Page 94 of The Tomorrows After You
“You’re unbelievable,” he whispered to himself. “I can’t believe I trusted you.” He kept shaking his head. I went to sit down next to him but he shot to his feet and backed away.
The hurt on his face cut through me. I just had to make him understand. I began to explain, but he cut me off.
“Ten years, Nicolette… Ten fucking years!”I jumped. His voiceseemedto rattle the whole house.“Igaveup ten goddamn years of my life to protect the only family Ihadleft. Andyou’rewilling to throw that all aside for a fucking story!”Hebeganto stalk close to me and I instinctivelybackedup.
“Riot, it’s not like that. Calm down andletmeexplain.”
“So you can spin me more lies about why you’re here, pretending to care about me?” his voice choked, and I moved toward him but he put a hand up.
“I’m not pretending, Riot! None of that has been a lie.” Panicked tears stung my eyes. Everything in my head was swirling, whooshing, making it hard to think straight. I tried taking a breath but my throat was too tight to swallow air.
Riot kept shaking his head, repeating how dumb he was to trust me, how he knew he would regret helping me and my heart splintered with the fear of loss. The idea of Riot walking away struck a panic in my soul and a hollowness was carving itself out of my heart. I had to stop him. I had to make him understand. He had to know the truth.
“Riot, please, I love you!”
We bothfroze. My heartinflatedat the surprise passing over Riot’s features. But itfellback into betrayal just as quickly.
He took a calculated step toward me. “No, you don’t.” His words dripped venom. “You’ve never loved anything besides yourself and your career. Well congratulations, Nicolette, you have the ending of a lifetime. Don’t mind us while my brother goes to prison, effectively causing me to waste an entire third of my life! What difference is a third from a half because they’re definitely throwing me back in for goddamn perjury!” His voice roared at me and I flinched.
His facewasimpossibly close and I could see the vein in his neck and temple throbbing. Itriedblinkingaway hot tears.
“That’s not going to happen, Riot, you need to see what I found. There were inconsistencies with the police report and what you told me—”
But loud, heavy knockslandedon the front door,interruptingme and calling our attention away.
Riot exhaled through his nostrils and stalked toward the front door. I tried to take a breath, recalling the breathing exercises I had been taught in case I found myself in compromising positions. But this was different from being held at gunpoint by some Middle Easternmilitia. Somehow, this was worse. Because I knew in my heart, it was all my fault.
Riot pulled open the door. Hearing voices, I padded over to find two sharply dressed adults, a man and a woman, standing shoulder to shoulder in Riot’s doorway. They were tucking away what I assumed to be badges and anxiety spurned inside my stomach.
“We need to speak with Brennan Asher,”the manstated.
“What’s this regarding?” Riot was struggling to keep his voice even.
“We need to speak with him directly,”the womanaffirmed.
“I don’t know if he’s in. If you leave a card, I can have him call you,” Riot nodded like it was the end of a discussion when choppy static mumbled from a distant radio.
The woman smiled, pleased. “Sounds like he’s in and already on his way to my colleague’s car.”
On cue, additional footstepspulledRiot’s attention to the right and his facepaled.
“Don’t say a word, Brennan! I’ll call a lawyer. Don’t say anything!” Riot shouted.
With my heart in my throat, Iranto the window just in time to get a glimpse of Brennanduckinginto the backseat of a black sedan.No, no no…None of thismadesense.
I burst through the entryway to where they were all standing.
“Stop, you have the wrong guy!”
“Who’s this?” The woman flinched, and I saw her hand move to her belt. They were too well-dressed to be regular police officers but seemed too young to be detectives.
“Nicolette Parker and Ihaveevidence you need—”
“Stop it!” Riot pleaded. His voice split me open.
“Riot, it’s going to be okay. You have to trust me.”
He laughed and turned his gaze to the ceiling. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
