Betrayal - Chapter 21 #2
No, I didn’t know. That was the problem. All I knew was that I was worried about him. Ever since Matt told me he was scared James might try to hurt himself, I’d been worried. More now than before. Because it seemed like now I was the only one looking out for him. “Tell me where you are, James.”
“I’m in a bathroom.”
“That’s not helpful.”
He laughed. “I meant what I said when I proposed. I don’t think we’d be miserable together. I think you make me happy. I think you’re the only one that makes me happy.”
“Don’t say that.” My stomach twisted into more knots. It wasn’t fair for him to put his happiness on me. I couldn’t be his person.
“Why shouldn’t I say it? It’s true.” He sighed. “And you understand my misery too. I like drowning with you. Fuck. I want you even more because I can’t have you.”
“Just because we aren’t together doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. I’m a pretty great friend, James.”
“Friends with benefits?”
“Just friends,” I said.
“Right. The kind with lots of benefits.”
I laughed. “Please just tell me where you are.”
“Will you come? And just sit with me for a few minutes? I won’t tell Matt.”
It didn’t matter if he would or wouldn’t tell Matt. I couldn’t do that. “I’m going to make sure you get home safe.”
That seemed to be enough for him. Because he finally gave me the address. I jotted it down and hung up the phone.
The SUV that drove me everywhere was still right outside. I walked out onto 5 th Avenue and tapped on the glass.
Miller rolled down the window. “Yes, Miss Pruitt?”
I hated when he called me that. “I know this is a weird request, but is it possible for one of you to go pick up my friend? He’s drunk and he needs a ride home. I don’t really trust anyone else to make sure he gets home safely.”
“What’s the address?” Donnelley asked.
“He mentioned that he was in a bathroom in this club.” I handed him the piece of paper I’d written the address down on.
“That’s close by,” Donnelley said. “I can swing by real quick. What friend?”
“James Hunter. He has brown hair and dark brown eyes and…”
Donnelley laughed. “I know Mr. Hunter. I’ll make sure he gets home safely.”
Miller lowered his eyebrows. It looked like he’d been trying to ignore me the whole time, but the name bothered him enough to actually make him show emotion.
I hated that Miller had seen James kiss me.
I hated that we were in a situation where we still had to see each other every day. I hated that I’d hurt him.
“Miller, will you stay here?” Donnelley asked.
“Yeah. Sure.” Miller climbed out of the car and slammed the door.
The SUV drove off and I breathed a little easier. Donnelley would make sure James was safe. I looked over at Miller. I hadn’t had a moment alone with him all week. Not since he’d told me he was quitting.
“James Hunter, huh?” Miller asked. “Remember when you told me you hated guys like Felix Green and Matthew Caldwell?” He looked so sad. “Now you hang out with all of them. And you’re engaged to one of them.”
“Miller…”
“It’s fine. Just an observation, kid.” He leaned against the wall outside Odegaard. “You should probably get back inside.”
“I don’t want you to hate me.”
He lowered his eyebrows. “I don’t hate you. I just hate seeing you with other guys. And I hate that I don’t have any way out.”
“I asked my dad about you quitting. He said you two had a mutual understanding…”
“A mutual understanding?” He raised both eyebrows. “Is that what he said?”
“Yes.” It came out as more of a question than a response.
“Did he throw the term family around too?” he asked.
“Yeah, actually.”
“I’m not that psychopath’s family.”
I winced. First Mrs. Caldwell was worried about upsetting my dad with the whole Isabella invite. And now Miller was calling him a psychopath? I swallowed hard. They’d never seen the side of my dad that was sweet and caring. This was all a big misunderstanding.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “You know what I meant.”
“No, actually, I don’t. Miller, if you really want to quit I’m sure he’d let you. You just have to talk to him.”
Miller shook his head. “I did talk to him.”
“Well, I can talk to him…”
“You really are trying to get me killed, aren’t you?”
“Of course not. Just let me…”
“There’s no out for me, Brooklyn.”
“But…”
“You saw what he did to me when I let you out of my sight.” He gestured to his face. “I know too much. If I try to leave, he’ll kill me. I don’t know what kind of lies that man is feeding you. But he’s not who you think he is.”
I didn’t even know what to say. I knew my dad was dangerous. I knew that and yet…I didn’t really. I’d seen him be kind and sweet more times than I’d seen him be mean.
“There’s no out,” he said again. He closed his eyes like he was exhausted and rested his head on the wall behind him.
I swallowed hard. I wondered if he was as tired of life as James. And I hated that I couldn’t help either of them. “Miller, I’m sure my dad would listen to me if I asked him to let you quit.”
“Right, because complaining to his daughter is a great way to sway a man like him.”
“A man like him?”
“Brooklyn, what do you think your dad does?”
“He’s a businessman.” That was what my dad had told me. That he owned a lot of family businesses.
“Your father is a mobster, Brooklyn.”
A mobster? I shook my head. “That’s not…”
“He threatens people for a living. He kills people when they cross him. He’s made a lot of enemies in this town.
Including your fiancé’s parents. Compared to some of the people your father is mixed up with, Isabella isn’t even that big of a threat.
” He kicked at some trash on the sidewalk.
“There is no out. Not for me. And definitely not for you.”
I wanted to laugh it off. To tell Miller all the reasons why he was wrong. That he was exaggerating. But actually, that all made a lot of sense. Except for the fact that Miller hadn’t seemed all that scared of my dad in the beginning. “But if he’s so awful…why did you ever kiss me to begin with?”
“I’d never broken his rules before. I didn’t know the consequences. But I never plan on breaking them again.”
So he was stuck here? For how long? Months? Years? Forever? I shook my head. I wanted to tell Miller that I’d talk to my dad. But he’d just told me not to.
“I don’t regret kissing you,” Miller said. “But if your dad ever finds out…I won’t just lose my job. I’ll lose my life, Brooklyn. So you gotta stop looking at me like that.”
I didn’t know how I was looking at him. Like I wanted to hug him? Like I was about to burst into tears? There is no out.