Page 55 of Save Me

My dad's jaw pulses again, white-hot anger blazing in his eyes. "They planted a fucking bug in the house. They've known where she is the whole time."

"Jesus Christ," Brantley mutters.

"A few of Cormac's brothers are on the way to help clean up the mess." Dad runs a weary hand down his face. "They should be here in a few hours. In the meantime, nothing gets said in the house that you don't want them to hear."

"So they're listening?" Brantley asks, glancing at my dad. There's something in his eyes…fury, I think.

My dad jerks his chin in a nod.

Brantley releases me and strides toward the house, his shoulders set.

"Where the fuck is he going?" my dad asks.

"He was going to pay them what Bellamy owed them," I whisper. "All they had to do was leave Bella alone."

Surprise flares in my dad's eyes before he takes off after Brantley. My mom and I watch until they disappear inside the house, and then I sigh.

"You okay, baby girl?" she asks, reaching out to squeeze my hand.

I jerk my chin in a nod and then bite my bottom lip. "I'm sorry I worried you guys. I didn't mean to do it. I just…my place is with him. I couldn't go to sleep last night and leave him thinking that we couldn't fix this."

"I know, sweetheart. I figured that was the case."

"You didn't tell Dad?" I ask, surprised.

"You mean tell your father that you ran off in the middle of the night because you've been secretly falling in love with Brantley Hill since the day you met him?" she asks me, one brow arched. "I told him. I didn't have much of a choice after he called in the cavalry behind my back this morning."

I grimace, my shoulders slumping. "I don't want him to hate Brantley. I'm the one who decided to keep it from him."

"You've got a lot to learn about your daddy, sweetheart," she says, patting my hand. "He worries about you because he loves you. But he knows you, too. You and your sister are just like him. You're stubborn to a fault, and you want to do everything on your own. He's frustrated Brantley didn't call him because what happened with Bella scared the crap out of him. But he doesn't hate him."

"He might." I swallow. "Um, we got married this morning."

My mom's eyes widen. "You got married?"

I bob my head in a nod. "Please don't be mad that you weren't there. I didn't want it to be this big overwhelming thing. I just wanted it to be about us." My throat burns with emotion. "Weneededit to be just the two of us."

"Sweetheart, I'm not mad." My mom wraps her arms around me. "When we got married, it was just the two of us and you girls. That's what we wanted too."

"Dad is going to be so mad."

"He might surprise you, Isla. He's taken the news of you and Brantley very well, all things considered."

"Really?"

She nods. "He's disappointed you felt like you needed to keep it from him. That's something the two of you need to discuss. But he's not angry." She taps me on the nose, smiling. "He knows more than you think he does, you know. He's smart like that."

"I should go talk to him."

"Yeah, you should."

I nod, inhaling a deep breath. Ready to fight for Brantley and what I want, even if it means fighting my father. I send up a prayer that it doesn't come to that—that my mom is right and he's willing to give Brantley the chance he deserves—and then I stride toward the house.

Chapter Thirteen

Brantley

Istep over the threshold into the Sterling mansion, pissed beyond measure. Alton Jackson is a lying fucking asshole. He sent his people after Isla's sister even after promising he wouldn't? Fuck that.

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