Page 38 of Whispers in the Dark

At that moment, Brynn entered the room and noticed the frame. She quickly moved over to right it, and as soon as her hand touched it, I covered hers with my own. She turned to look up at me, and when she did, I could see the guilt in her eyes. This hadn’t been an inadvertent betrayal, but an intentional one.

“You know,” I said in as calm of a voice as I could manage. It was a difficult enough task, and when she didn’t respond, I grabbed her wrist and tightened my grip. “Answer me.”

“What do you want me to say?” she asked.

“Blair. Who in the hell is she to you?” I asked, even though I knew. “And what did she tell you about me?”

Brynn tried to pull her hand from mine, but I held on tightly until I heard a deep growl. I loosened my grip, and she finally broke free. “Blair was my sister.”

“This whole time... She never mentioned a... You fucking knew... She said... I can’t believe this...”

I wasn’t even making a lot of sense to myself, and for once, I could barely even speak. Anger filled me, but there was something else pushing beneath my surface of my sanity. It was pain, and not the same kind that I’d experience when snuffing the life of someone who’d once meant something to me.

I turned and began to pace back and forth. Brynn quickly righted the frame which caught my attention. Picking it back up as soon as she pulled her hand away, I stared down at it. Two beautiful fucking liars were staring up at me. And worse... their eyes seemed to taunt me.

I went to slam the frame back down onto the mantle, but I missed on the timing and it fell to the floor where the glass shattered into pieces. Brynn gasped and the dog growled loudly, but I couldn’t concern myself with either of them right now.

I raked a hand through my hair, and when I pulled it away, I realized how badly it was shaking. As I lifted both of them in front of my face, I saw the trembling in both. I was itching to wrap my hand around Brynn’s pretty throat until I squeezed the lies right out of her. But, I couldn’t.

Lug Nut was getting more irritated as the seconds passed by, and I actually could relate to him in that moment. Turning back to Brynn who was holding onto her dog by his collar, I shook my head in disbelief.

I’d been played.

There was no other explanation. Having spent nearly all of my life needing to stay in control, the batting of her doe eyes stole it from me, and I’d let her. Never had I opened myself to Blair the way I had opened myself to Brynn, and I bet she knew it.

Despite the lack of triumph on her face, I knew she felt it. She’d managed to do with me what her sister never could. If anyone needed to be stopped, I knew it was Brynn. The urge tochoke her where she stood was strong, so I knew I needed to get out of there.

“I don’t know what the hell you thought you were going to accomplish, but it all ends tonight. I don’t want to see you anymore.”

With those words, I turned and strode angrily to the front door. As soon as I placed my hand on the knob, I heard a sob come from her, followed by my name. Closing my eyes to shut her out, I took a quick breath, then reopened them and the door before leaving.

After eventually leaving Brynn’s porch stoop, I returned home and finally lost the thin shred of control I’d managed to hold onto when at her place earlier. At the sight of the Christmas tree in my own space, I tore everything off of it, then left it lying on the floor amidst the destruction. It not only mocked me, but it confirmed how big of a fool I had been for her.

Never had I imagined that Brynn would’ve played a game with me like she had. It’d all been a trap that I fell so easily into. The innocent act... Her playing damsel in distress... Her annoying optimism and cheerfulness... I had actually spent so much time around her that I let all of those things blind me. Blair Carter was her sister, and...

At that moment, I’d realized what a hypocrite I was. I was also a fool. Determined to be neither, I had to figure out exactly how to erase her from my life, but not in the same way that I had gotten rid of her sister.

“Blair,” I’d called out before memories of the submissive’s beaten and bloodied body flashed before my eyes.

The circumstances were always different, yet it always affected me the same. It’d been too difficult to be in my apartment when I still heard Brynn’s laughter and smelled her perfume. Since I’d had a business trip to get ready for anyway,I moved it up and called in the flight plans. Within two hours, I was on the almost twelve hour journey to Japan.

26.Brynn

What the fuck had just happened? My head swung from the front door to the broken photo, and back to the door again. We’d been having such a nice evening and then…

“Then Adrian found out you hadn’t been completely honest with him. But wait a minute…”

My voice trailed off as I replayed the conversation in my head. His reaction didn’t make complete sense to me. On the surface, there was nothing that would indicate I ever knew about Blair’s lifestyle, much less her involvement with Adrian. He certainly didn’t know about the diaries. I hadn’t told anyone about those and was debating even now whether or not I would.

Why, then, had he reacted so strongly at finding out we were sisters?

Before I could consider that further, the dog lunged toward the door, nearly pulling me to the floor. Instinctively, I released the grip on his collar and he rushed forward to bark and snarl. A quick glance at my front door camera feed indicated that someone was standing on the porch. I didn’t need to wonder who. Lug Nut’s behavior clearly told me that Adrian hadn’t completely left yet. He could stand out there all night for allI cared. There was no way he would get past my four-legged bodyguard tonight.

I didn’t want the barking to disturb the neighbors, though, so I went to him, making my voice loud enough to be heard through the wood of the door.

“I told him not to be a dick, bud. He didn’t listen, did he? Thank you for protecting me.”

My eyes stayed glued to the camera feed. How long was he going to stay out there? He spent one more minute out there, then he was finally gone. It was only then the adrenaline began to leave me and I found myself feeling more than a bit lightheaded. Sitting down on the floor with my back against the wall, I felt the slow trickle of tears begin. The dog began to whimper, placing one of his large paws on my arm to offer comfort. Unlike a lot of males, he didn’t like to see me upset.

---