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As the car pulled up closer to the house, I saw the shadow of a man inside it, though I couldn’t make out his face. I steeled myself to go to him, to tell him what I’d seen, and to drag him to the pool house, where the body was, but at that exact moment, I heard footsteps in the house.
Of course, Gareth had decided to come inside the house right then. He couldn’t have waited another five minutes? Shit.
Fearing what would happen if I made myself known to Gareth as he walked through the house, I stayed right where I was, tucked against the wall, catching my breath as the guy in the car got out. I couldn’t see him anymore, but I heard his car door slam shut. I imagined him walking up to the house and ringing the doorbell—the sound of a visitor made a strange sound… I assumed on Gareth’s phone, along with the front vestibule area.
Gareth must’ve been right in the hall, less than ten feet away from where I was when he heard it. His footsteps stopped, he muttered something under his breath, and then… he went to answer the door.
Double shit. This wasn’t going to work the way I wanted it to.
Gareth left the hall, going toward the front door. I waited until his footsteps grew lighter in the air, and then I pushed off the corner I hid in, creeping along the wall to the archway that opened up to the hall. I peeked around the open archway to see Gareth heading to the door. His back to me, I couldn’t get any closer; there wasn’t anywhere else to hide.
The moment Gareth’s hand outstretched to the handle, I hid against the archway, not wanting whoever it was at the door to see me once he opened it.
The door opened, and Gareth’s voice was cold and firm: “What the hell are you doing here?” Though he was a good ways away, I could hear him just fine. It helped the rest of the house was silent.
Another man’s voice filled the air, deep and gruff, “This is a courtesy visit. You got a rat, Gareth.” The voice sounded almost familiar, but I couldn’t linger on that, mostly because whoever this man was, he’d just called me a rat. “We got a call about a body in the pool house.”
Triple shit.
I imagined Gareth’s face right then, how his features twisted the moment he realized it was me who’d called. It took him a long time to say, “I assume you’ve handled it?”
“Yeah, but if I were you, I’d keep that girl on a short leash. I can’t cover up everything.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll have Alistair send you your fee when he gets back.”
And that was it. Whoever it was left, and Gareth shut the door. I stood there, breathing hard, replaying the interaction in my head. It sounded like the Montgomerys had someone in their pocket, someone at the police station, and based on the fee comment, it sounded like he did an awful lot of work for them.
Shit, shit, shit.
Gareth didn’t take his time in walking away; he hurried down the hall, went straight for the grand staircase. I waited until I couldn’t hear his footsteps any longer before I slipped out of the living room and rushed for the front door. I had to fiddle with the lock in the dark, which took far too much time, before I was able to throw the door open and run outside.
I didn’t know what I was thinking. If this guy worked for the local police station, and he was owned by the Montgomerys, he wouldn’t listen to a word I said.
I took one step out of the house, watching the car pull down the driveway and eventually turn onto the road. Just like that, what little hope I had that I’d be able to nail Gareth for his crimes vanished.Poofedinto thin air. Gone, just like that.
As I tried to think of what to do now, I turned to head back into the house. But I wasn’t alone, like I thought I was.
Gareth stood near the door, his arms hanging limply at his sides, one of his hands tapping against the side of his leg. The expression he wore was one of unholy fury, the glare he sent me killer. His voice came out soft, but it was just as acidic and venomous as ever, “You shouldn’t have done that, Brianna.”
I swallowed, taking an involuntary step backward. I couldn’t say anything, because there was nothing to say. This family owned the police. Of course they did. If they owned damn near the whole town, local law enforcement was a part of that.
“I thought we were getting somewhere, but I see now that was just wishful thinking,” Gareth went on. “Come here.”
Like hell would I go to him, now that I knew what kind of monster he was. “No,” I spat. “I’m not stepping foot in that house again. I’m going to tell my mom about what I saw, and we’re going to leave. I’ll—”
Gareth moved faster than I could blink, his reflexes honed to perfection. Before I could finish that threat, he’d darted before me and grabbed me by the throat, jerking me towards him while squeezing enough to choke.
“You will do no such thing,” he growled out, the deadliness in his tone enough to make me shiver.
I tried to fight him, but like always, he had me at a disadvantage. I was struggling for air, useless as ever. I didn’t know what Gareth would do to me, what his anger would force him to do in blind fury, but I could imagine it well enough. Whatever it was would involve pain and misery, probably lots of torture.
This was it. Gareth was going to kill me.
His other hand took hold of my arm, and he turned away from me, letting go of my neck as he pulled me along, much like he’d done earlier, except more vicious about it this time. His fingers were bruising my arm, but I was too busy coughing and trying to resist him to pay much attention to the pain.
Through the darkness of the mansion, he dragged me toward the back patio door. It was like deja vu, sort of, only this time was way worse. I knew where we were going now, and that knowledge only served to fill me with dread.
“You will learn who owns you,” Gareth hissed out as he kicked open the patio door and we pushed outside. “You’re mine. I’m not very happy that you went to the police.” His grip on my arm tightened even more, and I let out a whimper.
