Kane

by Douglas, Cheryl

  I gaped as Kane moved into my line of sight. He was standing in the doorway, pizza box in hand. I didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, but I hadn’t heard the elevator a second time, which meant he’d heard it all. He knew I’d been keeping the truth from him.

  “You need to go,” I whispered to Brendan. “Right now.”

  He turned slowly to face Kane, obviously sensing his presence. “Well, well. We meet again.”

  Kane didn’t show a flicker of emotion as he set the pizza box on the console table before propping a stack of flat boxes against the wall. “Let me get this straight,” he said, his voice deceptively quiet. “You drove your car off the road on purpose? You were trying to kill yourself and Macy?”

  “If I couldn’t have her, I sure as hell didn’t want you to have her.”

  Kane looked at me, and I saw the hurt and disappointment in his eyes. He wanted to know why I hadn’t trusted him enough to be honest with him, why I’d tried to protect my ex after he’d almost cost me my life. I had no reasonable answer, no way of making him understand why I’d chosen to remain silent.

  “So you’d rather die than move on?” Kane asked, giving Brendan a thorough once-over. “You do realize how pathetic that sounds, don’t you?”

  Brendan raised a shoulder. “You think I give a goddamn what you think of me? The only person whose opinion has ever mattered to me is Macy. Now that you stole her—”

  “Macy was done with you long before she hooked up with me, man. If you want to blame someone for what happened to your relationship, try looking in the mirror.”

  I listened to the exchange, knowing they were both dangerously close to the edge. I couldn’t see any evidence that Brendan had a weapon and I’d never known him to own or use one, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

  “You need to go, Brendan,” I said, walking around him to the door. “Now. Or I swear I will call the police.”

  “Something you should have done a long time ago,” Kane said, his eyes trained on me.

  Brendan paused in front of me, and I felt the tension in the room closing in on me. Kane’s eyes bore into his back, getting ready to strike if he made one wrong move.

  “Despite what you think, I am sorry it had to go down this way,” Brendan said.

  “It didn’t have to,” I said, looking him in the eye. “We could have gone on being friends, even collaborating. You were the one who made that impossible.” As soon as he stepped into the hall, I closed and locked the door before sinking against it. “I’m so sorry you had to walk in on that.”

  He stared at me as though he was seeing me for the first time. “You were trying to protect him. That’s why you didn’t tell me the truth about the accident.”

  I stepped toward him, and he raised his hand to keep me at arm’s length, just as I had done to Brendan. My heart sank. I was losing him. I could see it in his eyes. “No, I didn’t tell you because I was scared. I didn’t know how you’d react. I was worried you might track him down and—”

  “You just said you knew there was a chance I’d insist you turn him in.”

  Ah, so he had heard everything. “I know this doesn’t make any sense to you. Honestly, it doesn’t make much sense to me either. But I can’t put him in jail. I know that’s where you think he belongs, but I know him, Kane. He’s not a bad guy.”

  “He tried to kill you,” he said incredulously. “Are you even listening to yourself right now? You’re defending a guy who nearly succeeded in ending your life. All because he was jealous you’d found someone else. He’s a criminal, Macy.” Thrusting a finger at the closed door, he said, “And you let him walk out of here. How could you do that?”

  “I don’t know.” My voice was weak as my eyes hit the floor. “But it’s not for the reasons you think.”

  “You’re still in love with him. You have to be. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “No!” My voice trembled as the fear of losing him gave me a sense of how Brendan must have felt when I told him it was over. If this was Karma, I was in trouble, because nothing Brendan could have said would have changed my mind, and I feared Kane may be thinking the same way. “Please, just give me a chance to make you understand.”

  “I’ll never understand,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll never understand how you could let a man who tried to kill you walk free.” He clutched his chest. “I’ve spent my life trying to keep criminals off the street. I’ve responded to more domestic violence calls than I can count. I’ve heard too many women make excuses for men who hurt them. I’ll be damned if I’ll stand here and listen to you make excuses for him.”

