Fidelity (Infidelity #5)(12)

As much as I despised the thought, I missed Bryce.

The realization of his arrest had yet to register fully. Instead, the knowledge that I was again alone at Alton’s mercy was gnawing at me. Despite Bryce’s bipolar psychotic episodes, he had protected me from my stepfather more than once.

I tried not to think about how I wasn’t protected when he and I were alone, or how he’d treated Chelsea—his whore. Even his title for her made me ill. As we waited I longed for a phone with the blue dot app. It hadn’t been necessary when I’d been the one to wear the necklace, but now, I wanted to know that Chelsea was with Nox. If she and my mother were safe, I could break free.

My fingers trailed the diamond choker around my neck. Panic at the loss of my tracker necklace was suffocating. I reassured myself that it had been the right move. If for any reason Chelsea had been detained along the way, the beacon on the necklace would have led Nox to her.

Shivering, I wrapped my arm around my midsection and turned toward my stepfather as the car approached. “Please tell me about my mother.”

“Really, Alexandria?” His warm breath reeked of whiskey as he looked up from his phone. No doubt his time spent with the VIPs in his office had been filled with the best alcohol in the mansion. “Your husband was just arrested and you’re asking about your mother. She’s probably sleeping peacefully, still detoxing.”

“Probably? You don’t know? And Bryce and I aren’t married. Do you know about my mother for sure?”

Suzanna didn’t speak as she turned her attention to Alton.

He shook his head. “Your mother is being taken care of. But, daughter, you’re mistaken about your marital status. You were married yesterday. Tonight’s party had been to announce your surprise nuptials. I just received confirmation. Ralph Porter will have the paperwork drawn up and Judge Townsend will make it all legal.” His thin lips formed a strained smile. “Congratulations, Mrs. Spencer. Today is your one-day anniversary.”

“I didn’t sign anything and neither did Bryce. He’s in jail. How do you plan on forging that?” I looked down at his phone. “And do you know why? Why he was arrested?”

“Now that’s the question a concerned bride should be asking.”

“Tell me about my momma and why you said her presence was no longer possible, and then I’ll talk about Bryce.”

Patrick had promised that Nox’s men were in place. Did this mean that Alton was unaware that she’d been freed, or was she still at Magnolia Woods?

“You promised she’d be with me when…” I hated to say when Bryce and I married, but it was the end to that sentence. “…we married.” Which we haven’t done.

“No. I said it was up to you.” He reached again for my arm. “And she wasn’t well enough yesterday to attend.”

“Yesterday?” Though I struggled, his grip was iron. “Let go of me. I can walk.”

He yanked me toward him. “Don’t push me, Mrs. Spencer,” he threatened. “I’ll force you in the damn car and by God, if you don’t sign that license, when Adelaide wakes—if she wakes—she’ll be in indigent care.”

“You’re a monster.”

“Come on, daughter. Do you doubt me?”

My skin crawled with his touch while my stomach twisted at the stench of his breath.

Through it all, it was his threats that propelled me forward. “I don’t doubt you. I won’t agree to the wedding until I know my mother is well. I won’t marry Bryce until she can be with me.”

“It’s too late,” he growled. “As I said, the paperwork is complete. You two were married yesterday.”

I sucked in a deep breath, hoping for a way to avoid going to the police station. “I’m not agreeing to anything right now, but…” I motioned toward the sound of the guests. “…even you must see that this is a public relations nightmare.”

The limousine finally came to a stop. Though Suzanna began to descend the steps, I continued to speak, “You and Suzanna should go to Bryce. I should try to explain things.”

Brantley appeared, opening the rear door.

“Nonsense. The world needs to see Bryce’s new wife at his side.” With my arm secure in my stepfather’s grip, he pulled me forward, following after Suzanna.

Once we reached the driveway and Suzanna stepped into the car, I tried again to think of any way to avoid the limousine. Despite my efforts, my slender heels gave little resistance upon the cobblestones.

“I shouldn’t be going. We have guests. Let me explain—”

Alton’s grip loosened as we both turned. In a second—or was it longer? Time moved with no sense of reason—Alton and I both pivoted toward the unusual noise.

Other than Brantley, the staff had been sent to their other dimension. We’d been alone, and now we weren’t.

Determined footsteps echoed upon the driveway, drowning out the evening noises.

Steady breathing.

A domineering presence.

“Let go of her.”

My lungs forgot to breathe. The autumn breeze ceased to blow. The leaves no longer swirled. My heart stilled and the world stopped spinning at the deep, demanding voice.

Only a few feet away stood the most handsome man I’d ever known. The one who owned not only my body but also my soul. I wasn’t married to Bryce Spencer. I never could be. Not as long as Lennox Demetri existed. I was his.