Chapter 43
Selena
The visit with Cici had gone better than I could have hoped for. Brody not only made record time getting there, but he walked with us in the garden a little so he and Cici could meet. After he left to wait for me in the lobby, she’d grabbed my hand and given me a long look.
“What’s going on between you two?”
“What? Nothing,” I trailed off, squirming under her scrutiny. I hated lying to her.
“I’m keeping you. You’re mine. End of story.”
She shook her head. “You’re a terrible liar.”
There was no point telling her about Brody’s possessive declaration from the night before.
That had just been the sex haze talking.
Guys would say the wildest things in the throes of passion.
It didn’t mean anything. It didn’t mean that they’d stick to their words or even remember them the next day.
I’d learned over the years to have low expectations. It was better than being disappointed.
Besides, with Brody, there were too many complications. There was no way to overcome them all.
On the car ride home, Brody turned to me just before we pulled out of the parking lot.
“I meant to speak to you last night about something, before we got so distracted.”
“Oh, distracted is what we’re calling it,” I said cheekily.
He started the car and turned onto the small, winding country road that led to the interstate.
“What happened at the party to set off that attack? Was it something in particular?”
He accelerated when he got to the interstate, and the sports car leapt forward, eager to go.
“I mean, did something trigger it? One second the alarm was sounding and the doorbell ringing. The next, you were avoiding me and going upstairs.”
I clenched my hands into fists on my lap.
Damn it. I’d been doing a great job so far of not mentioning Officer Preston and his threats.
Because if I didn’t tell anyone else (besides Winter, of course), maybe I could ignore it, and pretend it was just a nightmare.
If no one else knew, it didn’t have to be real.
But it was real, at the end of the day. Winter had been badgering me to tell him, and now, I either had to tell a pack of lies or come clean.
“Yeah, it was the cop at the door. He, um, said some stuff that upset me.”
“What stuff?” Brody asked immediately.
“Just stuff,” I equivocated.
Brody glanced at me, then flipped on his blinker and veered over to the side of the road.
“What are you doing? Don’t stop here!” I protested. I’d thought that the drive would be a good time to tell him, because I wouldn’t have to look him in the eyes when I did. Except now, he had stopped and was staring at me.
“What stuff?” he repeated.
I recognized that stubborn tone. God, he could be a pain in the ass sometimes. Now that he felt like there was something he needed to know, he wouldn’t rest until he did.
“So, I guess this officer’s partner was mixed up in all the business at, the, um, The Cove, it was called. He was actually one of the ones who died up there on the day of the fire,” I said, shivering at the memory of that awful place.
It’s gone. Don’t freak out. It’s all gone.
“Right, and?”
“And I guess the cop’s partner had told him all about The Cove before he died, and the cop was pretty into it. I think he has a copy of the video from there. My video. I don’t know if he really has it or he’s just bluffing, but he knows something for sure.” The words all left me in a rush.
Brody was quiet for a long moment, and the silence set my teeth on edge.
“So, that’s all. He wanted me to know that he has a copy, and that he can distribute that however he wants, whenever he wants.
” I hadn’t even gotten to the part where Preston seemed to be planning to blackmail me with the video into doing whatever he wanted.
The last thing I wanted was Brody storming down to the station and making a scene that might show up in the papers.
He wasn’t a low-profile person, something he seemed to be forgetting lately.
I decided then and there to feed him the information about Preston slowly, so he could get used to it bit by bit, and hopefully keep his cool.
Silence, and then Brody smacked the steering wheel hard, out of nowhere. He punched it again, and then one more time. Blood seeped from his knuckles.
“Brody!” I reached for his arm, and he let me take it.
“Motherfucker,” he swore, fury coming off him in waves. “What’s his name?”
“I-I don’t want you to get too involved with this. I mean, it’s my problem,” I rambled.
Brody pinned me with a look. “I need his name. Now, sweetheart.”
“It’s Preston. Officer Preston.”
“Nick’s older brother? That’s the fucker he’s always boasting about having on the local force. What fucking losers. They are finished in this town. They are finished on this coast. They’ll need a hell of a long plane ride until they find a place where they aren’t finished.”
Brody’s fist remained tight, clenched so hard that his knuckles had turned white. I reached out and pried his hand open and laced my fingers through his.
He turned to me. His usual cool, aloof expression was clouded with emotion. A dark frown etched his features, his brows drawn together in a tight line. He looked troubled. He looked pissed. I wouldn’t want to be the person on the receiving end of that look.
“Why didn’t you tell me right away? The party was nearly a week ago,” Brody continued.
I unclenched my teeth, tension sitting heavy on my shoulders at that question.
“Because I didn’t want to drag anyone else into my mess.”
“It’s not your mess. This mess wasn’t your choice, none of it was—” He broke off, his voice ragged.
I stared at him. His emotions were wild, bubbling under the surface and threatening to erupt.
“Still, the Sinclair family reputation and all of that—”
“Fuck the reputation. This wanker is about to understand why the Sinclairs are infamously ruthless. No one comes after one of us and gets away with it. No one.”
Brody brought my hand to his mouth and pressed his lips to the back. It felt oddly formal, like a declaration of allegiance, an oath sworn to a queen.
“Don’t worry about this anymore. I’m going to take care of it. It’s as good as done.”
Then he put his car back in gear and eased back onto the road, continuing our journey home.
Well, okay then.