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Gray grabs his phone and starts recording as Hayes tips the bottle from way overhead. At first, beer hits Wade’s cheek, but Hayes corrects his aim and proceeds to get most of the beer in his mouth. As soon as it’s gone, Wade stands and coughs a bit to clear his lungs from the beer he accidentally inhaled. The rest of us are laughing, and Gray is already replaying the video.
As I wipe tears from laughter from my eyes, Gray’s phone lights up with a notification. Brendan responded to his message. Well, that was nice while it lasted.
Rory
Themoodinthekitchen has drastically plummeted in the past thirty seconds. The guys have wiped the smiles from their faces, everyone is moving back to take their seats, and where I felt happy and light for a few moments, I now feel that familiar sadness taking over. I take a deep breath and try to prepare for whatever Brendan might be thinking or feeling, but it confirms my earlier thoughts that we’ve drifted apart because I’m honestly not sure what his reaction to this will be.
Instead of sitting in Gray’s lap, I sit next to him. He takes my hand in his and offers me a gentle squeeze, and I close my eyes to center myself for a moment before I have to read Brendan’s words. Gray looks between his phone and laptop, clearly unsure which one he should open.
“Just show us on your phone, Gray. It’s not like that part of the situation matters.” He looks at me and nods, placing his phone, well, the burner phone he’s using, on the table.
He takes a few seconds to click into the message, and there it is in all its angry
simplicity.
“Who the fuck is this, and what the fuck are you doing with my fiancée?”
I take a moment to reread what he wrote, and I have to give it to him that at least it sounds more concerned than my father’s message. I’m not going to get my hopes up yet about what he might have to say when we call him, but there’s a flicker in my chest that maybe this will go much differently.
“What do you want us to do, Little Bird?” I look into Gray’s eyes, and he radiates calm and strength, which helps me with my decision.
“Let’s do what we said we were going to do. Call him like you did with my father. We’ll all be quiet and see what happens.”
“Okay, here goes.” Wade grabs the phone from Gray’s outstretched hand and hits the call button.
I hate this horrible sense of foreboding that descends over us, but there’s nothing to be done about it at the moment. This time, the phone rings for so long that I think Brendan isn’t going to answer. I picture him sitting in his office at home, staring down at the screen and debating about what to do. It doesn’t fill me with warm feelings for him, just an empty sadness that has me crossing my arms in front of my chest and leaning back in my chair.
Brendan: “Who the fuck is this, and where is Rory?”
Wade: “I’m not going to tell you who this is. Rory is sleeping, but she’s safe. Well, safe enough.”
Brendan: “Listen here, asswipe. I don’t know who the fuck you think you’re messing with, but you’ve just made a powerful enemy. When I find you, and I will, you’re going to wish you were dead, but I’ll make sure you suffer for the rest of your miserable life.”
Wade: “I must say, this is almost a refreshing response, Brendan. When Rory’s father saw this, he had quite a different reaction. He even went so far as to say that Rory is now damaged goods and you aren’t going to want her anymore. Is that true?”
There is a long uncomfortable silence, and I realize I’m holding my breath. I shake my hands loose because I was squeezing my fists together so tightly I started to leave half-moon indents in my palms. None of the guys are looking at me, and I realize that they are probably just as nervous about what he’s going to say. I don’t think they want me to be hurt, but if Brendan is going to fight for me, it complicates things.
Brendan: “Listen, we can work this out. If none of this goes public, no one has to know what she’s done. Between Henry and myself, I’m sure we can come to some kind of agreement with you.”
All the air is sucked out of my body, and I’m frozen. What I’ve done? WhatI’vedone? Is this asshole serious right now? Like I abducted myself, assaulted myself while recording it, asked for the tattoo, and just had a grand old time? This is unbelievable. What the fuck is my life? I quietly ease my chair back, and the guys tense. I hold my hand up, so they stay sitting, but I need to move around. I can’t just sit here. I pace back and forth next to the table, and when Wade is reassured that I’m not going to interrupt, he continues.
Wade: “What she’s done? You realize your fiancée is a victim in this, right?”
Brendan: “Yeah, well, victim or not, no one is going to take me seriously if they find out I have a whore for a wife. What do you want to make this go away? The sooner we wrap this up, the better.”
Adler and Hayes let out matching growls, and if I wasn’t falling into a pit of despair, I’d be able to appreciate that properly. I look down at my left hand and stare at my ring finger. There’s still a slight indent there from wearing that massive ring for so long, but it gets better and better the longer I go without it. I never thought I’d be grateful to not have it on my hand, but I am. I stop walking and lean against the counter, so I can see everyone. They’re all wearing similar expressions of disgust and rage, which brings back some warmth to my numb body.
Wade: “I want ten million dollars by the end of the week. I’ll arrange a wire transfer to a secure account, and once I’ve confirmed all the details and the success of the transaction, Rory will be free.”
Brendan: “Ten million dollars? Are you fucking insane?”
Wade: “I can assure you I’m quite sane, actually. Do you have a counter offer?”
Brendan: “I’ll give you a million dollars and my personal guarantee that you’ll never see the inside of a prison cell for what you’ve done. That’s more than fair.”
Hayes quietly gets up from the table and comes to stand by me. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and tucks me into his side. I didn’t realize I was shaking until his warmth starts to seep into me. I hold onto him like a lifeline. I guess I should be comforted by the fact that my father thought I was worth more.
Wade: “I already know I’m never going to see the inside of a prison cell, Brendan. I can’t say the same for you though. I shouldn’t be, but somehow I’m surprised that you have no idea what that woman’s value is. You don’t deserve her.”
