Brittany stayed out of Trey’s way the next day, not wanting to see him or talk to him. She wanted nothing to do with him and if he didn’t start divorce proceedings within the next week, she’d talk to Bryson so she could.
Ruffling her hair in the mirror, Brittany frowned and finally faced Trey’s words, from the night before, with unerring honesty.
He was right. Oh she still considered him her knight in shining armor but every knight had tarnish. Otherwise they’d be too perfect. While she was doing her best to do the right thing and keep him safe by keeping her secret, she was destroying everything between them.
She wanted her marriage to survive. Before rushing to divorce her beloved husband, she’d give it one shot by telling him everything on his next day off and see what happened. Fair was fair. If she expected him not to push her away she had to trust him with her last remaining secret.
Fear of Karl’s reprisal and Trey’s fury made her rebel at the idea. Why did she have to tell him when she’d revealed everything else? If Trey couldn’t see they belonged together, then it wasn’t her place to try to convince him otherwise. The love he said he bore for her was just a lie. Or maybe he did love her, he just wasn’t in love with her, as she’d always suspected.
Or maybe he was just the biggest idiot on the face of the earth. A noble idiot who’d risked his life to save his cousin’s girlfriend but an idiot all the same. He’d decided turning away from her was the best thing. Yes he was an idiot.
Karl’s image popped into her head.
She hadn’t seen him since that Sunday when Destiny had revealed so many horrible secrets. Warned her to stop provoking him.
Spoke of his obsession with Brittany. Collateral damage…
A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts.
“What?”
“I need my uniform to get ready for work.”
Thoughts scrambled in her head and she felt faint. Collateral damage. Was Destiny and everyone else Karl’s collateral damage to get to Trey? He’d sent Trey after Destiny.
A sigh sounded from the other side of the door. “I think I have an extra uniform at work.”
“Just a minute.” Brittany marched to the closet and grabbed his clothes. Then she opened the door and smacked his clothes into his arms before slamming the door closed again.
“I want to talk to you.”
The baby kicked and Brittany pressed a hand against her rounded belly. “I have nothing to say to you tonight.”
She was too overwrought and emotional and they wouldn’t be able to finish a conversation since he had to report to duty.
“I need my gun.”
A gun was the last thing she wanted to handle so she opened the door and turned away before Trey could spot her tears and fears.
She went to the window and stared out at the clouds, her hand pressing against her womb where the baby danced inside of her. Curious at the sound of Trey’s movements behind her, she peeked over her shoulder. A towel pooled at his feet and he stood, contemplating the scar on his chest, his penis semi-erect.
Gathering her arms around her waist, she held herself, comforting herself, swearing no one could pull off what had taken place the day of the shooting. Not even someone as conniving and crazy as Karl.
Trey’s handcuffs jingled as he moved his belt and she drew in a sharp breath, glad he was almost dressed and would soon be gone.
“Look at me.”
Her spine stiffened at the sound of his voice, their breakdown of communication unbearable, as much her fault as it was his.
His arms gathered around her, his lips nuzzling her neck, a big hand covering her belly. The baby kicked and Trey pressed his body even closer to hers, his erection huge and hard against her back.
“She’s very active, isn’t she?”
She nodded, holding herself still, not trusting herself to speak.
“Has she been moving like this all day?”
She met his reflection in the window, hoping the weak sunlight and cloud cover hid her tears. Instead of answering, she shrugged.
“I’ll take good care of her.” His fingers brushed the hair at her nape, his breath fanning her ear. “And of you. I just think it’s best—”
“You think?” she repeated, pulling away from him. “Have you ever stopped to consider what I think?”
He started toward her. “Baby girl.
“Don’t call me that. I’m not your baby girl.”
“You’ll always be my baby girl,” he countered.
“Go away. Go to work. Just leave me alone.” Unable to bear looking at him any longer, she fled to the bathroom and stayed there until she knew she was alone.
✽ ✽ ✽
For the next hour, Brittany wrestled with her unsettling conclusions. She tried calling her counselor. Stephanie. Mrs. Wilson. No one answered so that left one person—Spenser. Now that the new year had arrived Spenser intended to lease a small office space so she and Brittany would each have their own work spaces. She needed to discuss a job with Spenser anyway.
