Page 94 of Ruin
Sebastian clears his throat and we both turn to look at him.
“It was my choice not to tell you yesterday, Lily. And you’re right, we shouldn’t have made that choice for you. But all we’ve ever wanted was to take care of you.”
I grit my teeth as I rake a hand through my hair. “I am a grown woman. Something I think you both forget far too often. While I am incredibly grateful to you guys for giving me somewhere to go, I can’t be kept out of things like this. Not when he will likely try to destroy your business just to get back at you for helping me.” My voice cracks, and Sebastian takes a step closer, forcing Daniel to move back. “I can’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen,” I continue, my eyes starting to sting as I fight back tears.
Sebastian pulls me into his arms, and I crumble, beginning to sob as he cradles the back of my head while my tears fall onto his bare chest.
“He can’t do anything to us, Lily. I promise you, it will be okay,” he murmurs into my hair.
“You don’t know what he’s capable of, Sebastian. He will do anything to get what he wants.”
His arms tighten around me. “I do know what he’s capable of. And I’m not afraid of him. He took Daniel by surprise, that’s all. But we’ve known this was a very real possibility and have had our lawyers on standby. He’s not the only one with connections in high places, remember?”
I manage to pull myself together and look up to meet his troubled gaze. “What do you mean, you’ve had your lawyers on standby?”
“The second you are ready to press charges against him, they have everything ready to go. Daniel has the photos of how he found you, and the bruises. We also have a private investigator who has been gathering evidence of all his illegal activity. We have been preparing for this since the day I brought you to Brisbane. But it was always only on your terms.”
I let out a shaky breath, trying to process everything.
“How did he even know I was with you?” I ask, turning to look at Daniel.
He grimaces. “The night before I rang Sebastian, when we went out to dinner? He saw us.”
I sway on my feet, and Sebastian holds me upright.
“You kept that from me all this time?” I look from one brother to the other.
“And I’d do it again. You were a ghost, Lil! Knowing that he knew where you were would have destroyed you. I wasn’t going to be responsible for that,” Daniel says, his eyes blazing as he holds my gaze. “But that was why I called Sebastian. I knew we needed to get you out of Sydney so that you could finally start to breathe and get your spark back, so that when you were ready, you could take the bastard down.”
I huff a bitter laugh. “You can’t take a bastard like him down.”
“We can actually. He might be powerful, but Daniel and I have friends in high places, too. And ones who have far more sway than he does. There was a reason he used me all those years ago, Lil. It was to try and get in with those people. And when it didn’t go how he’d hoped…” Sebastian leaves the words hanging in the air, and I swallow.
“Then he went after me.”
He nods, his expression clouding over.
I let out another breath, feeling the fight drain from me. “This is all just so fucked up.”
“It is. But I promise, he won’t touch us.Anyof us,” he says, cupping my cheek.
I nod slowly. “Okay. But promise not to keep anything from me from now on? Please?”
They both nod and I sit down on the couch, no longer confident I can remain upright with all the adrenaline running through my veins. Daniel sits next to me and pulls my body closer so that I’m tucked into his side.
“I’m going to file a police report once I get back today.”
I sigh, pulling the sleeves of my jumper down to cover my hands. “That will probably just make it worse.”
“Well, we need to do something about him. We’ve ignored him for long enough, and after I went to speak to him, he decided to go after Daniel in retaliation. He’s getting desperate.” Sebastian takes a seat in the armchair across from us, resting his elbows on his knees as he studies me.
I stare at him for a few beats, my blood going cold. “When did you see him?”
He winces and sits back, rubbing the back of his neck. “Last week,” he replies quietly.
“What the actual fuck, Sebastian? Why would you do that?” I ask, gaping at him.
“I had to dosomething!”
