Page 194 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
Several long, tedious minutes pass before the fog clouding Brandon lifts. When he turns to face me, I notice his hued cheeks are gone, but the cheeky sparkle in his eyes has been replaced with worry. He seems genuinely fretful about Regan’s attention, which is odd considering she’s an incredibly beautiful woman who could have her pick of any man.
“I hope you don’t mind me popping in like this, Izzy, but I couldn’t call you on your cell since Hunter smashed it, and I don’t have any of Regan’s contact details.”
“I can give them to you. All you have to do is ask.”
I had wondered if Regan had indeed left our conversation. Her comment proves she hasn’t. Laughing at her antics, I guide Brandon more toward the living room than the hallway Regan is camped out in. “Sorry, she’s a little…” My words trail off when I fail to find the appropriate word to describe her.
“Like Isaac?” Brandon fills in.
Grimacing, I nod.
While running his hand down his face, the panic in Brandon’s eyes switches to full-blown hysteria. “I just wanted you to know I understand you not being able to come to the gala with me. With everything going on, you’ve got more pressing matters to handle than being my date for a night.”
“The gala is this weekend?”
When he nods, I stomp my foot down like a child. I must be close to having an aneurysm with all the things I’ve forgotten this week. Brandon gave me a rundown of the event last weekend, but my brain has been understandably jumbled since then.
“It’s Friday night, but you don’t have to come.”
Guilt smacks into me hard and fast. Brandon has been nothing but supportive of me the past six months, and the one time I’m supposed to return the favor, I can’t.
Just as I am about to apologize for being a horrible friend, Regan steps out of her conspicuous hidey-hole. “You should go. Having you out in public with another man will help make the jury believe you have no association with Isaac.” The scent of vanilla frosting whips up around us when she stops to stand in front of me. “It will also aid in your innocent plea. Only people with something to hide are concerned about prosecution.”
“You don’t think it will be distasteful for me to go to a fancy gala with a death hanging over my head?”
Regan shakes her head. “No. You knew of Megan from an FBI agent perspective, but you have no personal connection to her whatsoever. You don’t mourn the death of a stranger.”
Wrinkles crease my forehead when I frown. I’m not mourning Megan’s death, but I do feel sorry that she came to ill harm. No one deserves that, not even someone who’s clearly psychotic. Megan’s condition wasn’t her fault, though. She was sick and required hospitalization.
“And with you being out of Ravenshoe for a few nights, I won’t have to check your room every ten minutes to make sure Isaac hasn’t snuck in.” I don’t take her statement as cheeky. The stern expression tainting her face is anything but playful.
I compile the facts in front of me before separating them into pros and cons. No matter how many times I work the facts, the results never alter. Going away with Brandon will do more good than it will harm. I just really hope Isaac reaches the same conclusion as me.
After clearing the brick in my throat with a quick shallow, I shift on my feet to face Brandon. His nervous knee bob stops when I ask, “What time are you picking me up?”
CHAPTER16
ISAAC
I’m icing swollen knuckles when Hugo barrels into my office. His hurried strides halt when his wide eyes lock on my newfound companion, who’s slumped in my office chair, holding a wad of ice to his right eye that’s nearly swollen shut.
He swallows hard when I snarl, “You didn’t think to inform me that it was your brother-in-law watching over my brother?” Anger surges through my body so hard and fast it physically shakes me. “You’re supposed to be invisible, Hugo, so how the fuck did he find you?”
He stares at the man I now know is Carey Hawke, his brother-in-law, before he devotes his attention to me. His eyes are brimming with torment, and his lips are set into a firm line, but his twitching hands give away the fear plaguing his usually carefree composure. This is the first time I’ve seen him display alarm in the years I’ve known him.
“Izzy.” One word and my attention is rapt. “She somehow got access to my sister’s case file. She knows what happened to Marjorie. Hawke followed the breadcrumbs her investigation left behind. It led him to Ravenshoe.” His voice is as low as my heart rate. “I spotted him outside Isabelle’s apartment building the day I took her to see Cormack. I thought I’d seen a ghost.”
“Isabelle knows what happened?” My surging heart rate is heard in my high tone.
I begin breathing again when Hugo shakes his head. “No. As far as I can tell, she only knows about my sister’s and nephew’s accident. She hasn’t connected all the dots just yet.”
Hawke’s anger about our tussle is heard in his voice when he asks, “Who is this Izzy? And why is she prying into my wife’s death?”
Even though he has a right to be angry, in my defense, I told him I only allow one strike before retaliating. He didn’t heed my warning, so he suffered the consequences of his actions. I’ll give it to him, though, his right hook is impressive. My jaw is still tingling.
“Isabelle is no concern of yours.” My tone warns I’ll once again be forced to retaliate if he ever speaks her name with the sneer he just used. It will just be harder the second time around—hard enough to kill.
“Izzy is one of the rare good ones, Hawke. She isn’t an enemy, and neither is Isaac.” Air hisses between Hugo’s teeth when he removes the wad of napkins from Hawke’s eye. He glares at me, pissed I gave his brother-in-law a black eye.
