Page 82 of Sutton's Shadow

He’d begun pacing, knowing exactly how the conversation had gone. His impressionable young sister had soaked up everything Sutton taught her and took matters into her own hands. She noticed something wrong and wanted to be like Sutton and get it on film to prove it. She probably thought no one would listen to a kid without proof.

But he would have listened. She had to have known that.

“I told her I was still scared,” Sutton continued. “But that you gave me the strength to face it. I wasn’t alone anymore. And it was the right thing to do.”

“The right thing to do,” he muttered. “Shit, Sutton. You basically gave her the blueprint on how to involve herself in something dangerous. She’s only fourteen. She took your words as an instruction on what she should do. Instead of coming to me, she ran off to do God knows what. Jesus Christ, what did she get herself into?” He ran a hand through his hair again, wishing he could punch something. His mind raced with the possible scenarios of what danger his young sister had placed herself in because of her adulation of Sutton.

“I’m sorry, Wyatt. If I had known?”

He cut her off, too angry to hear any more. “I thought you were beyond this careless disregard for yours or anyone else’s safety. My baby sister could be in danger because of the things you taught her without thinking about how impressionable she was. Your history of recklessness has inspired Bethany to do the same. She’s too young to realize the dangers she might put herself in. But you’re not. You filled her head with so much shit, how could she not emulate your methods?”

She hastily wiped away a tear, but he was too far gone to care. His sister had gone off thinking she could do the things Sutton had done.

Fuck, he probably shouldn’t have left them alone together. He’d known the things she’d risked in the past to get the pictures she’d wanted. He’d watched her on numerous occasions rush into dangerous situations with no regard for her safety or anyone else’s. Maybe Liam’s teammates were right about her.

“They were right, weren’t they? You were so focused on getting the pictures in Colombia that you didn’t think about the danger you were putting everyone else in. It got Liam killed. Pray the same doesn’t happen to Bethany.”

With that, he turned his back on her stricken expression and slammed out of the house. He’d start walking the neighborhood and ask anyone he came across if they’d seen anything last night.

He needed a direction to go. He needed somewhere to start looking. And he couldn’t think about Sutton’s cornflower blue eyes swimming in tears and shadows. He couldn’t think about how he’d just put a dagger through anything they could have had together.

Chapter 25

Suttonstoodrootedtothe spot where Wyatt had just eviscerated her. She knew everyone’s eyes were on her but couldn’t bring herself to meet them. She let a few tears fall as they may, and she let the heart that had begun beating again because of Wyatt wither.

“Sutton,” Graham said, reaching out to her in sympathy.

God, they’d all witnessed that ugly scene.They knew the truth about her now. They wouldn’t want her to be friends with their women, knowing how she could recklessly put them in danger. And she couldn’t blame them. She’d never thought about the dangers in her pursuits. At least she tried not to. It had been more important to her to get the pictures, the story. Especially in the case of wrongdoings. It had been so vital to document the injustices.

But at what cost?

First Liam. And now Bethany.

When would she learn?

“Sutton,” Graham tried again, touching her arm gently. She backed away from the touch, knowing she didn’t deserve his compassion.

“I’m okay,” she muttered. “I’m just going to?” She didn’t finish the sentence. Just pointed to the stairs. Whirling around, she raced up them, needing to escape all the eyes watching her break.

She had intended to lock herself in Wyatt’s bedroom but couldn’t face the room where they had shared so much love. So she went into his office instead. After closing the door, she put her back to it and sank to the ground. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, hoping to contain all the pieces of herself that had shattered.

Burying her head in her lap, she let more tears stream down her face. Soon, an awful wailing noise reached her ears, and it took her a moment to realize the sounds were coming from her. She bit her arm, trying to stifle them so the people downstairs wouldn’t hear and decide to come check on her.

The knock on the door startled her. “Sutton,” Emma called. “We’re heading out for our search. Will you stay here in case Bethany comes back home?”

“Sure,” she croaked, then winced at the obvious clue in her voice to the fact she had been crying.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” She just needed everyone to go so she could wallow in her misery alone.

“Okay. If you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

“Okay. Thanks. Good luck on the search.”

“Will do. See you later.”

Emma’s footsteps faded away before she let another sob loose. The guilt, the shame, the grief, and the heartache all coalesced into one great eruption, a storm of blazing emotions that detonated her soul.

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