My eyes flicker between the three men. He thinks I’ll be in danger if I spend time with her. Shit.
“You’ll have protection in your own apartment,” he says as he pulls Meredith from her chair.
Oh good. “Are you coming back?” I ask hopefully. Maybe I’ll get to talk to him then.
“No.” He looks to Ben. “Organise someone to come and stay with Tully, will you?”
“I-I don’t… No, I don’t want a stranger in my apartment.”
Brock’s cold eyes rise to meet mine. “Tough shit.”
I sit on the sofa in my apartment. Ben is in the kitchen and Jesten is out in the hall.
Brock is nowhere to be seen. He left hours ago with Meredith and hasn’t returned since. Ben is being polite, but it’s obvious he doesn’t particularly want to talk to me, either.
My mind is racing.
Am I really in danger? Is Meredith in danger, or have these guys just been watching too much cable?
What the heck happened to Wendy Woo? And Peter… is he really capable of all of this? I wouldn’t have thought he was intelligent enough to pull this shit off and I know for sure he’s not violent. If people are dying and he’s responsible, then he must be getting someone else to do it for him because he can’t even kill a fly. It just doesn’t add up, not at all. None of it.
Screw this, I want some answers. I march out into the kitchen. “I would like to know what’s going on,” I say to Ben.
Ben looks up from his phone, unimpressed with my demand or the tone of my voice.
I wither a little under his gaze. He’s so much like Brock, it’s insane. Alpha-holes.
Anyone would think they are biological brothers and not just brothers-in-law.
“Somebody is killing escorts who are being forced to blackmail any wealthy business men they do business with,” he replies flatly.
I frown.
“Your friend Meredith was friends with two of the murdered women. She probably has more information than she is letting on.”
I stare at him as my brain struggles to take it all in.
“We believe that a memory stick with evidence proving who is responsible for these crimes is in circulation. That’s what they were looking for in Meredith’s apartment.”
My face falls, I don’t know what to say. “Why do you think I’m in danger?” I ask.
“We don’t know that for sure. We watched the security footage of your apartment back and nobody was in here earlier. You were probably just a bit freaked out.”
I stare at him, lost for words. “Oh…” I think for a moment. “What did Meredith say about it all?”
“She’s saying that she doesn’t know anything.”
“But you don’t believe her?”
“Not really.” He hesitates for a moment. “There’s a lot of bullshit being slung around here at the moment.” His eyes hold mine, and I know he means by me.
I stare at him for moment, feeling like I need to explain myself.
“I did what I thought was right at the time, Ben.” I pause. “I’m not saying it was, but I thought I was doing the right thing for everyone.”
He purses his lips. “You see, I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.”
I frown. “Brock didn’t tell you what happened between us?” I ask,
“Nope.” He stares at me but doesn’t say anything further. I feel myself wither again.
Do I tell him?
No, this is none of his business.
But he’s Brocks best friend. “He won’t even talk to me,” I say quietly.
Ben looks at me flatly.
“I went around to his house last night and cried in the rain for over an hour. He wouldn’t let me in.”
Still, he remains emotionless.
“Has Brock ever forgiven anyone who hurt him?” I ask softly.
He shrugs, as if uninterested.
“You’re not going to talk to me about this, are you?”
He shakes his head. “Nope.”
I cross my arms over my chest. I don’t like the way he is making me feel. “You don’t have to be so rude about it,” I say, agitated.
“I’m not being rude. I’m being polite. This is none of my business, and trust me, you’ll know it when I’m being rude,” he replies coldly.
Frustration fills me. I shouldn’t have said anything. These men are a different breed. I feel uncomfortable now. “Well then, you can leave. I’m not having a stranger in my house overnight.”
“You’ll have to clear that with the boss,” he says dryly.
“The boss isn’t here.” I sneer as my anger begins to bubble. Fuck this, who do these guys think they are? “I’ll call the police if you like and they can ask you to leave.”
He smiles sarcastically. “Go right ahead… if you want to get yourself killed.” His eyes hold mine. “You call the police and let them handle this.”
“You think the police are responsible for this?” I ask.
“Certain of it.”
I stare at Ben for a moment and think. I’m going to tell them about the evidence going missing at work. I have to. Something is definitely going on here. There are just too many coincidences.
“I have some information in regard to the lab and evidence,” I announce.
Ben narrows his eyes. “Such as?”
“I’ll only talk to Brock.” I tilt my chin in defiance. “Alone.”
Ben smirks, showing the first bit of emotion he’s shown all day. “You’re going to blackmail some time with him?”
“Yep.” My eyes hold his and I tilt my hip like a petulant teenager. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
I pace around in my bedroom. It’s just turned 10:00 p. m. and I’ve negotiated a deal.
Brock is coming to talk to me.
What a joke. I really am at rock bottom with not a shred of self- respect left at all.
He thinks he’s coming here for information regarding evidence but I’m having my say first, and he will listen if it’s the last thing I make him do. He’s going to be furious that I’m forcing his hand, but he’s left me with no choice.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Ben is here, and I think Jes is still out in the hall. I don’t know where Brock was but he’s taking his sweet time getting here.
I’ve been on tenterhooks and have been pacing for two hours now.
I hear a knock at the door and close my eyes. This is it.
The next fifteen minutes will determine my future with him.
Good or bad, I’ll know where I stand.
I go to the door and open it. Brock’s cold eyes hold mine, his jaw clenching in anger. He’s clearly furious that I have pushed him into a corner like this.
“You have new information?” he asks, raising his eyebrow sarcastically.
Nerves dance around in my stomach. I nod and move back from the door.
“Come in.”
He walks past me, and I get a waft of his aftershave. It nearly makes me burst into tears.
I miss him.
Ben nods as he sees him, and then he walks out of my apartment without saying a word.
God, he’s a rude prick.
I sit down, watching as Brock takes a seat on the couch opposite me.
“What is this new information?” he asks flatly.