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She knew without a doubt that her feelings for Wade far surpassed her own self-preservation. The only reason Wade was wrapped up in this was because of her. He would have never gotten into that fight if it weren’t for her stupid curiosity and incessant worry about what others thought of her.
A chill swept down her spine when she met his gaze once more. Tad didn’t love her. He probably never did. For all she knew, he’d been watching her at that party ten years ago and knew exactly what he was doing.
What was she thinking? He definitely knew what he was doing. And because she had chosen to run from her problems instead of facing them, she had forever doomed herself to be with this monster.
Tad’s smile shifted to one she recognized from before she knew just what kind of person he was. “Relax, love. You might come to realize you love me just as much as Wade. I’m not such a bad guy when youreallyget to know me.”
Brielle glowered at him. If he thought he’d won, he had another thing coming. He didn’t know just who he was dealing with.
But for now, she’d play along—to keep Wade safe.
22
Wade
Wade’s phone buzzed. He’d only just fallen asleep and his eyes didn’t want to open. Rolling over, he glanced at the device on the side table. The screen glowed brightly in the dark and he squinted as he considered just ignoring it.
Then it buzzed again.
He sighed, his arm arcing through the air and landing on it clumsily. He wrapped his fingers around it and peered at it with bleary eyes. Brielle’s name popped up on the screen just above a message.
I need to see you.
Beneath that message was a second one.
Can you come over tonight?
And another.
Please, Wade.
He shot up in bed so fast his head spun. Wade blinked furiously as he tapped the screen to see if there were any messages he might have missed. Those were the only ones. Something was wrong.
The clock said it was just past ten o’clock. Tad had gone on a date with Brielle tonight, and he’d opted to head to bed early to avoid seeing the guy when he returned. Wade flung the covers over and scrambled out of bed. His thumb tapped the keyboard as he sent off a quick message.
Is everything okay?
He waited for a moment, but she didn’t respond. Immediately, his pulse went into overdrive. If Tad had laid a single finger on her…
Wade’s blood boiled at the thought. This was what he’d been afraid of. Didn’t he tell Brielle she needed to be cautious? With all the suspicious stuff going on around Tad, Wade knew something was bound to happen.
He got his pants and boots on, then when he pulled his shirt over his head, his phone buzzed again.
Snatching it from the bed, he read her message, but it didn’t give him any peace of mind.
Just come over.
Wade stared at the message for what felt like an eternity. If he allowed himself, he might lose his nerve. His confidence had already begun to wane when it came to Brielle, to the point he was unraveling on the inside. All it would take was one more wrong turn before he lost sight of himself completely.
He shouldn’t go. Already he could tell that there was something off about this message. She wanted him to come speak to her, but there were no smiling emojis. There was absolutely nothing that indicated she wanted to see him for good news.
Sitting with his face in his hands, he sat in the utter darkness of his room. The inky color surrounded him, suffocating him, telling him that he wasn’t going to be able to stay. That was the thing about his love for Brielle. He’d do anything for her. The evidence was clear when he allowed Tad to not only stay within a one-hundred-mile radius of Brielle, but to also remain at his home.
Wade got to his feet and slipped out the door as if pulled on by some invisible force. He drove to the Callahan property in a daze. It was one of those times when he seemed to have been put on auto pilot. He arrived on the property and climbed out of the truck. The only lights came from the front porch of the house. Beside his truck, Tad’s Jeep was parked.
Immediately the hairs on the back of Wade’s neck lifted. His hands balled into fists and his head snapped up in search of the one man who had already ruined his life beyond recognition.
The man sat on the porch step with Brielle beside him. They didn’t look super cozy. Was that a good sign? Or was Brielle just being nice? She knew just how bad his jealousy could get at times.
