“Oh, baby girl,” he says softly, and his compassion breaks me. My already shattered heart disintegrates in my chest, turning to a pile of ash as I press the phone to my chest. Loud, guttural sobs wrack my body. I hate that Nathan has been hurt because of me. I hate that I wasn’t honest with him about Bryce’s stupid plan from the start. But most of all, I hate my useless, waste-of-oxygen older brother.
When I press the phone back to my ear, Tyler is patiently waiting on the line. “I wish I could wrap you up in a hug, Mel.”
I wipe the tears from my cheeks. “I wish you could too.”
He sighs, and I love that he doesn’t tell me everything will be okay or reassure me that Nathan will forgive me, because we don’t know if either of those things are true.
I hear someone calling his name in the background and remember he’s supposed to be working. “You go, and I’ll call you later.”
“I’m right here on the end of the line whenever you need me.”
“I know.”
“Love you, Goose.”
“Love you too, Mav.”
After we hang up, I stare into space and hold onto Ty’s Maverick jersey, wishing with all my heart that I had my Iceman back.
I keep glancing at my cell phone on the coffee table, then at my coat hanging on the rack. I’ve been sitting on this sofa all night, wondering what the hell to do next. Drifting in and out of sleep with all manner of horrible thoughts swirling around my head. Do I call him or go confront him in person? But confronting him face-to-face would make me break my no-violence rule because I’m absolutely certain I won’t be able to hold back from punching him in his fat, arrogant mouth. Or scratching his eyes out. Maybe both.
My heart is racing like a prize-winning stallion headed for the finish line, and my fingers tremble as I pick up the phone. I take a long, soothing breath and dial Bryce’s number.
Waiting for him to pick up, I wonder if he knows what happened yet. Has Nathan already contacted him? Maybe he’s in police custody? A few seconds later, he answers.
“Why are you calling me so early? It’s barely seven,” he barks.
“Why did you do it, Bryce?” I fight to keep the tremor from my voice.
He snorts. “Do what?”
His contempt shreds my last bit of restraint. “You know what I’m talking about. You knew Nathan was traveling to Chicago for that meeting. You knew he’d be there,” I screech.
“I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about, little sister. And you’d do well to remember your tone when you’re speaking to me.”
“You’d do well to remember that I know exactly the kind of man you are, Bryce. I told Nathan about your ridiculous plan to trigger the morality clause in our prenup—”
“You did what?” he roars.
“I. Told. Him.” I enunciate each word clearly.
“You stupid little bitch!”
“I’m stupid?” I snort a laugh. “You seriously think he’s stupid enough to let you pull a stunt like that and not figure out something’s going on? You have heard about drug tests, right? Exactly how loyal do you think this poor woman you roped into your scheme is going to be once Nathan gets a hold of her? Or reports you both to the cops for sexual assault?”
“You fucking told him?” he screams again. “If I go down for this, you’re coming with me, Melanie. I’ll tell everyone you were in up to your neck.”
I let out a triumphant but hollow laugh. “So you’re admitting it was you?”
He’s quiet for a few seconds. “Fuck you!”
“I hate you, Bryce. I’ve always hated you, but this is unforgivable.”
“If anything happens to me because of this, it will be on you, Melanie.” His voice takes on a whiny tone now, and it makes my stomach roll.
He’s such a manipulative little shit, and I can’t believe I didn’t have the strength to do this years ago. “You are dead to me, Bryce. You even come near me again and I’ll go to the cops and tell them what you did to him myself. Do you hear me?”
The line goes dead, and I’m left holding the phone in my hand, my chest heaving. An overabundance of emotions charge around my body, fighting for dominance. I close my eyes, trying to make sense of the thoughts racing in my brain, but there’s no peace to be found. Everything is broken, and I don’t know how to even begin to fix it.
Chapter
Forty-Three
NATHAN
Two fucking days I’ve been scouring this city looking for this prick. Like I have nothing better to do with my time. I’ve barely eaten or slept since I got back from Chicago and Mel hit me with her little revelation, and work has been put on the backburner. My secretary is dealing with what she can in my absence, but I need to get back to the office as soon as possible. It’s the only place where everything still makes sense to me. A place where I can have ice in my veins instead of the fire that’s currently burning through them. Once I’ve dealt with this sack of shit, my life might get back to some semblance of normalcy.
Bryce Edison throws back his head and laughs at the blond sitting beside him. She flutters her eyelashes, pretending to hang onto his every word. And I have to assume she’s only pretending because he talks nothing but shit. The fact that he’s evaded me for almost forty-eight hours means Mel must have told him I was onto his fucked-up scheme. Which is only further evidence that she’s a lying, scheming bitch too.
But the fact that he tried to dodge me tells me what a stupid asshole he is. Like there is anywhere in this fucking city, or the entire fucking country for that matter, where he could hide from me. If he’d done any homework on me, he would know that I have contacts everyfuckingwhere. As soon as he popped his little weasel-like head out of whatever hole he was hiding in, my sources were quick to let me know.
Which is why I find myself here, in a bougie little Italian restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen, staring at the man whose life I’m about to ruin. I walk toward the table at the back of the restaurant, tucked away in a corner like he thinks that makes him less conspicuous.
The blond sees me first, and her eyes widen with confusion. I jerk my head toward the door. “Get the fuck out.”
She pouts and looks at Bryce—who, upon hearing my voice, has turned an unnatural shade of gray. “Brycey, you gonna let him talk to me like that?” she whines.
