Page 68 of Of Blood and Smoke

I glanced away. “I told you I didn’t feel that way for you, I told you a hundred times. You’re the one who insisted on us still being friends.” I looked back up at him, wincing at the hurt in his eyes. I never meant to do that to him. “I didn’t want to hurt you, and you know that.”

“He’s going to kill you. You don’t know some of the stuff I know. I’ve seen... You know that guy, Vincent?” Brett laughed under his breath and shook his head. “You should meet Alexander.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who’s Alexander? I never met Vincent.”

I thought for a moment. “Wait, oh yeah, that was his house.” The house I almost burned down a few years back. Brett had assured me he took care of all that.

I’d paid him back as best I could, however I could. There was nothing I could do about Brett paying part of my dad’s care and everything else he’d done for me—I’d never asked for his help. At the time, I’d been so desperate I’d allowed it and honestly,I didn’t know if I’d have made it without assistance. But things had changed, and I could take care of myself.

Brett nodded. “Uh-huh. Vincent’s house. You knew that.” He grabbed my upper arm, his tightening grip bruising my skin.

“Ouch, let go,” I cried out, but he didn’t remove his hand. “What are you doing? Where are you taking me?”

“Away from these psychos until you see reason. Fuck your job.”

This was a side of Brett I’d never seen before. “This isn’t you, Brett. If you care about me at all, you won’t do this.”

He stopped and pushed me against the wall before he pressed against me. “It's because I care that I’m doing this. I love you Della, and I’ve warned you a hundred times.”

“This isn’t love. If you loved me, you wouldn’t be doing this. What are you going to do?” He must have some kind of plan; he wouldn’t have risked dragging me into the back if he didn’t have some type of master plan.

I heard the clink of metal and then felt the cool steel before I realized what he’d done. He’d handcuffed himself to me. “What the hell, get this off me. Now, Brett.”

He ignored me and held me by the chain between the bracelets and brought us further down the hallway. A set of doors sat at the end, and they opened. Dragging my heels did nothing but force me to roughly skate across the smooth floor. Every couple of feet, the bottom of my shoes caught on a seam in the linoleum of the service hallway. My wrists were turning red and beginning to burn.

“Please, stop. Please. You know I love you—just not like that,” I pleaded with him, starting to cry. This was a nightmare. I did care about Brett but the man who’d restrained me wasn’t the man I thought I knew.

He whirled around. “You’re so gullible. He’s just using you; you’re cattle to him. Pretty, innocent, cattle. That’s the onlyreason he wants you. You sit there in the office,available, and you have no one. You’re the perfect victim for a predator.”

“That’s...that’s not true.”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Why do you think Christina hates you so much? You’re her replacement. She’s used up, dried out. Lost the appeal, so he moved on. She tells me everything.”

That couldn’t be true... Could it?

Brett’s chin dipped up and down. “Uh-huh. Making sense now, isn’t it. You’re putting the pieces together. I knew you were smarter than you look.”

I heard the rumble of an engine echoing in the narrow space between the buildings but all I could think about was Christina’s animosity toward me as soon as I was installed at Ipomoea. Josiah had never given me the impression he’d had a thing for her, but he was also discreet with his personal life. And I had no right to complain or be jealous of any woman that came before me.

We were just before the exit, and I was running out of time.

Brett halted before taking us through the opening. “Do you care about Ashley?” My back stiffened and my eyes snapped up. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to come willingly and not put up a fight if you care about your best friend.”

He held up his cellphone. “One call to Andy and,” he let go of my chain and snapped his fingers, “she’s done. Just like that.”

I heard a van door sliding open. “We’re going to Vincent’s and you’re going to stay there with me until you forget all about your boss. When you calm down, we’ll have fun, just hang out. I’ll get us take-out, we’ll watch movies. Just like old times.”

I still owed Vincent money. He was taking me right into the lion’s den. There would never be any way to pay him off, and I’d been a fool to hang out with Brett, no matter how nice he’d been. With everything else in my life being so hard, I’d taken the easy way out, spending time with Brett and getting laid in exchange.I’d mistakenly thought I was in charge of the situation by being his friend.

It’d been fun but I’d been lying to myself. It’d seemed harmless, it seemed like I’d have slept with him anyway. It’d been him, Ashley, and Andy for a long time, the four of us hanging out as friends, coupled-up. Wehadbeen friends, right?

It was real, wasn’t it? It never really felt like an obligation, except for the rare moments Brett had gotten jealous. But we’d always talked it out and he’d seemed okay, and everything would go back to normal. Even Ashley thought he was cool. My dad, too, thought Brett was great and that we were all one big happy family.

For God’s sake, Brett even visited my dad regularly.

When did Brett become such a psychopath?

Tears were streaming down my face as he helped me into the van. Two homeless-looking people sat on one end in the back, by the rear doors, clothed in rags or dirty sheets. I glanced at him and then back at the duo, and at him again. He wiggled his eyebrows.

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