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“I don’t understand this. You were attacked by the person who is threatening me.”
“Are you really that stupid? You still don’t get it? There was no attacker. The mystery man who pushed me down? He never existed. You are not the only one with a creative streak.” He barked out a laugh in response to her look of confusion. “It was my way of making sure I wouldn’t be a suspect. I wasn’t sure Rylan would fall for it, but it apparently worked like a charm.”
Bree shivered, and clutched Papadum tighter. David had said he wasn’t going to shoot her, so what was he planning? She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out.
“What have I done to make you hate me, David?” She may as well find out what had brought them to this point.
“I don’t hate you.” He sank into a crouch with his back against the wall. “That’s the problem.”
“I don’t understand.” She repeated the words. If she said them often enough, maybe she would have a breakthrough and this nightmare would start to make sense.
He gave a short, harsh laugh. “You stole everything from me. My name, my future, my profession, my dignity...”
Bree couldn’t process what he was saying. She wasn’t a thief. How had he convinced himself that she’d stolen from him? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“This!” The word was almost a scream. He waved a hand around him. “This building. Three generations of my family. Swansons was the best construction company in Roaring Springs. Then things got tough. Money was tight, debts piled up and I had to lay most of the workforce off. Selling the building, closing the business... It was never meant to be permanent. I was getting the money together to buy this place back again, but you got there first. An art gallery. Can you imagine how that felt?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“You’re a Colton. You don’t care about the little people.” The sneer was back. “Trampling on us when we’re down is what you do best.”
He was being unfair, but Bree wasn’t going to point that out. When the developer had stepped in and bought the buildings around the Diamond, the city council had been about to sign an order for their demolition. It had represented a last-minute reprieve. She, like the other new business owners in the area, had gotten her building at a good price. But that was because they had breathed new life into a dead part of town.
When she’d met with the developers about buying the building, Bree had been the only interested purchaser. Which meant that, no matter what he said, David didn’t have the money to buy the place. She suspected he was talking about his hopes rather than the reality. It was sad that his dreams had been crushed, but it hadn’t been her fault.
What worried her most was the bitter way he spoke about her family. There was no doubt that The Colton Empire had created a split in Roaring Springs. The Lodge and The Chateau appealed to an elite that left other hotels and restaurants in the town green with jealousy. But other businesses had learned how to cash in. The influx of wealthy visitors, particularly during the annual film festival, meant that everyone’s profits soared, and shops with an eclectic flair always did well. Even so, there were always people who delighted in the Coltons’ misfortunes.
But what she heard in David’s voice went beyond the usual haves-and-have-nots divide. It was hatred. Deep, feral and terrifying. She remembered what Trey had said. His informant had heard a whisper about possible attacks on The Lodge and The Chateau. Could David be behind those as well?
“I don’t know where this impression of my family has come from—”
“From someone who knows.” He spat the words out. “But your time’s up. We’re going to stop you. The original plan was to start with you and the gallery. Scare you. Drive you out of town.”
Bree’s mind was racing. The original emails, the attack on the gallery, they had all been about forcing her to leave. What had changed?
David’s face twisted in anguish. “But you...” He used the gun to point at her, and she flinched. “You messed it all up. You got inside here.” He pressed his knuckles to his temple. “So I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Couldn’t stop wanting you.”
