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Rylan looked across at Bree to see how she was dealing with that information. Although she bit her lip, she took it well. It wasn’t as if it was news to her. She knew the stalker had been in her apartment several times. The fact that he had his own set of keys? Yeah, that was a new level of disturbing.
“It was all there in the emails. The pornographic leaflets tucked inside the programs, the fake attacker, the chocolate hidden in the ceiling.” Trey scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “But the friendship hit a rocky patch recently when Lone Wolf found out that David had changed his approach to you, Bree.”
Rylan frowned. “How would he know about that if David didn’t tell him?”
Trey shrugged. “Who knows? Somehow, Lone Wolf became aware that his plans were in danger of being derailed by David’s growing obsession. The more recent email exchange is very much a series of lectures from Lone Wolf to get back on track. David’s responses are mostly apologies and promises to put things right. That’s pretty much where we were up to when he lured Bree and Kasey into the basement.”
“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” Bree said. “I can see how Lone Wolf—whoever he is—was able to prey on David’s insecurities and hostility. But what’s in it for David? How was a formerly law-abiding man persuaded into a scheme like this?”
“We don’t know what he was promised,” Rylan pointed out. “If, behind the secret identity, Lone Wolf is a person of influence, he might even have told David he would get his construction firm back.”
“What happens now?” Bree asked wearily.
“We’ll keep looking for David,” Trey said. “He’s the key to all of this. I have no way of discovering Lone Wolf’s identity, or what his motive is, without David. There’s only one thing I know for sure.”
“What? That Lone Wolf hates the Coltons?”
Trey nodded. “Yes. And that he intends to do something about it.”
* * *
Most things in Bree’s life eventually became a comparison with art. It was how she viewed relationships. Many were like a quick sketch. Others represented a more detailed painting, sometimes a puzzling one. Then there were the masterpieces, handed down through generations, their beauty and intricacy evident to everyone who saw them.
Her parents... Now, theirs was an image of true love. Simple, timeless and crafted by a master. Her uncle Russ and aunt Mara? A confusing abstract. The sort of picture several people could view, all walking away with a different opinion of what they’d seen.
She hadn’t stopped to view her own life as a canvas. But she wondered what the future held for her and Rylan. Did they have a future beyond what was happening here and now?
Bree knew he loved her. It was obvious in his body language, and in every look they exchanged. When they made love, and there were no more barriers between them, it was there in the honesty of their bodies.
But did he know he loved her? Had he even admitted it to himself? If he had, Bree knew the next step—telling her—would be the hardest. And she understood why. Anything to make me feel worthless. They were the words he’d used about his father. When Rylan was a boy, the man who should have cared for and protected him had subjected him to unimaginable torture. Knowing he was a sensitive child, his dad had tried to change his personality.
Bree’s heart ached for the boy he had been then, and the man he was now. Because his father hadn’t suppressed who he was. No matter how hard Rylan tried to hide behind his tough guy veneer, the sweet, sensitive person was still there. That was the man she loved.
The problem was that his father had succeeded in another sense. He had convinced Rylan that he was worthless. As a result, Rylan had spent his whole life trying to prove his value to an unworthy parent. But the damage went too deep. Rylan couldn’t get past the belief that he wasn’t good enough.
When it came to their relationship, things became even more complicated. Bree knew he was eaten up with guilt because he’d let her down once. She didn’t like that it had happened, but she understood the circumstances. And while she was willing to give him another chance, he wasn’t prepared to let himself off as lightly.
