Page 89 of Exposed

I slowly sat up. “I went to see him on Sunday.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Honestly? To kill him.”

Brooklyn laughed, but the laughter died in her throat when she saw I was serious.

“I’d just found out you were alive and…I…fixated all my anger on him.”

“Yeah. I get that.” She sat up too. “I wanted to kill him. For what he did to Miller.” She shook her head. “For what Ithinkhe did to Miller. When I first came back, I dropped Jacob off at Mrs. Alcaraz’s. And I took Miller’s gun and went to go see my dad. But…I couldn’t go through with it either.”

I couldn’t imagine Brooklyn ever hurting someone. “I’m glad you didn’t do it. Jacob needs you. I need you.”

She nestled into my chest again. “I still think about it though.”

“Well, if it ever comes to it, let me pull the trigger, okay?”

“No. I need you too.”

I rested my chin on the top of her head and held her closer. “When I went to your dad, he said that he gave it all up. Because you asked him to. That you didn’t want him in your life as long as he was still part of that business.”

“I did say that. But I don’t believe a word about him giving it up.” She shook her head.

“Well, he helped me with Poppy too.”

“Are you really trying to get me to talk to him?”

“No. I just wanted you to know. And I probably shouldn’t…but I do believe him.” Mr. Pruitt had done terrible things to Brooklyn and me 16 years ago. But he’d apologized for some of it. Kind of. And he said he wasn’t going to stand in our way now.

“He told me when I was 16 that there was no out. He married into it. And Mrs. Pruitt doesn’t seem like she accepts their separation.”

I stared down at her. “They’re separated?”

“I don’t know. They’re living in different houses. They’re not divorced or anything.” She sighed. “If he really was able to get out of it, he would have when my mom got pregnant. If he loved her as much as he claims, he would have figured out a way. But he didn’t then. And he certainly didn’t step down now.”

“It’s different now though. Isabella’s gone. You just said he’s separated. You’re all he really has left, Brooklyn.”

“Then maybe he shouldn’t have ruined my life.”

That was fair. I hugged her a little tighter. “Trust me, I don’t want him to be a part of our lives. I just wanted you to know what he told me.” I stared at her for a moment. I wasn’t sure how much she’d talked to her father when she returned. But I wasn’t going to hide this from her. “Did he tell you that he always planned on taking you away? That he never really approved of our engagement?”

“Yeah, I kind of pieced that together when I begged him to let me go.” She sighed. “It honestly doesn’t matter what he says to me. Half of everything he says is a lie. He’s always manipulating me. And I don’t want to be part of any more of his twisted games.”

I nodded. There were other things Mr. Pruitt had told me too. Like how Brooklyn used to sneak downstairs into Miller’s bed at night. But that was in the past. And I was determined to keep it there. All that mattered was that she was here right now with me.

Her phone started buzzing again. She ignored it.

That was probably the right choice. The more she distanced herself from her family, the safer we’d be.

There was a clanging noise downstairs.

She jumped.

“Don’t worry, it’s just Nigel,” I said.

“He’s really made himself at home, hasn’t he?”

I laughed. “He has a way of doing that. Don’t worry though, I won’t let him build that door between our properties. He’s here because I asked him to grab a few things for me this morning. Something for you. And something for Jacob too.”

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