Page 129 of Bound By Words

“Bradley Harrison the third died when my grandfather died,” Trent growled. He yanked me backward, spinning me around and slamming my head against the wall behind me as he roughly grasped my neck. “At least, I’m sure my siblings thought he did. I haven’t heard from them in years, not that they gave a shit to begin with.”

Trent pressed his hand harder against my neck, and I gasped for air, my hands clinging to his, but he didn’t release me. “I legally changed my name to my middle and mother’s last name, trying to get as far away from the family that resented my existence almost as much as I do theirs. I didn’t ask to come from that man. And he killed my mother. Your precious Nathan looks just like that fucker.”

I couldn’t speak as he held me captive, my head pressed tightly back into the concrete wall of the stairwell.

“But I’m not here to tell you my sob story. Since I know you’ll only believe his side anyway. Did he tell you his mother refused to adopt me?”

He dropped his hand, slapping his palms on the wall on either side of my head. I took in a shaky breath, my fingers touching the tender skin of my throat. “She was mentally ill.”

“No, she abandoned me, an innocent two-year-old, just like my parents,” he hissed. “She was a selfish bitch. Which is why her husband fucking cheated on her to begin with.”

“But your grand…”

“My grandfather was a workaholic who tried to use what time he didn’t dump me in daycare to turn me into my father. My father was a dick, so you can see how well that turned out.”

While his tone was menacing, the underlying pain made me feel a shred of pity for him. Their father’s actions had left some deep scars on Nathan and Bradley—Trent, whatever identity he was going with.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re targeting me. I didn’t do anything to you.”

“Didn’t you?” He chuckled darkly, picking up a strand of my hair and rubbing it between his fingers. “I seem to recall someone refusing to sit next to me in staff meetings and turning me down when I offered to buy you a friendly drink after team-building exercises.”

“You’ve always been terrible to me,” I insisted, but he narrowed his eyes, and I pinched my mouth closed.

“No, I was terrible to you after you decided I was beneath you. Didn’t stop you from fucking my dirty construction worker brother, though. So maybe you only spread your legs for men like that.”

“Men like what?” I frowned.

“Who charm women with false promises and don’t care who they fuck over. He not only looks like our father. He acts like him too.”

Shaking my head, I clenched my jaw, gritting, “Nathan is a good man.”

“A good man that abandoned his pregnant girlfriend,” Trent scoffed.

“She’s not his girlfriend,” I countered. I knew they’d been in a dynamic until February, but they hadn’t been together romantically in months. “And that isn’t his baby.”

“Could have fooled me,” he grinned, turning the phone in my direction. It was a photo from the other night that I hadn’t seen. It was grainy like it’d been taken through a window. Marisa was cupping Nathan’s cheek, and her hand grasped his elbow, her large belly pressing into his stomach.

“I was there too. They aren’t together.” I’d been with Talia in the other room, but Nathan had only talked to Marisa privately for a few moments.

“Hmm. Our father told my mother all kinds of lies, too,” he remarked darkly. “And she died because she believed him.” He stared at the wall above my head, my trembling form still cowering away from him.

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” I said softly, but it only made him angrier.

“You think I want your fucking pity?” Trent growled as he grasped the hair at the back of my head and yanked, causing me to cry out.

“Why are you doing this?” I whispered as tears formed in the corners of my eyes. “I didn’t do anything to you. Just because I wasn’t attracted to you doesn’t give you the right to threaten and attack me. I don’t owe you anything.”

“Because his father took something from me. So now I’m going to take something from him.”

“Please stop,” I whispered, my tears finally spilling over.

“Oh, what’s the matter, Kelly? Do I not pull your hair the way he does? Don’t worry, I don’t fuck like he does either, but you clearly like it rough.” Trent taunted as he yanked my hair harder, using it to turn me toward the door leading back into the parking garage.

NATHAN

Connecticut

It had taken me most of a day to start clearing out the debris that’d blown into the workshop from the smashed-in garage door. Nothing was seriously damaged besides some tools carelessly thrown around my workspace. My security system and cameras would need to be replaced because of the two-by-four taken to them before the video feed cut, but overall, it could have been much worse.

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