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So, I had to explain, “I think, given the fact that she knows what Gareth likes to do in his spare time, she made a choice.” I stared hard at Alistair, my voice dropping an octave as I whispered, “Tell it to me straight, Alistair. You didn’t marry that woman because you loved her, did you?”
The old Alistair would’ve told me it was none of my business, but for some reason, he decided to say, “No, I didn’t.” Now it was his turn to glance around, and once he got confirmation we were still alone in the hall, he added, “I married her for the girl, for Gareth. I’d hoped… I thought I chose someone who could handle him.”
Shit. What a cruel thing to do, to play a woman and marry her just so you could get your hands on her daughter and give her to your ward, your nephew, who just so happened to be a raging looney.
I felt bad for Brianna, I did. Thrust into this God-forsaken family, what could she do besides go insane herself? It wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go, not like Alistair or Gareth would ever let her run. No, if she tried, they’d catch her.
But all that said, I didn’t think she wanted to kill herself because she was depressed or down in the dumps about her current situation. No, if I had to put money on it, I’d say it was because she knew she was supposed to be Gareth’s plaything, and she didn’t want to play anymore.
“I wouldn’t count her out just yet,” I said, noting the way Gareth glared at Nicole inside the room, as if he could kill her with just a look, like he wanted to be alone with Brianna. In addition to getting stitched up, she’d had a blood transfusion to replace the blood she’d lost, and now she was on fluids and some meds for the pain. She’d probably wake up soon, though she might be out of it.
Gareth had always been a spoiled boy, always getting whatever he wanted, always doing whatever he wanted, whether that involved painting or killing. If he wanted Brianna, he’d get her.
“Were you the one that responded to the call at the house?” Alistair asked.
“Yeah,” I said. I’d arrived just before the ambulance, helped direct the first responders to the kitchen, where Gareth and Brianna had been. The image of her unconscious body being cradled against him wasn’t something I’d forget any time soon.
And the blood. God, there’d been so much blood. She’d cut deep. The only reason she hadn’t died by the time help arrived was because Gareth had kept an iron grip on her cut wrist, stopping even more blood from flowing freely.
Really, the little prick had saved her life, but I’d bet anything he was the reason she’d done it to begin with.
“Gareth’s the only reason she’s still alive,” I muttered, frowning slightly.
“Hmm.” It was all Alistair said to that, but I could tell it meant more. He had to be wondering why Gareth would want to save her, if, perhaps, he’d chosen correctly in Brianna. If, just maybe, she was a match for Gareth after all.
But maybe we were giving Gareth too much credit. It could be the only reason he’d saved her was because he wanted to be the one to kill her. It could’ve been a selfish act of kindness, because the whole damn town knew there was not a single kind bone in his body.
I stepped closer to Alistair, lowering my voice further as I warned him, “If she was willing to do this to herself, I imagine she’ll be willing to do a lot worse. To you, to Gareth, to anyone. I’d tell Gareth to go easy on her if I were you. It’s the ones you never expect to snap that tend to snap the hardest.”
And I said that as a man of experience. After all, I was sure no one had ever thought I’d go so far as to kill my own brother. When I’d snapped, it’d been one hell of a crime scene. If Alistair wasn’t careful, Brianna might just take them down with her.
Fuck. That’d be a sight to see. I was too weak to do it myself after all these years, so I’d root for her from the sidelines.
Alistair sounded bored once more as he said, “I will have some words with them both, though you would do wise to avoid telling me what to do, Rick.” When those icy blue eyes landed on me again, I could tell I’d stepped too far. Without saying anything else, he was inviting me to leave.
Fine. I’d go. It wasn’t like I wanted to be here anyway, especially when Brianna woke up. I didn’t need her telling anyone here that she knew me, that we’d gotten a little closer than we should have at the wedding.
No, that was still our little secret.
My mouth pursed into a thin line, and I gave Alistair a nod before turning and walking away. It was only when my back was to him that I let the scowl take over my face, that I let my frown deepen.
Why did I have the feeling this shit with Alistair, Gareth, and Brianna was only beginning?
Chapter Two – Brianna
I was greeted by a world of black, and I thought, bleakly, that this was what death was like. After all these years, I’d finally welcomed death with open arms, and in the end it was nothing but a black abyss, waiting to swallow me whole. No afterlife. No heaven or hell or whatever else people said there was. There was just… nothing.
But, I realized, that was because this wasn’t death. I wasn’t half as dead as I thought, and that was a shame indeed.
Through the darkness, I could faintly hear my mom’s voice, “I can’t believe this. In all my life, she’s never—”
“Gareth said it was an accident,” Alistair’s voice was next, and he sounded miffed. Annoyed. At me, or at my mom? Maybe both. I tried lifting my eyelids to see them, but I couldn’t. “That’s what it was, Nicole. Brianna didn’t try to hurt herself.”
“Oh, please. Do you really believe that? Gareth is obviously covering for her. She needs psychiatric help.” My mom, trying to pawn me off on someone else, take the easy way out and get rid of me once and for all. She’d certainly live a happier life without me.
“Maybe you should take the car and go home,” Alistair told her, and after that I heard the soft jingling of car keys. “Get some rest.”
“Rest? I’m sure there’s a big mess waiting in the house after this stunt,” my mom practically hissed out the words, but I was pretty sure I heard her take the keys, anyway. “Will you call when she wakes up?”
