Page 58 of Flame
Chapter Fourteen
The setting sun provides an ominous backdrop of shadow as we pull into the driveway of a scenic, two-story home in the heart of a peaceful, idyllic neighborhood. Children play in the distance, and their laughter is audible even with the van’s windows rolled up—a mocking, twisted soundtrack.
“This is where you belong, Hannah,” Branden says while shutting off the engine. He braces his hands on the dashboard, his knuckles cracking with tension. “With your family. With me.”
An ironic boast, all things considered. This place is a world apart from my crappy apartment or a flat above a tattoo shop. A pale yellow Victorian-style townhouse, guarded—quite literally—by a white picket fence. The imagery symbolizes my childhood perfectly.
A beautiful image when glimpsed from the outside. But what lurks within those four walls? A cage.
I can feel the bars of it closing in as Branden exits the car and circles around to my end, wrenching open the door before I can do so myself. In the same motion, he snatches my wrist and tugs me to my feet.
At the back of my mind, I realize I could always scream. Resist. But I don’t. As he hauls me up the front steps, I ask, “So you’ll tell me the truth? About everything?”
He shrugs, unlocking the front door. Inside, the narrow foyer opens onto a short hall extending past the living room and into the kitchen. Memories descend, reminding me of how trapped I felt here. How desperately I longed for an escape.
“Honey, is that you?” A blond woman peeks through the doorway, her expression wary.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Branden says, muscling me forward. The door slams behind us, and I can’t disguise how I flinch at the sound. “And Hannah’s back like I told you.”
“Hey,” Kaitlin says with a strained smile. Her blue eyes flit over my posture and linger on my face before drifting away to a painting hanging on the wall. I can only speculate as to what lie Branden told her to explain the bruises. “I’m glad it’s you,” she says to him with unmistakable relief. “I was worried they had come back and—”
“We’ll talk about it later,” Branden growls, cutting her off. Just as quickly, he flashes a strained smile and inclines his head down the hall. “Why don’t you make us some lunch?”
“Okay.” With a terse nod, she scurries into the kitchen while Branden pulls me into the living room, effectively blocking the doorway with his bulk. He meets my gaze, and for the first time, I see a hint of the brother I recognize. The caged, suspicious one willing to do anything to stay in control.
“You promised,” I say lamely, but I don’t expect a damn thing from him. Mentally, I scan the room, spotting one of the large bay windows overlooking the back garden. It’s low enough to jump from.
“I will,” he snaps, his voice low. “But first you tell me something. Where is it?”
Real confusion makes me blink. “What are you talking about?”
Belatedly, I sense a telltale weight in my pocket, and the answer becomes obvious. Something small enough to fit within his grasping, flexing hands.
“You know what,” he says. Nervous energy seeps through his confident exterior, and he starts to pace, his shoulders hunched. “Youmentioned a hair clip. So, where is it?”
He eyes my bags, and I instinctively back up a step.
“W-What hair clip—”
“You know what,” he growls.
Maybe I do. A certain hair clip that he should have no interest in if Rafe planted it. Perhaps he wants to bring it in as evidence to have him arrested for Faith’s murder?
Or…
He wants it for another reason entirely.
“Did you put it with my things on purpose?” I ask, cutting to the chase. At the same time, I inch a step back. Then another.
“Don’t play dumb, Hannah.” He advances a step, and I sense that distracting him is my only option. If he keeps me here, I suspect I won’t ever leave again.
So I choke down any fear and say, “Were you the one seeing Faith?”
He stiffens, his eyes widening.
“You were,” I say, taking another step back. “Weren’t you? When she went missing, you hid her hair clip. Why?”
I’d assumed he’d wanted to scare me. Threaten me. That everything led back to me—but I was wrong. Foolish.
