Page 55 of Stealing Chances

“Your lady wasn’t far behind him and was a mess when she realized what happened,” Brian said, pulling me back into the present.

“So, she knew about that,” I confirmed softly. “And you said she saw him again after?”

A somber look stole over Brian’s expression as he nodded. “Not in the way you’re thinking, and it isn’t for me to say what happened if she isn’t telling you.”

“Brian—”

“Brandon knows,” he said and lifted his hands in mock surrender. “But I think if your lady love isn’t telling you, then Brandon won’t tell you either. But I will tell you, your boy was with you when it all went down.”

A groan raked up my throat at the frustration of it all. “Brian, I’m trying to remember what I’m missing. I’m trying to figure out what actually did and didn’t happen. How can I do that if you’re all keeping something from me?” I gestured toward the main doors. “Because Brandon hasn’t even hinted that something might’ve happened with Scarlet, and Scarlet said you were the only one who knew she’d been dating someone when we met.”

“Might be true,” he said with a shrug. “But Brandon’s your ride-or-die. Have no doubt he’d do what he did without knowing the target.”

I went still. “I’m sorry?”

“All I’m saying.”

I glanced around before leaning close to hiss, “Did I fucking kill someone?”

Brian’s head tilted back as a sharp laugh left him. “Ah, Chach. God, I’ve missed you.” He let out another long laugh before meeting my horrified stare. “Don’t think you know how to kill anyone. Doesn’t mean Scarlet’s ex-man wasn’t in serious agony when you were done with him. Doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve it.”

I stared off to the side, trying to figure out what could’ve happened. But as each scenario came to mind, my anger only grew.

At the possibilities.

At the knowledge that no one had told me.

At the thought that I could’ve been so in love with someone and possibly destroyed that...

“Brian, I need to know if I cheated on Scarlet.”

A choking sound left him. “What?”

When I reminded him of the last of my coma-induced memories, he said, “That’s a big hell-fucking-no, Chachi.”

“But everything else is in my life somehow.”

“Scarlet’s your Sun,” he said unquestionably. “Your world revolves around her. You can’t live without her.” But just as soon as he’d finished speaking, his expression fell and his gaze drifted.

“What?” I demanded, that guilt flaring because I knew whatever he’d just remembered was what I’d been worrying over.

His stare snapped to me before falling again, and after nearly a minute, he cleared his throat. “Two...three days before your wreck,” he began hesitantly, head bobbing faintly, “you came into work raging. Threw your chair. I wasn’t here yet. Jeff told me when I got here.”

“Why?” I asked through clenched teeth.

He lifted a hand. “By the time I got here, you were anxious as fuck. Knees bouncing a mile a minute and looking bad off. Riss and I thought you were on drugs. I could barely get you to talk to me, but we were slammed all night anyway. Next day, it was worse. Finally got you in the back and asked what was up. Asked if things were okay with your lady, and you snapped. Punched a wall and kept saying shit like, ‘I didn’t know. What the hell am I gonna do?’ between cussing up a motherfucking storm.”

“That’s all I said?” I asked as that guilt nearly swallowed me whole because, as vague as it was, his story was all the proof I needed that I’d fucked up in a big way.

“We didn’t know what to think,” he said in way of confirmation. “We didn’t know if something happened with Scarlet or what. Next thing we knew, you’d gotten in that wreck, and Riss and I—” He grimaced as shame stole across his expression. “Because of the way you’d been, we thought it’d been on purpose until we heard the details of how it happened.”

“Jesus,” I whispered as I fell back against the seat.

“But cheating on Scarlet?” he asked, head shaking. “Chach, I can say you wouldn’t do that.”

“But you thought I’d take my life,” I said, words coming out on an irritated huff.

He raised his hands, trying to placate me. “Timing was fucked.”

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