This was the last card standing, the one remaining link. If she told Spenser, she doubted the woman would keep the information from Mitchell.
She had to do it. Spenser would point out things Brittany might be overlooking, something to reassure her Karl couldn’t have caused such fantastic damage then pretended such overwhelming grief that he needed sedation.
Pacing up and down, she dialed Spenser’s number.
“I was just thinking about calling you.” Spenser’s good cheer infused her voice.
“I need to talk to you.”
The line went silent and Brittany shivered. “Are you there?”
“What’s wrong, love?”
The weight of Brittany’s confession made her head hurt. It must’ve also filtered through the phone line, judging by the heaviness of her friend’s voice.
“K—” His name stuck in her throat. She still hated to say it because it made her feel so dirty and violated. This was part of the reason she hadn’t been able to tell Trey the last bit. Oh she was scared as hell of Karl. Scared enough to live a lie for the rest of her life. But shame filled her each time she remembered how much she’d liked and trusted Karl. She’d thought of him as another brother.
How foolish and stupid she’d been.
Why hadn’t she been able to see him for the pig he was?
“Brit?”
She swallowed, her hand shaking so badly she almost dropped her cell phone. “Karl,” she croaked. “It was Karl who raped me.”
“Trey’s cousin?”
Brittany closed her eyes at the other woman’s appalled shock. “Yes. The day before Trey’s shooting, Destiny talked to me. Told me all sorts of things,” she whispered. “She warned me not to provoke Karl again. I told him I was going to tell Trey he did it. Trey has always suspected Karl and…and more than that, Bryson seemed to prefer Karl for me over Trey.” She was babbling as usual, thoughts and words all over the place. “Trey dragged Karl away from me and Karl threatened to have his bodyguards defend him. Destiny had never held a conversation with me before that day. She mentioned how Karl enjoyed pain and something about c-collateral damage.”
“Hold on, sweetie. Hold on.”
The line went silent again punctuated by strange little beeps every minute or so. Five minutes later, Spenser returned and drew in a deep breath. “Start over, honey. Take deep breaths and tell me one thing at a time, beginning with Karl being the one who assaulted you.”
“I-I don’t know what to do. He…Karl…I hate saying his name…but even before Destiny warned me not to provoke him I was prepared to keep my secret for the rest of my life just to keep my husband and brother safe. Karl said he would kill them. But she said something about collateral damage and…tell me Karl couldn’t cause so much damage just to get Trey.”
“How did you come to this conclusion?” Spenser’s voice was gentle, as if she spoke to someone on the precipice of insanity.
“I was thinking about Trey and…and his plans to divorce me.”
“His plans to do what?”
“S-Spenser, that’s another conversation. I started thinking about Destiny and just what I told you. Karl was angry to see Destiny talking to me. H-he called us s-sorry bitches.”
“I’m coming over there. You shouldn’t be alone right now and you’re in no condition to drive.”
“You aren’t going to tell Mitch?”
Spenser cleared her throat. “Don’t worry about him right now. Just hang tight.”
Disconnecting the phone and throwing it on the nightstand, Brittany sat on the bed. She’d paced the floor throughout the entire conservation, walking the length of the bedroom several times. Exhausted, she lay back on the bed.
The rain the clouds had been promising all day finally started, lowering her mood even further. The baby was moving again. Though she moved a lot, she became even more active when Brittany was upset.
Brittany heard keys jingling in the locks and the front door opening then closing. Trey had stopped home. Because of this, she’d never used the slide lock or chain lock he’d installed upon her return. Before the shooting, he sometimes stopped home or found his way to Spenser and Mitchell’s house.
The bedroom door creaked fully open and Brittany turned her head. Her heart stopped then began a frantic beat. A scream caught in her throat.
“Hey, Brit.” Karl swept her with a lewd, insulting glare and held up a set of keys she recognized as Bryson’s. “It seems as if our day of reckoning has arrived.”