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“We’ll get to that,” he said, his gaze dropping as he took me in, examining me in a way that made me uncomfortable. “You don’t look like a Montgomery, I’ll give you that, but what you look like doesn’t really matter, does it?”
I didn’t know what he wanted me to say, so I kept my mouth shut.
“It doesn’t matter what you look like. All that matters is what you can do. You want to know who I am? My name is Brett Banks. I have a cousin who looks a lot like me, Neo. You know him, don’t you?”
If I could reach back into time and slap myself for ever thinking coming here was a good idea, I’d do it. I’d do it, because there was no way this was going to be good. This man wasn’t Neo, he was his older, lookalike cousin, and the way he was looking at me made me think he knew all about what I did—which was impossible.
“Of course you know him,” Brett went on. “You killed him, didn’t you?”
Out of everything I was expecting him to say, I definitely wasn’t anticipatingthat. My palms grew clammy, and I stuttered out, “No, I didn’t. I—”
Still, Brett smiled that creepy, uncanny smile. “Don’t lie to me, Brianna. We both know the body they found in that house belongs to my cousin. What I gave him should’ve been more than enough so he could knock you out and do what he wanted to you, so how’d you do it?” As he spoke, it finally dawned on me, why that smile was so creepy.
It wasn’t a true smile. There was no warmth, no happiness behind it. It was more like a wolf bearing its sharp teeth, ready to tear into flesh and rip it from the body.
When I only stared at him with wide eyes, he chuckled, a hollow sound. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you here, but I really want to know. How’d you manage to best my cousin?”
Well, there was no use beating around the bush. Might as well give the man what he came here for. “He waited until I woke up, and then he monologued like some bad guy in a cheesy movie. So I monologued back and told him I hate Gareth and would help take him down.”
“Huh. And he believed you, I’m assuming? Well, since you’re here and he’s not, it’s obvious how it turned out. Still…” Brett’s stare took me in. “You’re not muscular. With how weak the drugs should’ve made you, it should’ve been no contest. He still should’ve killed you, not the other way around.” His smile wavered, just for a quick second, but I saw it temporarily fail. “You seduced him, didn’t you? That’s how you got the better of him. Spread your legs like some little slut, told him exactly what you thought he wanted to hear, and waited for just the right moment.”
All I did was glare at him.
“I assume he didn’t tell you anything about me. No, why would he? He thought he had you. You were the final part in his plan.” When I only continued to glare, he chuckled again. “What? Did you think Neo was working alone? Please. He might’ve been a big, strong guy, but even he couldn’t take down an entire family without alerting the authorities.”
“It was him or me,” I whispered.
“Right, right. I can’t blame you for choosing yourself, just like I hope you can’t blame me for being a little upset at the sudden turn of events.” Brett’s demeanor was deceivingly mellow; just under the surface sat an intensity that threatened to burst through. “My cousin had a good life ahead of him. What kind of life do you have, hmm? Whether you like it or not, you’ve got the last name. You’ve got the money, and if there’s one thing wrong with this country, it’s people with money thinking they can do whatever the fuck they want.”
“I never asked for any of this,” I told him.
Brett nodded along. “Maybe you didn’t, but it doesn’t matter now, does it? Because here you are, alive and breathing in the place of my cousin.” He quieted, and his smile dimmed just a bit, though it didn’t disappear completely. “I hope you’re ready for what’s coming, Brianna. Things are going to move real fast from here on out, and there isn’t a thing you or any of them can do to stop it.”
Brett wasn’t like Neo. Neo, underneath the surface, had been like Gareth, so full of hate, acting without truly thinking of the consequences. Of course he’d had help in the form of Brett, the calm, confident cousin who apparently had a knack for murder. In a way, he reminded me of Alistair.
And that wasn’t a good thing.
“Are you going to kill me?” I asked, sounding pretty calm in spite of myself. Death didn’t scare me. I sat here, staring it in the eyes, just as I’d stared into Gareth’s, into Alistair’s, into Rick’s.
He scooted closer to me. He lifted a hand, grabbing some of my hair and twirling the multi-colored lengths between his fingertips. “Oh, I will, but not yet. Neo wanted to take you away from Gareth and frame him for everything, but after what you did… I think I want you to watch as the Montgomery family crumbles from within. And then, once it’s all over, when you start to hope against all odds that I’ve moved on, I’ll come for you, and when I do, no amount of begging will save you from my wrath.”
I jerked away from him so he’d stop fiddling with my hair, and I told him, “I’m not the kind of girl who begs.”
Brett flashed me another charming smile, though this one felt much colder than the others, a glimpse of the real Brett Banks. “Ooh, chills,” he said, mocking me. He stood up, stepped around me, and started down the bleachers. “I’ll let you get back to class.” He paused halfway down, turning his body back toward me.
The blasted man still wore that eerie smile, and it made my stomach drop.
“I hope you’re ready,” he said, “because it’s gonna be biblical.” He gave me a wink and then left.
I didn’t move right away. I sat there for a while, replaying what just happened, everything he’d said. Neo wasn’t working alone. Of course. But now I had a name for his accomplice, so now we could work on hunting him down. Brett thought he had this whole thing figured out? No. I wouldn’t go down so easily, and neither would my men.
My… my men. My guys? My—shit, I didn’t know what to call them.
Whatever. That could be a problem for future Brianna, assuming we all lived through this.
I pulled out my phone as I got to my feet, and I turned around and viewed the grassy field behind the bleachers, where Brett had walked off to. I couldn’t see him anywhere. That dude must walk fast. I pulled up Gareth’s name on my phone, and I called him, slowly walking down the bleachers as I listened to the phone ring.
He was in class, but if I knew Gareth, the moment he saw it was me, he’d get up, walk out into the hall, and answer. No one, not even a teacher, could stop him. He was the Prince of Eastcreek High, the only heir to the Montgomery fortune. No one wanted to piss him or Alistair off by giving him detention for waltzing out of class.
