Wesley shoved me away from him. I stumbled and grabbed the arm of the couch. Reid instantly reached out and pulled me to him. I hadn’t realized that I was shaking until he sat me down next to him and pulled me tight against his body.
“Reid, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” my father said as he walked into the cabin and closed the door.
Reid stayed silent, but his grip on me tightened. I wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or anger.
“You were much harder to track down than I would have liked. If I had known that you would escape and run right back to Reid to help him leave as well, I would have brought him with us as insurance.” My father shrugged. “But it doesn’t matter now anyway. We finally found you.”
“How?” I asked. It was the first word I’d spoken since they appeared.
My father chuckled. “It doesn’t really matter, does it? Besides, I’d never tell Wesley’s secrets.”
My eyes slid to Wesley, who was standing behind my father with his gun trained on me. He watched me without an ounce of sympathy in his eyes. Reid was right. Wesley had betrayed me. My oldest friend, the one person who I had trusted completely, was the one who would end up causing my death. That said a lot about my judgment.
“It’s probably a good thing it took us this long to find you. When I came back and found Bradley dead and Wesley knocked unconscious, I was quite…upset. If I had found you then, I would have killed you myself.”
“And you’re not going to now?” I scoffed. “You didn’t track me down just to let me go.”
“Oh, I’m not going to kill you. The Irish are waiting for you. As much as I’d like to put a bullet through your head, I won’t. You’re more valuable alive.”
“Just kill me,” I spit out, finally finding my voice. “I’m not going to let you hand me over to them. If you try, one of us will end up dead before you can even get me out the door.”
My eyes went back to Wesley when I saw him move a fraction of an inch. He’d kept his gun trained on me, but he’d switched so that it was pointed at Reid now.
“I don’t think that will be necessary. I’m sure you’ll come with us, so Wes doesn’t accidentally slip and shoot Reid.”
“Leave Reid out of this,” I demanded. “He has nothing to do with any of it.”
“I’m not the one who involved him, Bree. That burden rests on your shoulders.”
“Why couldn’t you just let me go when I left?” I asked. “I’m nothing to you. We both know it. You could have left me alone, and none of this would be happening.”
I was ashamed of the fact that tears threatened to spill down my cheeks. I hated giving my father the satisfaction of seeing how much he could hurt me.
He stepped closer and pulled his gun. I swallowed roughly as he crouched down so that we were eye-to-eye. Any humor he’d shown earlier was now gone.
“Because you are mine. You’ve always been a pain in the ass, the weak link, but I thought you knew your place. I own you, Bree. You’ll do what you’re told and go to the Irish, or I will make sure to draw out your friend’s death for as long as possible.”
I didn’t care what my father did to me, but I was the reason Reid currently had a gun pointed at his face. I couldn’t let them hurt him because of me. The thought of leaving him made me clench my fists, but that was our only chance. Once we left, he could get out of here. Hopefully, he’d be smart enough to hide out for a while.
Once I knew Reid was out of the way, I’d do everything I could to make sure my father never bothered him again, even if that meant killing my own flesh and blood. I’d struggled with the thought of actually ending my father’s life, but now that he’d made it clear that he would never leave me be, I knew I would do it. I had to. It wasn’t just me who would end up dead if I didn’t.
“Leave him here, and I’ll go with you,” I finally said.
“Do you really think I’m going to let you slip away for a third time? I’m not a fool, Bree, and I know how your mind works. No, Reid will stay with me until you’re delivered to the Irish.” He paused and smiled. “But don’t worry. I’ll make sure he’s taken care of after you’re gone.”
Terror ripped through my body. My father had no intentions of letting Reid go. He would kill Reid the moment I left his side.
“No.” I shook my head. “That isn’t the deal.”
“You’re not exactly in a situation where you can negotiate. Now, let’s go before Reid gets hurt.”
I looked over at Reid, hoping that he would look at me, but he didn’t. His eyes were firmly glued to the gun in Wesley’s hand. I knew he had to be terrified, but he kept his expression blank.
I have to fix this, I thought to myself as I slowly stood. Reid rose with me without a word.
My father stood. “Finally. Maybe you can be reasonable after all.”
He turned his back on us and walked to the door. He’d turned away for a reason—to show me that he feared nothing from me, not while Wesley had his gun aimed at Reid.
My father stopped and turned back to me. “Oh, and Bree?”
“What?” I snapped.
Before I could blink, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger. I screamed as Reid fell to the floor. He moaned and clutched at his thigh.
“Just wanted to remind you of who is in control here,” my father said in a tone that made it clear he didn’t give a damn about what he’d just done.
I dropped down next to Reid and shoved his hands out of the way so that I could look at his wound. Blood seeped through his pants, darkening the fabric. I didn’t try to hold back my tears as I took off my thin hoodie and ripped the sleeve off. I tied it around his leg, whispering apologies as I worked.
“It only grazed you, Reid. You’re going to be fine,” I told him.
“Good to know because it fucking hurts,” he growled.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered as I stood and helped him to his feet.
He looked me straight in the eye as he raised his hand to cup my cheek. I froze at the gesture.
