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“You think he’ll come back?” Brianna whispered.
I squeezed her hand. “I think he’s on the run, licking his wounds. When, or if, he tries to come back, we’ll be ready for him. He’s a wanted man now. He won’t fly under anyone’s radar, not after what he did.”
“Gareth.” She was still a little tired, it seemed, because that was all she could say.
I nodded once and told her, “He’s on his way here with Rick right now. He’s in the clear.”
The sigh Brianna let out after that was explosive, and I knew she felt relieved. We might not have Brett in our grasp just yet, but we would. The plan hadn’t worked like I’d wanted it to, but at least everyone now knew about Brett Banks. If he didn’t have a wad of cash stashed somewhere, it was only a matter of time until he used his bank card and showed his face somewhere with cameras. Even if he didn’t come back to us right away, we’d catch him.
And, what was even better, taking in the state of the bodies he’d left, it was clear he was off in the head. Anything he said to law enforcement after being caught wouldn’t mean anything. He’d probably try to point fingers at me and Gareth, but no one would pay any attention to those accusations. Hell, I’d get my lawyer involved and make sure he got the death penalty once he was tried.
Even though I shouldn’t, I leaned over her, using my free hand to smooth down her hair. “Everything’s going to be fine,” I told her, meaning it. I’d do everything in my power to make sure of that.
Brianna exhaled a long breath before saying, “My mom’s gone.” I could see the worry flash behind her eyes, and I knew what she was thinking. With her mom gone, she had no one. She was alone.
But she wasn’t.
I glanced at the door, making sure no one was waltzing in at that exact moment, and then I met her stare once more, whispering, “She is, but you’re not going anywhere.” My voice dropped to a bare whisper, “You’re mine now, Brianna. That’s not changing.”
“Did you know?”
“Know what? Did I know that your mother never got on that plane?” Though I still held her hand, I sat back in my chair. “I suspected, when she never called after touchdown. My contact in Italy told me she was a no-show. I never had any concrete evidence that he’d gotten to her, but I suspected.”
Brianna frowned, though it was half-hearted at best. “And you never told me?”
“What would you have done if I had told you?”
She opened her mouth, ready to retort, but no words came out, probably because she knew I was right. What could she have done? Nothing. Nothing at all. And, besides, I figured letting Brett have Nicole would be the perfect way to get rid of her. I’d been trying to think up the best way to do it, and another hunter crossed my path, his eyes set on my family. Brett had done exactly what I’d hoped he would.
She lifted her other hand, setting it on her forehead as she groaned. “Were you… were you the one that found me? I kind of remember… but it’s all a little fuzzy.” Brianna watched me, and the second I nodded, she asked, “How did you find me?”
“That, I think, is something you should ask Gareth,” I told her.
I could tell she wanted to ask what I meant by that, but right then Gareth rushed into the room, Rick right behind him. Rick wore his tan uniform, while Gareth was still in the same clothes he’d been arrested in, quite greasy. As Rick shut the door to give us some privacy, Gareth went straight for Brianna, taking her other hand into his and squeezing.
“You’re in the hospital too damn much,” Gareth muttered, a sly smirk growing on his face as they stared at each other. It was… strange, watching Gareth with her. Although I’d hoped to spark a connection between them, I didn’t actually believe it’d go anywhere.
But you could sense the raw emotion flowing out of them both. You’d have to be blind not to see it, and dead not to feel it yourself. The connection between Gareth and Brianna was so strong it was tangible.
“I don’t try to be,” Brianna muttered, though I could tell she was fighting a smile. “The first time was on you, anyway.”
“Me?” Gareth echoed, aghast. “You’re fucking joking. I didn’t take a knife and slit your wrist with it. You did that yourself. Yeah, yeah, to get back at me, but still.” When Brianna continued to stare at him, he relented, “Fine, we’re both to blame for that first time.”
Rick and I exchanged a glance. Rick had folded his arms over his chest and moved to the foot of the bed. Whenever Brianna was ready, she’d have to give her official statement to him, so he could put it in the books, make a record of it. Brett Banks was a dead man walking, his hours numbered.
“Alistair said I should ask you how he found me,” Brianna mentioned what I’d said earlier to Gareth. “This is your chance to come clean.” With how exhausted she was, she was still ready to fight with Gareth.
Behind his glasses, Gareth’s green eyes flicked to me, almost as if he was wordlessly asking me why I had to tell her. “What my uncle meant by that was…” He trailed off, like he was frantically trying to think up an excuse on the spot. When he couldn’t, he simply finished, “I cut into the soles of your shoes and slipped trackers inside, and then I glued the tiny bit back on so you wouldn’t be able to tell—”
Brianna’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
Really, it was too bad she’d lied and said she was meeting a friend when she was actually meeting with Neo. If Gareth would’ve been on top of her that day, things would’ve turned out very differently.
He shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t do anything wrong. You’re the one that kept talking to Neo. I had to do something.”
“You did do something,” she whispered. “You slipped into my room in the middle of the night and—”
“Okay,” Rick cut in, “that’s enough. Don’t need to hear any of that.”
