her wails of despair a moment ago, now her voice is almost deadly calm. “Your Uncle Colt and I put a block on your computer so we could monitor your emails and messages. Nothing goes out or comes in without our approval.”
For a long moment, she simply stares, unblinking. “You’ve been spying on me?”
“Yes. And it’s a good thing we were, or else you’d be in even bigger trouble than you already are.”
“That still doesn’t give you the right to monitor my email! That’s private!”
“Little girls don’t keep secrets from their Daddies.”
Fire snaps in her eyes. “They do when it’s related to their jobs. You can’t go poking around in my work!”
“Josephine Elise, you listen to me.” Gripping her chin, I hold her in place, our heated gazes locked on each other.
“You are mine. Which means I will do whatever it takes to protect you, including monitoring every single text, email, message you send and receive. And maybe, maybe once you’ve proven you can be a good girl and not send sneaky emails to people behind my back I might consider giving you some semblance of privacy.
But until then, you can consider yourself under my constant watch. Am I understood, little girl?”
Color floods her cheeks and she drops her gaze to my chest. “Yeah. I understand.” She peeks back up at me through her lashes, and fuck if I’m not tempted to let her off the hook entirely because of how damn cute she is. “I do actually feel really bad for sending that email.”
“I know, baby. And Daddy is very proud of you for being honest even though you were scared.”
“You’re proud of me?”
“So proud, baby.”
“Does that mean you’re not gonna spank me?”
Her voice is so full of hope, I almost hate to burst her bubble. “Oh, my sweet little lovebug. You are absolutely getting spanked. And then Daddy is going to take a page from one of your books and punish that naughty little bottom in an entirely new way.”
Josie
I’m going to be sick.
Standing in front of my entire family, I can feel the weight of their stares on me, I can feel my stomach churning as I wait to tell them how I betrayed them. Even sweet Lanie is completely silent, her eyes wide as she looks from me to Daddy and back again.
“Josie has something to tell all of you.” Daddy’s voice is clear and firm, and the sound of it helps to settle my jumping stomach.
“But before she does, I want it made clear that she has recognized that what she did was wrong and once we’ve discussed her actions, she will be very soundly punished for betraying our trust.”
At that last part, I have to bite my lip against a whimper. Even though I already know some of what he has planned for me, hearing it stated out loud like that sends my heart racing as I step forward.
But as difficult as it is, this is the right thing to do. I betrayed the people I love most in the world, and they deserve to hear the truth from me. Clasping my hands tightly in front of me, I lift my head to meet their curious gazes. Uncle Colt winks, and my stomach settles even more.
“The other day, I sent an email to my assistant, telling her I was being held hostage in a cabin in the mountains.”
It’s all I can do not to hide behind Daddy at the waves of anger and betrayal rolling off my family. Auntie Gray, in particular, is staring at me with such stunned surprise, my heart feels like it might crack in two.
“You sold us out?” Hurt radiates from her so strongly I’m surprised it doesn’t knock me over. “How could you, Josie? We’re your family.”
“I know. I don’t have any excuses. What I did was wrong and selfish and I’m so, so sorry.”
At my apology, everyone starts talking at once, buzzing, angry words that made me want to run and hide.
“Enough.” Daddy steps forward, his voice rising above the furious din, and everyone falls silent once more, though it doesn’t stop them from shooting angry glares my way. “As I said before we began, Josie understands that what she did was wrong and she is going to be punished for it.”
“But what about her assistant?” Uncle Dane’s voice is calm, almost too calm. “We can’t risk her knowing about us.”
It isn’t until this moment that I realize my family aren’t the only ones I put in danger. There’s no telling what they would have done if Vanessa actually had gotten that email.
God, I really am a selfish bitch.
“Colt and I have that handled. All of Josie’s outgoing emails are being monitored by Gunther, so her assistant never actually got the email.”
The relief in the room is palpable, but the anger remains. And I can’t blame them one bit.
“I really am sorry,” I whisper, tears burning in my eyes. “I know nothing I can ever say will make it right, but I really did feel horrible as soon as I sent it.”
“Then why did you send it?” Uncle Ford asks, sounding more confused than anything. “Why would you betray us that way?”
“I thought I wanted to escape. I thought I wanted to go back to my old life. But now… Now I realize I just want to be here, with you. I guess I was mad that it wasn’t my choice originally, but I know now that doesn’t matter.
All that matters, all that should have ever mattered, is having my family back. ”
Some of my “uncles” visibly soften at my words.
But not Auntie Gray.
Shoving up from her chair, she storms out of the room without another word. Daddy moves to follow her, but I grab his arm.
“I should go.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Daddy,” I say quietly but firmly. “I’m the one who caused the pain, so I need to be the one to fix it.”
After several long seconds, he sighs. “All right. But I’ll be right here if you need me.”
Rising up on my tiptoes, I press a kiss to his cheek before hurrying off after Auntie Gray.
I find her in the kitchen, pouring what appears to be a second shot of whiskey. Her gaze lands on me and she slowly lifts the glass to her lips.
“I’m sorry, Auntie Gray. I know that’s not enough, but it’s all I have. And I understand if you can’t forgive me for betraying you—”
“You really think that’s why I’m so pissed?”
“Well… yeah. I tried to get you arrested.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck about getting arrested. You wanted to leave us, Josie. After everything we’ve been through the past couple weeks, you still wanted to leave us. Why?”
It hits me then that she isn’t angry, not really. This isn’t Auntie Gray I’m dealing with, one of the grownups in charge of me who’s just pissed off I broke the rules. She’s my Gracie, my best friend in the whole world, and she’s heartbroken that I wanted to leave her.
And that’s a feeling I understand all too well.
“How you feel right now? That’s how I’ve been feeling since I found out you all faked your deaths all those years ago.
You left me, Gracie. And I’ve been so angry with all of you ever since I found out, and I guess I just…
let that cloud my judgement. But now, knowing that email didn’t actually go through and I won’t have to lose you again?
That was the best moment of my entire life. ”
“Fuck,” she mutters. Throwing her head back, she downs her whiskey and slams the crystal down on the counter.
And when her eyes meet mine, the emotion in those pale eyes threatens to choke me.
“You have no idea how hard it was on us. All of us, but me and Bram, especially. We missed you, so fucking much, every day. If we could have taken you with us, we would have, Josie, I swear. But—”
“You wanted me safe. And that was more important. I get it. It took me a while to get there, but I get it now. I’m not angry anymore.”
Blowing out a breath, she runs a trembling hand over her hair. “No more trying to escape? You’re with us, for better or worse?”
“Until death do we part.”
And then I’m in her arms, having the breath squeezed right out of me. “I love you, so fucking much, Josie. I can’t lose you again, I can’t.”
“You won’t. I promise. But you have to promise me the same thing.”
“I swear it.” Pulling away, she drags in a deep breath.
And I watch, fascinated, as she seems to transform in front of my eyes from my best friend Gracie to my no-nonsense Auntie Gray.
“All right, little girl. Let’s get you back to your Daddy so he can give his naughty girl the spanking she has very definitely earned. ”