Page 136 of Brutal Game

She narrowed her eyes, about to question me more.

Thankfully, the door opened, and my brother Marcus entered, dressed in a bespoke suit.

“Oh, good, you’re alive,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “Nice to see you, too.”

His eyes passed over Aviva, lips quirking. “This must be the girlfriend.”

“Fiancée,” I corrected.

Aviva stared at me. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Never had it in the first place, princess.” I grinned at her.

“You never even proposed to me,” she pointed out.

“Don’t need to. Proposing implies the option of saying no, but you don’t get to say no, remember?”

“Jack—”

“Fiancée,” I repeated to my brother. Changing the subject before she could argue more, I asked, “Why are you here?”

“I have eyes and ears everywhere. I found out what happened, and decided it was a good idea to beat the police here.”

Aviva sat straight up. “The police?”

Marcus nodded. “They aren’t accusing you of anything, but they have questions. Namely, how you both ended up at Hallister Hall during the fire—where the head hockey coach was found dead on scene.”

I swallowed. I’d known he couldn’t have survived, but I hadn’t processed it. I was sad, angry, relieved. But truthfully, the man I had known had died before the fire—when I’d finally accepted who he actually was.

Sensing my mood, Aviva brushed a hand over my cheek, searching my eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

I nodded.

To Marcus I said, “If they need someone to pin it on, pin it on me.”

“Absolutely not,” Aviva protested.

Before I could argue with her, Marcus cleared his throat. “We’re not pinning it on anyone. My lawyer is on her way, and you aren’t saying a word to the police without her.”

Someone knocked on the door.

“Ah, Ilana must be here,” Marcus said.

A moment later, a no-nonsense looking woman entered with a briefcase. “Hello, I’m Ilana Brandeis and I’m yourattorney. Neither of you will say a word to the police without clearing it with me, first, alright? Now, what’s the story?”

Aviva began to speak.

Ilana shook her head. “Do not tell me anything remotely incriminating. I want to know thestory.”

Aviva and I looked at each other, before explaining everything. I didn’t mention Aviva’s tracker, of course—or the fact that I left Josh to die.

I should’ve felt guilty.

I didn’t.

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