“Bree, this isn’t your fault. You didn’t do this to me. I’m sorry I’ve been a jackass to you, but I was scared.”
He looked over at my father and Wesley. Reid’s whole body was shaking. I wasn’t sure if it was due to anger or his wound. It was probably both.
“I thought you were a monster because of the things you’ve done, but I was wrong. Looking at these two, I know what real monsters look like. You’re nothing like them.”
I’d waited days to hear him say something like that to me. Of course he would have to wait until my father and Wesley were around to say it. I closed my eyes for a moment, fighting my emotions. To know that Reid didn’t look at me and feel nothing but disgust meant more than he could ever know. It made what I was about to do that much easier. If I died, at least I would know that he didn’t hate me.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He turned back to me and smiled. I froze as he leaned down and briefly kissed me on the lips. Feeling his lips pressed against mine so tenderly was by far the greatest memory I would ever have.
I slowly pulled away from him and spoke loud enough for only him to hear, “If you get a chance, run. If not, stay out of the way.”
I turned away before he could speak. I walked over to where my father was waiting. “Let’s go.”
He glanced at Wesley. “Watch her.”
Wesley nodded but stayed silent. He hadn’t spoken at all since their arrival.
My father turned away and reached for the door. Before I could truly think about what I was doing, I tackled him from behind, throwing all of my weight against him as hard as I could. He obviously hadn’t expected me to be so bold because he wasn’t ready. His head slammed against the door hard. For a moment, I thought he was going to drop. Unfortunately, he didn’t. I should have known better than to hope for that. My father was a tough bastard. He wouldn’t give up that easily.
“You bitch!” he cried as he pushed away from the door and spun around.
/>
I was still on his back with my arms wrapped tightly around his neck. I squeezed my arms tighter, choking off his air supply. He rammed backward against the door. The back of my head cracked against it. I fought not to groan as black dots danced in front of my eyes, but I wouldn’t dare lessen my hold on him.
He moved forward before ramming me into the door again. I was prepared this time though, and I managed to avoid hitting the back of my skull. My back protested at the assault. If he didn’t pass out soon, I would lose my grip with hits like that.
He jerked forward suddenly, bringing me with him. I clenched my teeth as he dropped to the floor, his back first. I cried out as the impact of his weight hit me. He was a good hundred pounds heavier, and I felt every ounce of it. My breath was knocked out of me.
Unable to stop myself, I relaxed my grip on him as I fought for a breath. He took advantage of my weakness as he slammed his head back, hitting my face with enough force to knock me out. I screamed as I felt the sickening crack of my nose breaking.
He grabbed my arms and unwound them from his neck. Tears were streaming from my eyes, and I tasted blood on my lips. My nose was definitely broken. I watched as he jumped to his feet. He stared down at me, a look of pure loathing on his face.
“You ungrateful and cowardly little bitch,” he snarled as he picked his gun up off the floor.
I hadn’t even noticed when he dropped it.
He rubbed his neck with one hand as he raised his gun and pointed it at me. “You’re going to fucking regret that.”
“I told you that one of us would die here,” I told him as I pinched my nose, hoping that I could slow the blood flowing from it.
“I’m not going to kill you. I’m just going to make sure that you never walk again.” He pointed the gun at my leg. “I hope your little attempt at freedom was worth it.”
I closed my eyes, preparing myself for the pain that was sure to come. When a gun went off, I screamed. It took me a few seconds to realize I couldn’t feel the pain I’d expected. My eyes sprang open to see my father still standing above me. He was no longer looking at me though. His eyes were trained on Wesley, a look of disbelief on his face.
“Why?” he asked.
I sucked in a sharp breath when I saw it—a bullet wound in my father’s chest. Wesley had shot my father.
“Because you’re a sadistic son of a bitch who needed to die a long time ago,” Wesley said without remorse. “When it came down to you or Bree, my choice was simple.”
My father dropped down to his knees, shock clearly written all over his face. Before he could utter another word, he fell forward onto the floor in front of me.
There was nothing but silence in the cabin. It suffocated me as I stared at my father’s body. He was dead. The man who’d terrified me for years had taken his last breath right in front of me. He’d died at Wesley’s hands, not mine. I closed my eyes for a moment. I’d forced Wesley’s hand yet again. My father was just another sin Wesley would have to carry around for the rest of his life.
I mechanically reached forward and removed the gun from my father’s hand. I winced when my skin brushed against his.
My father was dead. I wasn’t sure whether I should feel relief or horror. My mind seemed to be frozen, unable to process what was happening around me. I looked up when someone grabbed my arm.
Reid.
He was speaking, but I couldn’t understand him.
I shook my head to clear it. “What?” I asked.
“Bree, you have to calm down,” he said urgently as he pulled me to my feet.
It was only then that I realized that my breaths were coming in fast, short gulps, and my entire body was shaking. He pulled me to him and wrapped both arms around my body. I rested my head against his chest as I fought to breathe. I had to calm down. I was stronger than this.
After a few minutes, I finally managed to calm down. I pulled away and stared down at my father. I pretended not to see the blood slowly pooling around him.
“He’s dead,” I whispered.
