"How does it feel to breathe, son?" Dad raised his glass with an ecstatic grin. "Like the three-ton elephant has moved off my chest and now just sits on my feet." I answered truthfully and toasted him back."I bet you do. But really, the ceremonies were the most magnificent feat of organization. Absolutely brilliant show, that. Bravo, I say." I guess we could all assume my dad had been thoroughly impressed with the opening ceremonies because he couldn't seem to stop talking about them over our midnight dinner. I just felt immense relief that they had gone off without a hitch.Even if I was exhausted and longed for my bed with Brynne in my arms, I found I was actually enjoying the celebratory evening tonight at Gladstone's. Ivan had got us a reservation somehow, despite the insanity of the city, but then everyone loved Lord Ivan, Britain's golden arrow, with his good looks and cele- brity name. It'd had been a long time since we'd gone out for anything nice to- gether and I knew that D
He left the bed and started dressing throwing on some sweatpants and a shirt."What are you doing?""I have to go outside now," he said weakly."Outside? But it's cold out there. Ethan, stay here with me and talk about this. You have to talk to me!" I begged him.He acted like he didn't even hear me, but I think he did because he came over to where I was sitting up in the bed and touched my head. Very gently and for just a moment, but I felt him shaking. His hand was shaking violently, and he looked so lost. I reached my hand up to take ahold of his but he pulled it away out of my reach. Then he walked out of the bedroom."Ethan!" I called after him. "Where are you going? Come back here and talk to me!"I got silence.I laid there for a moment and tried to decide what to do. Part of me wanted to confront him and force him to share with me, but another part of me was scared to death of doing that. What if I caused him more pain and suffering, or made things worse for him? Ethan needed
I caressed Brynne's photograph in its frame on my desk. The one I'd taken of her with my mobile when she showed me Lady Percival for the first time at the Rothvale. She looked so happy and beautiful. Last night she wasn't happy. No, I'd scared her and then made things worse by sending her away when she tried to reach out to me.... God in heaven, I fucked up with her. I tried to imagine switching places. What if it had been she who had sent me away after a nightmare and refused my comfort? I've been on the receiving end of that before, and it sucked. It had felt awful, just like I'd made her feel.Still, I had been afraid last night of what I might do to her if she touched me any more than she did. The other times I woke up from one of those night- mares? Yeah ... not nice. I'd gone off on fucking tangents literally. Using sex, and Brynne, to level me out to a place where I could come back down from that horrible place I'd found myself in my dreams. She didn't understand how much I wa
"Hey, is everything all right with you two? You look a little worried there, luv."I nodded and began folding up my veil carefully and repacking it. "We are fine. Just some relationship stuff that needs to be aired out." I put my hands on my hips. "But I've got it covered. Men can be so damn stubborn, you know?"Ben laughed at me. "Riiiiight. Just the men. You're talking to the right guy on that topic, Bree. I agree with you completely." Ben winked at me and packed up his equipment. "Come on, beautiful girl, let me get you back home before Blackstone starts looking for you, thinking you've gone on the lam. I take it this is a surprise and he has no idea you're with me, doing this.""Nope. No idea whatsoever. This was a spur-of-the-moment decision and I've kept my phone turned off all morning so he couldn't track me with GPS. I'll turn it back on when I get home and he'll see that I'm safe and sound, and be none the wiser."Ben shook his head at me and looked up at the ceiling."You're
I checked my watch, wishing I could leave Lord's Cricket Ground right now, but I knew I had at least another hour here. Ivan had just finished announcing the archery and the media crew was done with their telecast, but the stands were still being cleared, and I knew that would take some time. I was giving my cousin the personal treatment, the same as I did for members of the royal fam ily, and so far, so good. The men's individual elimination had proved no great surprise, and I could think of nothing I wanted more than to get home to my girl, and back into her good graces. I had some humble pie being served to me this evening and I was good with that.Ivan was making his way over to me when my mobile went off. I hoped it was Brynne. She'd never replied to my text from earlier. I smiled when I saw her name... but I read what she had typed in her message. And then my whole world collapsed.I can't do this anymore with u. Ethan, u killed us last nite. My Old life is what I want back now.
He gripped my chin roughly and pinched, turning me back to him. "Don't think you can play hard to get with me, Brynne," he said in a cruel voice, before he slammed his mouth over mine, his tongue pressing in and trying to invade me.."Karl. I'm pregnant-no, please stop, please!" I begged between gasps for air."Ugh... that bastard's spawn growing inside you is not the nicest thought, my dear, especially when I'm trying to fuck you. You really know how to cock block, you know," he complained, "but fine, have it your way. I can wait."Karl heaved himself off me and leaned on the wall, his eyes roving over body with lust. He adjusted himself at the crotch and sneered at me."Are-are you going to kill me?" I tried not to think about his motives and what would happen if he succeeded. I fought to stay calm and not run. I needed Karl to trust me a little for what I hoped I could manage to do. Not running from him would be the first step."I don't know yet. Maybe I will and maybe I won't." He
My first instinct was to rip the lamp out of the wall and start bashing Karl on the back of the head with it. I don't know how I didn't. I wanted to hurt him, make him suffer in agony for a long, long time before he died. The evil my mind imagined for him was not fit for anyone to ever know. I'd have to keep it buried inside me forever. No problems there.It took some time, but we got there eventually. Karl got bored in our small prison and started texting someone or playing a game. I couldn't tell. That's how I knew he had his phone and where it was. I would have to get it from him at some point and use it to call the only phone number I could remember-the phone number I'd had since my move to London four years ago. I did not know any other numbers by heart but I knew that one.I thought about how I could get to Karl's iPhone. In time I realized the only way was for me to dig deep into my psyche to where I was willing to go all in, as Ethan would say. To bet everything. To carefully
My attempt at killing him had obviously failed, because he now had a sharp blade pressed up against my neck, shocking me with its coldness, forcing me to stop struggling. The disappointment I felt was a bitter pill to swallow, but even worse was the heartbreaking sight of Ethan's face in the twilight. He stood not less than ten yards away from me. So close, but not close enough. Ethan's flat-out run had come to a screeching halt, his arms splayed out in surrender, his head shaking back and forth in a silent plea to Karl not to cut me. This....would be Ethan's undoing. His fear of the blade would propel him into any kind of negotiation to free me. I knew it. Ethan would sacrifice himself to keep me from having my throat slashed. Karl could not have chosen a better trigger for Ethan's fear in all the world.Events and sequences had come together in near-perfect harmony, but near was not enough for my needs right now and wouldn't be until I had her safe in my hands again.My dad had know