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“Hey,” she cries out, trying to shrug him off. He drags her away from the door in the direction of his office. I follow them, making sure I stay far back enough that I won’t be noticed. With any luck, he’s completely forgotten I’m even here. I watch as they go inside his office, the door slamming shut behind them. I creep over, my heart racing. I’m fine so long as they stay in there, but if he comes out I really have nowhere to hide. I’ll have to risk it. It’s my only chance.
Their voices filter through the closed door. Biting my lip, I press RECORD on my phone and wait. My hands are shaking as their voices rise.
“What do you want from me, Brynne? What part of ‘disappear forever’ did you not understand? You’re risking everything being back here.”
“Risking what?” she says with a laugh. “I’m not scared of you anymore, Ryan. I don’t care what you do with that damn video. I’m sick of hurting the people I’m supposed to love.”
“You think he loves you back?” Ryan lets out a harsh laugh. “Jaxon isn’t capable of loving you, Brynne. He never lets anyone close enough to trust them.”
“And whose fault is that?” she retorts.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ryan growls. I wince as something slams against the wall. Brynne cries out and my blood runs cold. What’s happening in there? I reach for the door handle but hesitate. What am I going to do once I’m in there? I can’t overpower him. Not on my own.
“Spit it out, Brynne. What are you insinuating? That I had something to do with his parents’ murders?”
There’s a long pause before Brynne answers.
“You forget what you were using me for in the first place,” she says, her voice lower. Speak up! God, I hope my phone is picking this up. “Why else would you want to know what he knows about their deaths?”
“I should’ve gotten rid of you while I had the chance,” he mutters. I hear the unmistakable sound of a gun being loaded. He’s going to kill her? Panicking, I find Jaxon’s number and press CALL. My hands shake as I hold the phone against the wall and Ryan’s rage continues. “You want answers? I’ll give them to you. It’s not like you’ll be in the position to pass the information on.” He lets out a short laugh.
“I didn’t kill his parents, but I hold myself responsible every fucking day. We were in love, you know. She was supposed to leave him for me, only she couldn’t do it to Jaxon.”
“What happened?” Brynne whispers.
“I owed the wrong people a lot of cash and I couldn’t pay up. So they killed her.” He says it so simply, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“So why this vendetta against Jaxon?” she presses. I have to commend her bravery in trying to keep him talking when any minute he’s planning to put a bullet in her. She must have really loved him. Are those feelings still there?
“Because he keeps digging. If he finds out, I stand to lose everything. For the record, I don’t hate Jaxon, just what he’s capable of doing to me.”
“Maybe if you had just talked to him—”
“He’d what, understand?” Ryan says with a laugh. “Would you be understanding toward the man who was having an affair with your mother and is the reason your parents were murdered?”
Brynne begins to whimper.
“Please, Ryan. Don’t do this. I won’t tell anyone, I promise. I’ll go away and never come—”
“Like you were supposed to in the first place?” he growls. “The beauty of this is that you’re already considered dead, Brynne. I can kill you right now, dispose of your body, and no one will be suspicious.”
“Except the people who know I’m here,” she replies, breathless. I gasp, knowing where she’s going with this. Don’t do it, please don’t say my name…
“Who?” he asks, his voice tight.
“Charlotte. You think she really trusts you?” Brynne says with a laugh. “Come off it, Ryan, she’s under Jaxon’s spell and you know it. She’s not the only one who knows I’m here, either. Kill me and I guarantee you’ll find yourself in more trouble than you could’ve ever imagined.”
Ryan curses and hurls something at the wall. I jump, losing my footing. I stumble back into the hallway wall. The talking stops. I hold my breath, praying my clumsiness hasn’t cost me my life. Because I don’t doubt for a second that he would kill me given the chance.
The door swings open and Ryan stumbles out. I gasp, holding my hands up when I see the gun. His eyes fall on me and he smiles. My heart sinks. His eyes wild, he gestures for me to come inside. I step forward, my heart pounding.
God, please hurry, Jaxon.
Brynne refuses to look at me as I’m led through the door and shoved in her direction.
“What the hell?”
I look up and see Ryan struggling to close the door. My heart leaps when I see why it won’t shut. A foot. And not just any foot. Jaxon’s foot is lodged between the door and the frame.