“Yeah, he is,” Reid said. He looked at me like he expected me to go off the deep end at any moment.
“I’m free.” I swallowed roughly as I let that sink in. “We’re free.”
“We are.” Reid led me over to the couch and gently pushed me down onto it.
“Bree.”
I looked up as Wesley walked over and crouched down in front of me.
Neither of us said a word for a moment. We simply stared at each other, showing every emotion in our eyes. His screamed at me, showing me his guilt, his relief, his pity.
“I thought you’d turned on me,” I said quietly. “When you showed up outside, I was sure that you’d changed your mind about me.”
His eyes held so much sorrow in them. “Bree, I would never turn my back on you. You’re my life. I’m sorry if I made you doubt me. He found you before I could figure out what to do. I only came with him so that I could protect you.”
I burst into tears. “I’m so sorry you had to kill him.”
“I’m glad I was the one who ended up doing it. You could never have lived with yourself if it were you.”
“And you can live with yourself?” I asked through my sobs. “You’ve been forced to do things that you never should’ve had to do because you were trying to protect me.”
“I would do them all again, Bree, if it meant protecting you.”
“But why?” I asked. “What gives me the right to expect those things from you?”
Wesley opened his mouth, but he clamped it shut when Reid cleared his throat. For a moment, I’d forgotten that he was sitting next to me.
“What do we do now?” Reid asked.
“We burn this place down and get out of here,” Wesley said.
“Burn it down?” Reid practically shouted. “We can’t! I know the man who owns this place.”
Wesley rose to his feet and glared at Reid. “Fine. Let’s just dump the body in the woods and wipe up the blood, hoping no one notices anything. But if they do, then it will be your ass that lands in jail. You’ve been here for a few days. How many fingerprints do you think you’ve left behind?”
“He’s right, Reid. We have to get rid of the evidence, or we’ll end up on the run again,” I said.
Reid cursed but said nothing else.
“Come on, let’s get your things packed,” Wesley said. “Reid, you do the same. We need to leave this place as soon as we can.”
I stood and walked back to the bedroom. “I’ll get the bedroom and bathroom. You grab anything we’ll need from in here, Reid.”
“All right,” he said, sounding resigned.
Wesley followed me back to the bedroom. I glanced back at him as I picked up my bag off the floor next to the dresser. He wasn’t looking at me though. His eyes were glued to the bed.
“Have you slept with him since you came here?” he asked.
I froze. “What?”
“There’s one bed and no blankets on the couch. I’m going to assume you two shared a bed, right?”
“Yeah,” I said as I forced my feet to move again. I walked to the bed and dropped my bag down onto it. I returned to the dresser and started pulling some of the things I’d unpacked.
“But did you have sex with him as well?”
“Why would you ask me something like that?”
“Because I need to know whether or not I should go out there and shoot him.”
“Wes, stop,” I said firmly. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
He stepped closer to me and grabbed my arm to stop me from moving away. “I had to watch him kiss you only a few minutes ago. Excuse me if I’m feeling a little territorial toward you. I asked you not to make any final decisions until all of this was over. You promised. Did you lie to me?”
“I didn’t lie,” I said as I pulled my arm away from him.
“Then, I still have a chance,” he said, sounding relieved.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Right
now, I don’t know where I’ll be in an hour, let alone a month or even a year from now. Please, Wes, just give me space.”
Neither of us spoke again as I threw my clothes and Reid’s into our bags. I made sure to get everything before walking to the bathroom and collecting our things from in there as well. Once it was all packed up, Wesley and I carried the bags into the main room and set them by the door. I made sure to avoid walking anywhere near my father’s body.
Reid grabbed a few garbage bags he’d thrown our food into and carried them over. “This is everything from in here.”
“Help me carry them to the car,” I said as I picked the bags back up. “Wes…do your thing.”
Reid shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m actually letting you guys torch this place.”
Wesley smirked at him. “You’re not letting me do anything. But, by all means, try to stop me.”
Reid glared at him and took a step forward. “You’d just love that, wouldn’t you? I’ve seen the way you look at me. You’re just looking for an excuse.”
“Enough!” I shouted at both of them. “We don’t have time for this right now.”
Reid was the first one to back down. He gave Wesley one last glare before moving his eyes to me. “I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “Let’s go.”
“Put everything in my SUV. It’s parked at the bottom of the hill. I’ll meet you there in a moment.”
Reid and I grabbed the bags and carried them out of the cabin. I stopped for a moment and turned back to look at where my father’s body was lying. I would never see him again. He’d burn with the cabin and be nothing more than a distant memory. I was ashamed at the relief I felt over that. I closed my eyes and said a silent good-bye to him before turning back around.
Reid and I walked side by side down the hill to where a dark SUV was parked. I opened the back hatch and tossed my two bags in before moving aside so that Reid could do the same.
“Want to tell me what’s going on with Wes?” Reid asked.
I closed the hatch. “What do you mean?” I asked.
“The guy looks at me like he wants to tear me apart,” Reid said. “I know you’ve noticed, too. Is he always like that? Or is there something more?”
The Consequences of Sin Page 18
