Page 24 of Only Everything
Silence.
“I think you said you weren’t thinking straight. Are you sure that’s it? You can be honest with me, Tauren.”
A strangled sound left me, and I could almost feel his hands back around my throat. Emmett had come from the darkness. I’d almost ran into him as he headed in my direction, but he caught me, spinning me to slam on the ground as anger possessed him from my declaration that I was leaving. I swung as his hand had latched to my face, but I could barely wrap my mind around how fast my swings triggered him. He hit. And hit. And…then he was choking me. I must have passed out because…we were here. All that running. All those miles for nothing. How long had I been out?
Long.
Very fucking long.
“I can’t hear you.” His voice deepened, filling back with malice. “Are you choosing us, or are you choosinghim? That’s what this is really about right? Reid?”
My mouth opened, but words wouldn’t immediately come.
“He’s my brother.”
“People don’t normally fuck their brother. And you did. I know you did. No brother obsesses over their sister like he does you. You screwed him, and that’s why your dad killed his mom.”
My head shook back and forth, sending my damp hair swaying against the middle of my back. Tears were blinding me, and blame was like a knife in my heart. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t speak. All I could do was continue to shake my head as I cried.
“Tauren…don’t lie to me. You were with Reid, and somehow your parents found out about it. Why else would your brother give you a hard time about quickly moving on. He said that at the funeral. His anger wasn’t over a fight. It was over your breakup. You told me you hadn’t dated anyone. I sure as fuck couldn’t find evidence that you did, and trust me,I looked.I tried figuring out his remark, but after that message on your phone, I knew why I never found anyone.It was him all along.”
Still, my head shook. Pressure gripped into my shirt, twisting the material as Emmett stepped forward, pushing me a step back. I cried out, clutching to his shirt.
“Please!”
“Admit it. You. Fucked.Your brother.” Again, he pushed. I screamed out with the little voice I had, but it barely even made a sound.
“Hey! Why don’t you step over here and ask me that?”
Emmett spun, dragging me to the side as he did. My foot slid along the edge, and I screamed out again, almost falling. Emmett kept holding onto my shirt, dragging me along as he moved in closer to Reid.
“Well, I’ll be fucking damned.” Viciously, Emmett jerked me inches from his face, glaring down at me. “You called Reid?” Dawning had his top lip peeling back. “You were running…to Reid?”
“I’m right here. Let her goand come ask me.”
Emmett didn’t keep his eyes on Reid for long. The longer he glared at me, the more I could feel myself fighting to lower to the ground.
“Emmett!Pussy, I’m over here. Come look at me like that.”
“You have no idea what you’ve done.” Emmett’s hand surged out, fisting my hair, but the click had his head snapping to Reid. I looked over, feeling my heart drop from my chest as Reid held the gun pointed at Emmett.
“I already called the police. Didn’t you hear the sirens? They’re coming for you.” Reid lifted my phone. “She was talking to me when you attacked her. I was on the phone with nine-one-one when that happened. Do you know how fucked you are?”
The anger drained from Emmett’s face, and he stood taller, looking towards the path we’d come down. His hand loosened in my shirt, and the next thing I knew, Reid ripped me away from the edge. He dropped me and lunged forward, connecting with Emmett’s jaw. The pop was solid and brutal. Emmett stumbled back, letting out a roar as he tried grabbing for my brother. Reid stayed just out of reach, toying with him. Stalking him as if he were food.
“Look at you. Pathetic.Losing to me. Losing Tauren. Losing this fight before it even begins.” Reid ducked as Emmett’s fist went for his face, and he was ready as his fist jabbed into Emmett’s mouth, forcing him stumbling back closer to the edge. “I thought you were big and bad. Your ego is as big as the lies you feed yourself. Face it. You’re nothing but a lousy cop compensating for low self-esteem and a small-ass dick.Beating on my sister. Did it make youfeel good? Make you feel like you weren’t losing her? Because you are, you know that, right? Tauren isn’t yours.She belongs to me.”
Emmett’s roar echoed around us, sending a chill creeping up my spine. The hair on my arms even stood on end. Again, Emmett swung, but Reid didn’t move or duck. He just stood there taking it. I cried out, confused, holding my clenched hands at my mouth as Emmett hit him again.
My brother’s laughter filled the space, making my fear intensify. What was he doing? Was he crazy?
“Tauren will never be yours.We’re getting married.”
“And having a baby, right?” My brother smiled, and rage took over Emmett as he surged forward again. It was exactly what Reid was waiting for. The moment he stepped in, Reid jabbed, only to connect hard against his jaw. He grabbed Emmett as he started to sway, connecting with crushing force as he practically held him up.
“It was never going to be you. She’s always been mine.”
“Ahhh!Fuck you!”