  “Where are you going?” I asked, grabbing his arm when he walked past me. I wanted to hold him and never let go, but I knew that wasn’t possible. Especially since he already had one foot out the door.

  He reached into his coat pocket and extracted his key ring. Taking the key fob for his truck off, he said, “You drive the truck home. I’ll catch a flight.”

  “Please don’t go,” I pleaded. “Stay here. Let’s talk about this.”

  “I need time,” he said, his blue eyes shrouded in pain. “To make sense of this, to try to figure out what it means, where we go from here.”

  I gripped his hand as tears gathered in my eyes. “I know you don’t believe this, but I love you. So much. I don’t want this to destroy us.”

  “Honesty’s a deal breaker for me, Macy. Not only did you lie to protect your ex-boyfriend, who you may still be in love with—”

  “I’m not. And I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you everything.”

  He rolled his eyes. “A lie by omission is still a lie.”

  He had me there. “The only person he hurt was me. Shouldn’t it be up to me to decide how he’s punished?”

  “But that’s just it—he’s not being punished at all.”

  “Isn’t he?” I asked, cocking my head as I looked at him. “I’m married to you now. I’ve refused to work with him again. Life as he knew it is over. Isn’t that punishment enough?”

  He ripped his hand free from mine, reaching for the door. “No, not by a long shot.”

  ***

  I invited Courtney to share the pizza with me because I couldn’t stand to be alone with my thoughts.

  “I feel terrible. If I’d known what Brendan was capable of, I never would have tipped him off that you were here,” she said before taking a bite out of her second slice.

  “It’s not your fault,” I said, touching her shoulder. “You didn’t know, hon.”

  “What happens now?” she asked, wide-eyed. “Between you and Kane?”

  I’d already told her we’d had it out and Kane was headed back to Nashville on his own. “I don’t know.” I dropped my half-eaten first piece back onto the paper plate. “I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to do with all this stuff.” I gestured to the packed boxes around us. “I guess there’s always my parents’ attic.”

  Kane had spent two of his last few days off clearing out space for my things. Now he’d be left with a bunch of empty shelves to remind him how much of a mistake marrying me had been.

  “You’re going to go talk to Kane when you get back though, right?”

  “Of course, I have his truck.” Kane had a vintage muscle car his brother Seb had restored for him a few years ago, so at least he wouldn’t be without wheels while I was driving back.

  “You still going to have the rest of the stuff shipped?” Courtney asked, looking miserable on my behalf. “If you’re not sure, I can get it sent to a storage facility until you decide.”

  Nashville had felt like home for a long time, but I had no interest in living here if it meant I’d constantly be looking over my shoulder. “Do you think I was wrong? Not to go to the police about the accident?”

  “That’s for you to answer,” Courtney said, shaking her head. “I learned the hard way not to try to put myself in someone else’s shoes.”

  If only someone could teach my well-meaning fa
mily that lesson. If my parents ever found out the truth about the accident, they’d be all over me to talk to the police.

  “If that’s a deal breaker for Kane, will you do it?” Courtney asked, reaching for her Diet Coke. “I mean, if he gives you an ultimatum, will you cave?”

  I’d never thought of myself as the type of person who would bend to someone else’s will, but Kane was my husband and I knew he only had my best interests in mind. As my sister always said, good relationships are built on compromise. “I don’t know. I have a lot of thinking to do, I guess.” Thankfully I’d have ten and a half hours to do it. I hoped by the time I reached Tampa, my path would be a lot clearer.

  “What about your music? I know how much that means to you.”

  “You know what they say, where there’s a will, there’s a way. I still have the desire to make music, so I will. I’m not sure anyone will want to buy it, but that won’t stop me from making it. I have to. It’s a part of me.”

  “Will it be hard for you to stay in Tampa if things don’t work out with Kane?”

