Page 121 of Always

“She said that?”

“A couple of times, while she was stalking me after the incident. Contrary to popular belief, I do have feelings. I just don’t wear them on my sleeve. I felt bad for her, but I wasn’t in love with her. Besides, what she wanted to do was dangerous. It was easier for me to just nip it in the bud.”

“Lesser men might have stayed with her for the money.”

“Lesser men might have. I won’t say it didn’t occur to me, but if I was ever going to be rich, I wanted it to be on my own terms.”

“And it is.”

“It is,” I echo.

But that’s a half-truth. And now I’ll tell her why.

“Braden?”

I sigh. “The story’s not over, Skye.”

She swallows. “All right. Go on.”

…

The day after I called the police, I got a visit from Addison’sfather, Brock Ames. Instead of Addie waiting by my pickup after work, Brock stood there, dressed to the nines in a tailored gray pinstripe suit and smoking a pipe. I inhaled the cherry bark fragrance. Nice, but smoking wasn’t something I’d ever do.

“Mr. Black.” Brock emptied the ashes from his pipe onto the ground and held out his hand. “I’m Brock Ames.”

“I know who you are,” I said.

“Then I suppose you know why I’m here.”

“Can’t say I do.”

“I’d like you to drop the charges against my daughter.”

“Mr. Ames, your daughter has been stalking me. She shows up here by my truck after work, not unlike you did today. She shows up at my home. She calls me at all hours of the day and night. It needs to stop.”

“I don’t think formal charges are the answer.”

“Really? What is the answer, then?”

“Drop the charges, and I’ll make it worth your while.”

“What are you going to do? Ship her off to Europe or something? She’s eighteen. She’s an adult.”

“In the eyes of the law, yes, but she’s still a very young girl.”

I met Brock’s gaze. How did one tell a father what his daughter was capable of? “Don’t try to tell me she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She knows exactly what she’s doing.”

“What if I told you”—Brock cleared his throat—“that I’d have you arrested for sexual assault?”

“I’d tell you to fuck off.” I hadn’t assaulted Addie. Everything was consensual. Despite my words, though, my nerves skittered. Brock Ames was a powerful man.

“Addie will testify that you assaulted her and she lost consciousness,” Brock continued.

My fingers curled into fists. “That never happened.”

“Do you think that matters?”

Chills swept over the back of my neck. “You fucking bastard…”

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