Page 95 of Proof

CHAPTER 28

Jj

“It’s a mistake,” Cass repeated for what had to be the tenth time. He was pacing in my brother’s office, his expression ping-ponging between confusion and denial. Sully was on his second scotch, his eyes shifting from Cass to the bruises on my throat and face. I’d chosen to wear long sleeves so there would be one less bruise for both men to have to look at.

After the incident at the houseboat, I’d called Sully to let him know we were heading to his office. My brother had been waiting outside the building for us. Cass had been closer to him, so Sully had hugged him first, not noticing how on edge he was. I’d been next. My brother had been so relieved to see me that he hadn’t noticed the red marks on my face and throat, or the small butterfly bandages on my left temple.

Sully’s bear hug had both warmed me and left me carrying a lot of guilt. I’d whispered the words “I’m sorry” to him, but he’d surprised me by telling me not to be sorry because I’d done what I’d needed to do.

The implication that Sully was finally accepting the fact that I no longer needed to be taken care of had been short-lived when he’d seen my injuries. I’d told him it wasn’t importantwho’d given them to me, but Overprotective Sully had instantly reappeared, and the moment he’d looked at Cass only to have Cass look away from both of us, my big brother had known.

I’d known I wouldn’t be able to physically hold on to Sully so I could explain everything, so I’d resorted to using a few tactical moves on my brother that hadn’t actually hurt him but that had gotten his attention, nonetheless. It hadn’t hurt that the young man who worked as my brother’s assistant had noticed the scuffle from his desk in the lobby and had called for reinforcements.

Since I knew how ashamed Cass felt for what he’d unintentionally done to me, I’d also known that he wouldn’t have defended himself from Sully’s attack. So I’d been glad when a few of Sully’s own men had exited the building. Boone had been among them and when I’d given him a quick nod in Cass’s direction, the imposing man had understood my message, and he and the other guys had formed a protective barrier between Sully and Cass.

When my brother had finally promised me to keep his trap shut and his fists at his side, we’d gone up to Sully’s office. Boone was lingering outside the open door in case of a scuffle, a move that I was grateful for. Knowing I had someone at my back allowed me to focus entirely on Cass. So far, Sully was keeping his promise, but without the information he needed, the unknown was causing him to reach for the scotch he kept on his desk. Luckily, he was leaving a significant amount of time between drinks. The last thing I needed wasDrunkOverprotective Sully.

Before I could say anything, there were a couple of knocks on the open door. All three of us looked at Boone only to see Mikey, my brother’s assistant, enter the room.

“I’m sorry for the intrusion but I thought you guys might need some water and a few snacks while you talked,” the youngman said crisply. Mikey moved quickly and efficiently as he set several bottles of water on Sully’s desk along with some sandwiches that looked freshly made. He also took a few cans of soda out of the bag everything had been in.

The tension in the room was heavy and the absolute silence was unexpected. The fact that, for once, none of it appeared to have anything to do with me and Cass was unbelievable. My brother’s frigid expression as he stared at Mikey didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me was the fact that Mikey didn’t cringe or scurry away because of the scowl that had become Sully’s resting face at some point in his life.

“Thank you,” I said to Mikey.

“No problem,” he returned. He seemed pained, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of what had happened outside or if something else was troubling him. I expected Mikey to leave as quickly and silently as he’d come but to my disbelief, he walked around Sully’s desk and just as my brother lifted what would have been his third drink, Mikey plucked the glass from his thick fingers. Then, without a single word, he grabbed the bottle of scotch with his other hand and walked out of the office.

I turned to look at Sully only to see a bemused smile on his face. The second he saw me watching him, his scowl returned.

“Cass,” I said as I reached for one of the bottles of water. “Baby, come sit down. You haven’t slept or eaten, and we need you to help us talk through all this.” Cass was still pacing and seemed out of it, so I gently reached out to grab his fingers as he walked past me. The move had him stopping in his tracks. He looked at me, then Sully. It was like he was seeing us for the first time.

“Cass,” I repeated. “Please.” I nodded to the chair next to mine. I’d already turned it and the one I was sitting in so he and I would mostly be looking at each other as we spoke. He’d havea clear view of the open door, but he’d have to turn his head to look at Sully.

Which I figured was a good thing.

Cass released my fingers, but to my relief, he sat down in the chair. One leg was tapping nonstop, and his fingers kept flexing into fists. I opened the bottle of water for him. He took it without argument and drank down several gulps even as his free hand remained locked in a fist and the foot tapping continued.

“Let’s start from the beginning,” I said, touching Cass’s knee in the process so he’d focus on me. Cass looked at me and then around the room. He closed his eyes and pulled in several deep breaths. I couldn’t help but wonder how many times he’d had to do the same move in order to remain calm in his prison cell.

After his break from reality on the houseboat, we’d spent the remainder of the day getting cleaned up and then going to sleep. I hadn’t gotten much sleep but thankfully, Cass had been out all night. As soon as he’d woken up, his brain had gone back into overdrive. He’d been so inside his head that he’d allowed me to drive his car to the office.

When he opened his eyes and looked at me, I began with, “The first time you went to see your grandmother, did it take as long to get past the guard at the gate as it did when you and I went?”

Cass was quiet for a moment before he nodded. “The guard working that day was the same one as today. Owen. He’s been working for the family for around twenty years, I think. That first time, hedidrecognize me before he asked to see my ID. I guess he would’ve had to have been living under a rock to not know who I was.” He’d relaxed his hands, but only so he could pick at the small cuts on his knuckles. Since he hadn’t punched me during his attack, I had to assume he’d taken his rage out on something on the boat before he’d sought out the corner of the bedroom.

“But he still made you show him your ID that day.”

“Yes,” Cass said. “It was always standard procedure for visitors.”

“Family too?”

“No,” he responded. “Family members either had an opener for the gate or were waved through.”

“What about whenyou’dvisit your grandmother while you were still in the military?” I asked.

Cass shook his hand. “I don’t understand.” I had his complete attention now.

“When you’d come home when you were on leave, did it take as long to get through the gate as it did today and last week?”

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