Page 185 of On a Fault Line

“I’m going to fucking murder that man for taking advantage of you when you were most vulnerable. We hired him toprotectyou, notabuseyou.”

Why is he being so hateful? “He never abused me!”

“You don’t know what you’re saying right now, Penny. You are blinded by whatever false promises that man has conned you into believing. I don’t blame you. This is all his fault.”

“You are being so mean—so cruel. Please stop.”

I cover my ears but I can still hear his rant.

“Go to your apartment and pack some things. I’m bringing you to my house where I can keep a better eye on you.”

I shake my head adamantly. I don’t want to go anywhere. “No.”

“Yes, dammit. You can stay in a guest room until Graham and I figure out what the fuck we’re going to do about this.”

“There’s nothing to do, Nic.” My words come out frantic, and I can’t stop crying. “I’m not some petulant child. I can make my own choices.”

“Well, you suck at them right now.”

His words slap me right in the face. “All these months I had prioritized what Mark did to me—what I couldn’t even remember—and then suddenly I switched and found someone else to focus on. Someone attentive and kind and understanding and loving… And you can’t see past him crossing a line in order to comprehend just what Collins did for me. It’s not fair! It’s not fair that you are so blinded by the filter of betrayal that you can’t see my progress.”

“Go grab some things.”

“Nic…”

“Now, Pen.”

I shake my head at him. “Unbelievable.”

It’s like I’m looking at a man I don’t even know anymore.

Rolling out of bed, I stomp into the closet to get dressed, while still wrapped in the bed sheet. There’s no point fighting with my hardheaded brother when he’s this mad. There’s no point in reminding him that I’m a legal adult at the age of twenty-two and that he’s not in charge of controlling who I date or not date—no matter if they are his employee or not.

Nic’s already made up his mind that Collins is the villain, and I’m the victim. We both just need time to cool off and have a chance to calmly explain. And that realization is the only thing making me comply right now.

We just need time.

Maybe if he hears that Collins wants what I want, that we both are very much into each other, then he’ll relax this choke hold on my freedom.

Maybe.

When I’m ready to leave, Nic escorts me back to my apartment, unlocking the door with his own key.

He’s being unfair and deliberately making a point as to what level of control he has over my life.

It’s my brothers who have funded my bank account for me to even get this apartment. It’s my brothers who have advocated for me to get the best therapy center in Seattle when I needed it most. It’s my brothers who introduced me to their top bodyguard and right-hand man, Collins, in the first place.

And it’ll be my brothers who will serve as the instrumental force that will tear us apart.

But I won’t let it happen. I’m willing to fight for us.

Pushing past Nic, I enter my apartment. I’ve spent exponentially more time at Collins’s place than my own, so it’s ironic that he brought me here to gather my things when I have more stored at the other location.

But I can already tell he is in no mood to listen to me disagree. So I just step into line, like the obedient little soldier.

“I’ll be back in one hour. Do not leave.”

“Where is Collins?”

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