Page 20 of Whatever It Takes

“We were working on that.” I hedge my words. “He seemed different with you. We didn’t want to ruin a good thing if he was genuinely trying to change.”

Calder catches my gaze in the rearview mirror and rolls his eyes. Yeah, that was a blatant lie, but I don’t want to add salt to an already festering wound.

The bed of the truck bounces slightly, and I look out my window right as Easton passes. I’m guessing he grabbed Briar’s remaining bags. He yanks open the passenger door and holds his tie in place as he climbs in. The vehicle jostles with his weight, and he tugs his door closed.

“My house,” Easton growls, nodding at Calder to get us moving. His head swivels until he’s looking at Briar. “This is a very serious question—has Jameson put his hands on you before today?”

A low growl rattles out of my chest.

Now I wish Eastonhadkilled him.

Jameson better pray I never lay eyes on him again. It wouldn’t take much for me to let the alpha rage slip in. I’d slit his throat and not lose a wink of sleep over it.

“Briar?” Easton prods.

Her head finally shakes. “No. Can you drop me off at the train station before you head home? A bus station would work if it’s closer.”

Easton scoffs as Calder drives out of the parking garage for Jameson’s building. “There are several important conversations we need to have. You’ll be staying with us at my house tonight.”

Briar’s jaw falls.

I wonder how long it’ll take for her to realize she’s just been kidnapped?

Chapter Nine

Briar

Easton’s house is a mansion with a massive gate and long driveway. It’s more of a haunted house than a friendly modern mansion. It does have a porch, but that doesn’t seem particularly welcoming either. Unlike the few houses we passed coming down the road to his, Easton’s home lacks any Christmas decorations.

That tracks with Easton as a person.

Being in a vehicle with all three of their scents makes my nose twitch. It’s quite the potent combination, and I don’t even mind Keir’s hand on my thigh. It hasn’t moved during the entire drive, but it manages to ground me in a way that’s hard to explain.

I should probably be more heartbroken about Jameson, but I saw this coming.

Well, not the cheating part.

I thought he was a different kind of guy than my father and deceased fiancé, but I know all about how wives are supposed to pretend they don’t see anything.

I just have no interest in that lifestyle.

I didn’t survive an all-out massacre to end up married to someone like my fucking dad.

Maybe I didn’t run far enough? I knew I needed to get away from NYC and that I couldn’t go back to Boston.

Vermont seemed picturesque, but I could try the south or make a huge change and go for the West Coast.

Calder parks in the garage and the trapped feeling starts to set in.

“Come on,” Keir says, opening his door. “I’ll help you get set up in the guest room.”

This is a nightmare.

They’re going to ask all sorts of questions that I don’t have answers for.

Keir shows me to a beautiful bedroom that feels very much like the gilded cage I grew up in. Sure, it’s luxurious, but the implication is that I can’t leave—even if I want to—and that makes my skin itch.

The massive alpha drops my bags next to an armoire that I won’t be using, since I won’t be staying long enough to unpack.

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