Page 160 of Theirs to Possess: The Marriage Claim
I swallow deeply. They’re probably right that I really don’t want to know any of this, but now it’s too late.
“He…attacked her. She tried to get away. Ran.”
Dear God.
Unable to hold myself upright another moment, I somehow make my way to an oversize armchair and sink into the cold leather.
“Fuck.”Dorian’s voice is jagged and tormented. “We need to stop thisnow.”
“No.” There’s more force behind my refusal than I might have believed possible.
Brennan looks at me. “I evened the score.”
“She…” I have to shake my head so I can make sense of this. “Died?”
Neither man responds.
Tense moments later, I turn my gaze to Brennan. His face is stark, his cheekbones prominent. “That’s why you went to jail.”
“Prison.” He shrugs. “But yeah.”
“So you… You…”Murdered a man.But I can’t force those words past the lump in my throat.
To his credit, he doesn’t deny it. “Yes.”
There’s resolve in the stormy blue depths of his eyes, the same as there’d been the night of the gala when he’d told me that he’d do anything to save and protect Dorian. And me.
As if I can make this awfulness vanish, I close my eyes. But when I open them again, their past, our future, is right there, aching with tension. “How did you get out?”
“A plea bargain.”
With sudden, horrific clarity, everything clicks into place.
The tangled mess of Dorian, Brennan, Moretti.My father.“He helped you.”
Dorian raises an eyebrow. “Who?”
“My dad.” The escort ring. Theyknew.All my life I thought he was the monster. And now I’m married to the men who own him. “You blackmailed him.”
“I used the leverage I had.” Dorian answers for both of them, using the vague language I’m coming to despise.
This whole thing is grotesque.
When I got married, I didn’t know I was agreeing to be part of any of this.
Though he extends a hand toward me, Brennan remains where he is, respecting my space. “You were never supposed to know any of this.”
“I need to know more about Lena.”
Brennan’s response is swift. “You don’t.”
“As she said, she’ll find out on her own.” Dorian’s tone is fatalistic.
“Dorian—”
“Brennan arrived, but the damage was done.”
“Goddamn it, Dorian. Fucking stop.”
