Page 56 of Intrigued
“For what?”
I made a groaning sigh. I knew I had to protect the Preachers. “I can’t say.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “Go upstairs. We’ll talk later.”
I nodded and quietly turned my back on him to walk out. I could feel his eyes on me. I wondered if he knew that I wasn’t going to my room. I had a stop to make first. His sister had more questions to answer.
* * *
“Who is it?”Bryn yelled after I knocked.
“It’s me, Holly.” I inclined my ear toward the door and was unable to hear anything else. Maybe she’d escaped into the dark hallways, what Spencer called the tunnels. I decided to count to ten before entering without being invited in. I arrived at three when the door opened.
Only Bryn’s face was visible. She was hiding the rest of her body behind the door.
“Are you naked?” I asked.
She pulled the door back wider, giving me space to pass. I entered and saw that she only had on a pair of panties and a bra. Her room was a mess. Clothes were strewn everywhere. Makeup and perfume were messy on top of a large dresser drawer. Her bed was unmade. It was as though the maids had never come in to clean.
“It’s like a disaster in here,” I remarked.
“No one’s allowed in my room.”
“Not even to clean it?”
“No,” she yapped, sounding like a petulant child. Bryn Christmas was just as unhinged as she had been during college.
“Well, listen, I’ve decided to stay out of your family affairs.”
She laughed bitterly as she raced into her walk-in closet. “Whatever, Holly.” Bryn came back with a suitcase and tossed it on top of her bed.
“Going somewhere?” I asked.
“It’s too late,” she said.
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”
“You know too much about us. Jasper feels he has to manage you now.” She walked over to a drawer and pulled it out. “That’s what fucking you was all about. He’s a control freak. We’re human. We can run our own lives from this point onward.”
Bryn gathered an armful of panties and bras. She wasn’t in complete control of her emotions. Her anxiety was so strong that it was poking me in the eyes.
“Bryn.” I walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down.”
She shook her head erratically. “You don’t know what’s about to happen. Randolph is dead. I’m not marrying Carter.”
I started massaging her shoulder. “Okay, but let’s take a breather and discuss this first. You know I’m good at that, strategic thinking.”
Bryn sighed then looked me deeply in the eyes. “Oh, Holls…” She gently rubbed the side of my face. “The men in my family are monsters. Get the fuck out of here tonight.”
“What do you mean by monsters?”
“They treat women like shit. I’m nothing but an asset to them. I’m getting as far away from here as possible.” She rushed back over to the dresser, picked up her phone, and made a call.
I had no idea how to talk her off the ledge.
Apparently, whomever she was calling didn’t pick up, so she called again and again. Finally, she whipped her face around and scalded me with her glare. “Did you tell Jasper about Dale and me?”
“No.” The look in her eyes made me lie.