  “Tampa’s my home too. Even if things don’t work, I’m sure we’ll find a way to co-exist. We have to, right? For Riley and Brody’s sake.”

  Courtney became teary-eyed. “I know I’ve said this before, but I’m really going to miss you. It’s not easy for me to make girlfriends, and you and I hit it off right away.”

  I grabbed her hand. “Hey, we’ll stay in touch, I promise. There’s always FaceTime, right?”

  She giggled as she pulled me in for a one-armed hug. “Thank God for that.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kane

  Standing on Brody’s doorstep, I glared at my sister-in-law. “Did you know?”

  Riley stepped back, gripping the doorknob. She looked slightly paler than she had when she’d opened the door with a welcoming smile. “Know what?”

  Brody came up behind his fiancée, grinning. “Hey man, I thought you were going to Nashville with Macy. What’re you doing here?” He frowned when he saw my car in the driveway. “Where’s Macy?”

  “She’s still in Nashville.”

  Riley winced as though she’d half-expected that response. “Is she all right?”

  “What the hell is going on?” Brody asked, setting his hands on his hips as he looked back and forth between us. “Why do I get the feeling you two are hiding something?”

  “I’m not hiding anything,” I said, eyeing Riley as she shot me a pleading look. “Too bad I can’t say the same for your fiancée and my wife.” There was no doubt in my mind that Macy had told her sister the truth while choosing to keep me in the dark.

  “Ri, what’s he talking about?” Brody asked as he turned her to face him.

  “It wasn’t my secret to tell,” she said, sighing. “For what it’s worth, I encouraged her to tell you the truth, Kane.”

  I slammed the door behind me and crossed my arms. “Why didn’t you come to me? It’s my job to protect people. Your sister could be in real danger. Don’t you think I had a right to know, so that I can protect her and myself if this guy comes after her again?”

  Brody let his hands fall to his sides. “Would someone please tell me what the hell you’re talking about?”

  I gestured to Brody when Riley looked to me. “He’s your fiancé. You tell him.”

  She grabbed Brody’s hands, looking into his eyes. “You have to believe me, I hate keeping secrets from you.”

  Looking frustrated and anxious, he said, “Just tell me, Riley.”

  “The car accident that almost took my sister’s life wasn’t an accident at all. Brendan purposely drove off the road. He was trying to kill Macy and himself.”

  “What?” Brody staggered back, obviously stunned. “Why?”

  “Because he’s twisted,” I spit, still trying to come to terms with the rage I felt toward that man. If he was behind bars where he belonged, I could let it go, knowing he would get what he deserved, but the fact that he was still walking free, thanks to Macy, made me crazy.

  “If he couldn’t have Macy, he didn’t want anyone else to have her either.” Riley released a shuddering breath. “I guess the way he saw it, he was not only losing her but his career too. He had nothing left to live for.”

  “I don’t believe this.” Brody turned in a slow circle, his hands clasped behind his head. “Do you believe this shit?” he asked me.

  “I’ve seen and heard it all before,” I said, still trying to control my temper. “Nothing surprises me anymore. What I can’t believe is that not only did Macy keep this from me, but Riley did too.” When she turned hurt eyes on me, I asked, “What the hell were you thinking? You had to know that I’d want to protect her.”

  “I know you’re hurt and angry and confused,” Riley said, curling her hand around my forearm. “But try to see this from my perspective. I almost lost my sister. She confided in me because she knew she could trust me—”

  “And apparently she didn’t feel she could trust me.” That may be the thing that hurt the most, knowing she didn’t believe in me or what we had enough to be honest with me. “I get it.”

  “No, you don’t get it.” Riley hooked her arm around mine and led me into the living room.

  Brody followed, still looking dumbfounded by the news that someone had tried to kill his sister-in-law.

  “Macy’s always been a free-spirit, Kane. She’s fiercely independent.” She sat on the couch, inviting me to sit on the chair.

