“I’m keeping you. You’re mine. End of story.”
Selena
The visitwith 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 itwasreal, 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.
