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Why hadn’t she told me at the lake house?
“I didn’t have a choice,” Lola repeated, her shoulders slumping as she let her back slide down the wall.
She didn’t have a choice, but I did.
Chapter Fourteen
LOLA
My ass hit the floor, and I brought my knees up to my chest, resting my head on them and trying to make myself as small as possible.
I’d killed him.
I’d taken his life.
I’d chosen me.
It didn’t matter that I knew only one of us would have made it out of that night alive. It wasn’t an excuse, but it was the truth. I didn’t have a choice, and I kept repeating it over and over again.
Four guys stood in the room, and I was starting to understand this was Brody’s team. These were the people who had been on the case with him to bring Hut down. And now they were bringing me down too. Hut wasn’t around anymore, but would that stop them?
“Get up,” a rough voice demanded.
I slowly lifted my head, my gaze trailing from the combat boots, over jeans, a T-shirt, and finally Brody’s face. “I—”
“Get up,” he repeated, holding out his hand. His dark-brown eyes begged me to do as he said. “Please.”
I placed my hand in his, letting him help me into a standing position. He let my palm go as soon as I was upright, and part of me wanted to scream at him not to let go. I was afraid if something didn’t keep me connected to this world, I’d float away.
He ambled across the room, and I wasn’t sure what I was meant to do. I glanced at the other three guys, all who watched me with interest.
“Go on,” the one with green eyes and light-brown hair said. He’d been the one to ask me what had happened. “Follow him.”
I frowned, really freaking confused about what was happening.
“Go,” the other guy with a small Afro said. His tone was rough, but the kindness in his eyes flashed at me.
I took a step toward the door, my legs shaking, but after another one, I felt stronger, ready to tackle what was about to be thrown at me.
Brody stood just outside the door, his gaze not meeting mine as he took my wrist and led me between some desks and to the elevator we’d taken to this floor. He was silent the whole way down, and I wondered where he was taking me until we headed to the large glass doors at the entrance of the building.
“We’re leaving?” I asked, but he didn’t answer me, just kept on walking to the car we’d come in. He opened the passenger door, shut it behind me, and got into the other side.
I wanted to really think about what was happening, but all I could see was the blood draining out of Hut’s body, and the life evaporating from his eyes. He’d died right in front of me, and at my hands. I shuddered at the memory.
“Brody? I’m not sure what’s—”
“Don’t say anything,” he interrupted, his hands clenching the steering wheel tighter, causing his knuckles to turn white. “I just need a minute to”—he puffed out a breath and scrubbed his hand over his face—“I just need a minute to process everything.”
It was understandable that he needed some time. He’d just found out the truth. A truth I’d kept from him, but now he knew, and I had no idea how he would react.
I stared out the window as he drove to my apartment. When we got there, I headed into the shower and scrubbed every inch of my body—twice. I washed my hair three times, waiting for the water to run clear, and finally, when I felt like I was clean, I stepped out.
I pulled on an oversized T-shirt and some leggings, not bothering to do anything with my wet hair. I didn’t have the energy to do much apart from walk into the living room where Brody was waiting, his head in his hands and arms leaning on his thighs.
“Hey,” I ventured.
His head sprang up, his gaze taking me all in, and a small smile appeared on his face. “Hey.”