  But I remained standing, staring at her as I waited for the excuses I knew would come pouring out of her mouth. But no matter what she said, I wasn’t sure I could live with the lies and secrecy. If Macy had been dishonest with me once, would she do it again? Could I really trust her?

  “When my parents wanted her to go to college and follow the safe path, she told them it was her life and she was going to do what she wanted to do. She wanted to forge her own path,” Riley explained. “She knew how hard it was to make it in the music business. She was fully prepared to try and fail.”

  “I don’t see what any of this has to do with her crazy ex,” I said. “Or why she lied to me about what happened that day.”

  “Did she?” Riley asked, watching me carefully. “Did she lie to you about what happened? Or did you just assume it would be too painful for her to talk about the accident, so you didn’t ask?”

  “I shouldn’t have had to ask!” I threw my hands in the air, frustrated she was trying to turn this around and make it my fault. “Someone tried to kill her. I’m a cop—”

  “Maybe that’s why she didn’t tell you,” Riley suggested softly.

  “Come on, Ri,” Brody said, sitting beside her. “That’s not fair.”

  “I’m not saying she was right to keep it from him,” Riley said, resting her hand on Brody’s leg. “I encouraged her to tell him the truth. Believe me, when I found out the truth I was as scared for her as you are now.”

  “Does anyone else know?” I asked, ignoring the implication that my job was the reason for my wife’s dishonesty. “Your parents, maybe?”

  Riley shook her head emphatically. “No way. She would never tell them. You know how crazy they can get.”

  As far as I was concerned, their craziness would have been justified in this case. Staring at Riley, I shook my head, grappling with my disgust. “I don’t think you or your sister understand how serious this is. I’ve spent my entire career watching women underestimate the depravity of their ex-husbands or boyfriends, only to wind up wearing a toe tag.”

  Brody drew Riley into his side when she shivered. “Come on, man,” he said, frowning at me. “I get that you’re upset, and I get why, but don’t take it out on Riley.”

  “You’re right. I should have taken it out on that loser behind the wheel when I saw him.”

  “You saw Brendan?” Riley asked, wide-eyed. “When? Where? He didn’t come to your place, did he?”

  “No, he went to Macy’s while we were in Nashville.”

  “You d
idn’t leave her alone with him, did you?” Riley asked, curling her hand around her neck. “We both know she’s not safe with him.”

  I refused to feel guilty for walking out on her. Any guy in my position would have done the same thing. “She was so sure she could handle him. Isn’t that why she decided not to involve the police? Or was there another reason?”

  “What are you talking about?” Riley asked, sinking into Brody. “What other reason could there be?”

  “Maybe she’s still in love with him.” Just saying those words cut me to the core, but that was the only thing that explained her actions. “Why else would she let him walk after he tried to kill her?”

  “You really believe that?” Riley rolled her eyes. “Then you don’t know my sister at all.”

  She might be right, because the woman I thought I knew would never let someone get away with what Brendan did to her. “She wouldn’t be the first woman to let a guy walk away scot-free after hurting her. I see it every day. You know how many times I’ve tried to talk a scared woman into testifying against the man who assaulted her?”

  The ones who got killed were the cases that still haunted me. I always did my part, stayed back to try to talk some sense into the victim and offered to take her to a shelter or to stay with family, but they claimed they had to stay. The next call we got was to report a homicide, and the assault victim was now the deceased.

  “Macy may not want me, and that’s fine. I just don’t want you to get a call from the cops in the middle of the night, telling you that your sister is dead.” Riley paled, and I felt my whole body tremble as I gripped the back of the chair in front of me. “That would destroy your family.”

  “It would destroy you too,” Riley whispered. “Admit it.”

  Brody and I shared a look. He knew his fiancée was right. I’d never recover from losing Macy like that. If she left because she didn’t love me or didn’t believe we could make it work, that was one thing, but I couldn’t lose her to a madman. That would do me in.