“It’s not what you think,” he says. Like every man with an excuse ever born.
“Oh, fantastic. So why don’t you enlighten me?”
He eyes me like he’s thinking of coming closer, but thankfully he decides to keep his distance. Queenie has the good sense to keep her distance, too, flopping down on the sofa with her chin perched on the top of the cushions, watching with worried eyes.
Leave it to a dog to tell you when there’s too much drama in the air.
“Fuck it, you want the truth?” he finally mutters. “I haven’t been one hundred percent up front with you, but it’s not another woman. I have zero interest in that, and I’d have told you if there was.”
Shields up.
I fold my arms, refusing to let myself feel the slightest relief. Even though it’s there, hopeful and pulsing in my chest, filling my entire body with this unwelcome warmth as prickly as a cactus.
But I haven’t decided if I believe him yet, so my body is getting ahead of itself.
He stops and swigs water, his throat moving. The sound seems too loud in this cavernous space.
“Well, what is it?” I grind out impatiently.
“Harry Jay,” he snarls.
Huh?
I blink.
“What about him?” I whisper. “Brady, I don’t get what you’re—”
“Ever since I saw that dickhead and you told me what he did, I knew he wouldn’t stand down. I’ve met his type before. I laid hands on him, I made it personal, and I knew I’d have to keep him the fuck off your ass if I truly wanted him gone.”
“Gone?” I’m so stunned I can’t breathe. “He’s my problem. I thought I told you that? What gives you therightto do anything?”
“He’s dirty as hell, Lena. I did some digging.”
No argument there.
I doubt there’s been a time when Harry was clean in any sense of the word.
“You mean his business? His real estate dealings?” I’m almost afraid to ask.
“Yeah. I had Luis help piece it together. I’ve got an entire report on his recent history and strong-arm acquisition tactics that should be illegal. Hate me if you want, that’s fair, but take a look.” He holds up his phone and swipes a few times, then shows me a document on the screen.
I don’t take the phone.
I don’t dare.
Right now, I’m just frozen and confused.
Also, fuck Harry Jay.
When Brady came in guns blazing and Doc accepted my offer, I honestly thought that was a wrap. The end. Time to move on and forget his ugly, cruel face with a mustache I’ll never have the pleasure of ripping off.
But now time itself feels stalled.
The very real fear that Brady might’ve had good reason for playing defense, even if he overstepped my boundaries ... it’s too much.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask with a sigh.
“Because he threatened you. What choice did I have?”
